Category Archives: Gospel of Jesus

Go and be a blessing; God’s reward is HONOR!

Bible commentary, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel

abraham-go-and-be-a-blessingGenesis 12:1–4 is one of the most foundational passages in all the Bible:

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…”

God’s global promise and command to Abraham was to “Go … and be a blessing.”[1] Abraham needed to heed and obey. Abraham’s obedience to God’s call is certainly one of the most significant aspects of the Genesis 12 passage.

But consider this: Wouldn’t Abraham have understood God’s global promise—along with all the necessary sacrificial obedience—as more than just a command to obey? Wouldn’t Abraham also have understood this as amazing good news for himself?

The central promise to Abraham was, “In you shall all the nations be blessed” (Gal 3:8). Let’s emphasize what this would have meant to Abraham … “In you” … in YOU! … “shall all the nations be blessed.” There is immense honor (and therefore good news!) contained in God’s promise-command. That’s what I want to focus on here.

Let’s look at all eight honorific elements of God’s call to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3. Consider these astounding rewards:

  1. God will give Abraham a new land, ensuring a new source of land-based honor. This was to more-than-replace the loss of land upon leaving his “father’s house” and “country.”
  2. God will make of Abraham “a great nation,” ensuring that Abraham will have an heir with many descendants. This was to ensure that Abraham would never be forgotten, always remembered by his descendents, his lineage, his ‘forever family.’ This was of huge concern (see Gen 15:2).
  3. God “will bless” Abraham, promising that Abraham will enjoy God’s divine favor. This is God’s choice to freely choose Abraham as one who would share in God’s honor, and without any previous merits earned by Abraham; it was purely by grace.
  4. God will make Abraham’s “name great,” ensuring Abraham’s renown in the larger community. This shows God’s concern for Abraham’s reputation among his people, his region, and ultimately the whole world.
  5. God commands Abraham, “you will be a blessing,” promising him that he will acquire the honor of being a patron who will, in turn, bless many others. This shows God’s desire to share the honor of his global mission with people like Abraham.
  6. God will “bless those who bless” Abraham, ensuring Abraham’s favor in his community. This indicates God’s purpose in expanding his blessing and honor beyond Abraham’s kinship group to others who also bless Abraham.
  7. God will protect Abraham’s honor: “and him who dishonors you I will curse.” This shows God’s concern for protecting Abraham from the shaming and taunts of others—critical to the maintenance of one’s honor.
  8. God promises Abraham: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This establishes the magnificent extent of God’s blessing-through-Abraham’s-family, and hence, Abraham’s honor: IT WILL BE GLOBAL and ULTIMATELY KNOWN AMONG ALL KINSHIP GROUPS!

What did all this mean to Abraham? Yes, God required obedience from Abraham. But how can we miss the immense, lasting honor promised by God? How can we miss the staggering hope, the astounding good news this must have been to Abraham—not to mention the good news this represented for “all the families of the earth?”

IN FACT, it was such great good news, that some 2000 years later, the Apostle Paul actually says that “God … preached the gospel”—the good news!—to Abraham when he called Abraham to be a blessing to the nations:

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” (Gal 3:8)

The Bible says Abraham is the “father” of all followers of Jesus (Rom 4:16, Gal 3:29). Abraham is the forerunner of all who belong to God by grace and faith alone (Rom 4:13–16) through Jesus Christ. So what does this mean for the gospel and for mission?

  • It means that God shares his honor with people who join with him in his purpose to bless the nations.
  • It means that honor is at the core of blessing, and both honor and blessing are at the crux of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • It follows that if the gospel of Jesus is at the core of God’s Story—then honor and blessing are at the core of God’s revelation—from Genesis to Revelation.
  • It means that being the bearer of good news—or that being part of the “family” or kinship group through whom the good news is delivered—is specially honored by God.
  • It means that to be a part of God’s global purpose to bless all peoples is itself good news—because it is so saturated with honor and blessing for both giver and recipient.
  • It implies that shame may be conquered when God gives to people his honor and blessing as they live on mission and share the gospel of Jesus.
  • It means that the work of mobilizing others for the great task of blessing the nations through the gospel of Christ must have at its core both the duty of sacrificial obedience and the rewarding delight of great honor.

What do you think?

This post is partially excerpted from the forthcoming book, THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World. If you would like read or review the pre-published manuscript write to Werner Mischke at werner@mission1.org.

1. Christopher Wright summarizes Gen 12:1–3 as “Go … and be a blessing.” See Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 208.

Why don’t pastors preach on shame?

Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel

Why dont pastors preach on shame“When I was a little girl, something shameful happened to me that has troubled me all my life. And in all my years, I’ve never heard a sermon on shame. So I want to thank you for your message, because today, your sermon has set me free.”

That’s basically what she told me. We’ll call her Eleanor for the purpose of this post (it’s not her real name).

It was February of 2013. I was invited to preach one Sunday for the missions week at a church in Tempe, Arizona. My assignment was to introduce the subject of honor and shame to this congregation. A copy of The Father’s Love Booklet was given to each person attending so they could follow the amazing and beautiful honor/shame dynamics in the story of the Prodigal Son. I also shared a little of my own story about how a “shadow of shame” had affected my life. It was a good morning. I felt good about what I had, by God’s grace, communicated from God’s Word.

But I was really surprised by Eleanor. She came to me after the service. Her eyes were twinkling with joy. One person who knew her said she had been involved in befriending international students as a big part of her ministry—for years and years. I think Eleanor was around 70 years old. What Eleanor said was stunning and bears repeating: “… in all my years, I’ve never heard a sermon on shame.”

Why don’t pastors preach on shame? Pastor John Forrester says it well:

“We Western pastors have a blind spot. In a word, that blind spot is shame. We don’t learn about shame in seminary. We don’t find it in our theological reading. We don’t recognize it on the pages of Scripture. We don’t see it in our people. Shame is just not part of our pastoral perspective.” –John Forrester[1]

In my learning journey about honor and shame, I’ve discovered four reasons why there is a persistent blind spot about this vital issue:

1. Theological blind spot. The first reason is that—compared to innocence/guilt—the matter of honor/shame has been largely ignored as a matter of theological inquiry. Most seminary students preparing for the pastorate study systematic theology. Take a look at whatever systematic theology book you may have: When one compares the amount of material concerning sin and guilt compared to sin and shame—one discovers that sin and shame is almost completely ignored.

2. New area of study. The second reason is related; it’s a relatively new area of study. In the fields of anthropology, theology and missiology—shame and honor have only recently been understood as significant for understanding and interpreting the Scriptures, or for understanding peoples from the Majority World.

3. Blind spots are common. The third reason is that blind spots are common—they’re a part of the human condition. Christians in every society, every culture have theological blind spots, no matter how mature.

4. Shame is taboo. This reason is more subjective. To study honor and shame implies a personal willingness to explore shame in one’s own life and one’s own church community. All too often, chronic shame is unintentionally promulgated in the church. It can be uncomfortable for Christian leaders to address these things—causing resistance in studying the matter.

Let’s quit ignoring shame as a matter of theological inquiry. The sinful shame-pathologies which permeate our world are calling pastors and all believers to provide authentic answers. Wonderfully, the Bible is full of hope for not just our sin and guilt, but also, our sin and shame!

This post is partially excerpted from the forthcoming book, THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World. If you would like read or review the pre-published manuscript write to Werner Mischke at werner@mission1.org.

1. John A. Forrester: Grace For Shame: The Forgotten Gospel (Toronto: Pastor’s Attic Press, 2010), 9.

What does it mean to contextualize the gospel?

Bible commentary, Contextualization, Cultural intelligence, Evangelism, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame
What does it mean to contextualize the gospelYesterday I shared a post about the “Canopy of Biblical Truth” (click here).

We saw that the Bible contains some dualities, paradoxes, seeming contradictions. Some readers might think … Okay, I get what you mean, but what’s the point? Of course there are some tensions in the Bible. It doesn’t seem important.

But it IS important. Really important.

Today, I am sharing how these varying dualities in Scripture can help us uncover blind spots or assumptions in the way we articulate the gospel. Below is a slide presentation which I developed in 2013 which takes you step by step through what this means.

  • You’ll see how the Canopy of Biblical Truth fits into this discussion about contextualization.
  • You’ll see that a traditional Western presentation of the gospel (“The Four Spiritual Laws”) contains Western cultural assumptions.
  • You’ll discover an alternative way to articulate the gospel using the language of honor and shame.

Plus it’s FREE! You can download this very presentation (at my Slideshare page) yourself and use it to teach and discuss these principles with your own team.

It’s not your book!

Contextualization, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership, The Global Gospel

“We can easily forget that Scripture is a foreign land
and that reading the Bible is a cross-cultural experience.”[1]

Its not your book

If you are a Christian from North America (or Northern Europe and Australia or elsewhere)—and you consider yourself influenced primarily by Western values,  consider this:

Culturally speaking, the Bible does not “belong” to you; it’s not your book.

It was the people of the ancient Middle East—characterized not by the individualistic guilt-based values of contemporary Northern Europe and North America and the West, but by the group-oriented values of honor and shame—to whom this book was originally written.

It was in the culture of the ancient Middle East—characterized not by the equality-oriented values of the West, but by the hierarchical values of honor and shame—that men inspired by the Holy Spirit authored the sixty-six books of the Bible.

It was the ancient Middle East—characterized not by the direct communication style of the USA and Northern Europe, but by the indirect communication style of honor/shame cultures—where God chose to call out for himself a man named Abraham, so that through his descendants all the peoples of the earth would be blessed.

It was into Greco-Roman culture at the height of the Roman Empire—characterized not by the individualistic values of the West, but by the family-based, hierarchical values of honor and shame—that Jesus Christ was born and grew up, worked and lived, proclaimed the gospel of his kingdom, called and taught his disciples, suffered a humiliating death, and victoriously rose again.

It was through the kingdom and story of Israel—characterized not by the fast-paced lifestyle and risk-oriented values of urban America, but by the slow lifestyle, the cautionary traditional values of honor and shame—that Christ called his newly formed people, the church, to extend his gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.

Indeed, “reading the Bible is a cross-cultural experience.”

Excerpted from the forthcoming book, THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World. If you would like read or review the pre-published manuscript write to Werner Mischke at werner@mission1.org.

1. E. Randolph Richards; Brandon J. O’Brien: Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (Kindle Locations 74–75). Kindle Edition.

Believers have no honor deficit

Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel
This is from the summary chapter in my forthcoming book:
THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World.

Believers no honor deficit

There is an answer to the perplexing problem of sin for individuals and peoples. The answer is found in Jesus Christ. This is profoundly good news.

There is a kingdom with an infinitely mighty King, who, because of his own honor and compassion, shares his glory with people while absorbing their sin, guilt, and shame. Those who follow this King are sometimes called Christians, or simply believers. Believers have no honor deficit. They are not ashamed. They are children of God, siblings of the King. They are full and they are free, on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

King Jesus is the One whose glory and honor is of such magnitude that he gives and shares his glory (John 17:22) with those who “believe in his name” so that they literally become “children of God” (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1). Believers experience a dramatic elevation of their honor before God—an honor-status reversal. Although the King gives and shares his glory lavishly, in doing so, the King’s own honor is not diminished whatsoever. More and more people worship him—so the worshipful glory given to our King increases (John 12:32, 2 Cor 4:15), as he shares his life and glory with those who follow him.

Believers who love and obey the King are his siblings (Matt 12:48–50). They have been born again into a new family—a new kinship group. They have been born, “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). They have a new spiritual DNA out of which springs forth a life-transforming honor that sets them free. By the grace of God believers enjoy a divinely imparted ascribed honor (not achieved honor), so that no one may boast (Eph 2:9), and God receives all the glory he deserves (Rom 11:36). How offensive this is to self-exalting, self-sufficient human pride.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

For persons debilitated by sin and shame … for peoples who are oppressed, victims of a majority people obsessed by their own power … for those who consider themselves outsiders and aliens … there is a new Source of honor which heals and covers their shame. It is experienced through “the gospel of the kingdom” (Luke 4:43, 8:1, 16:16, Acts 8:12; cf: Acts 19:8, 20:25, 28:23, 31). It is located in the King and kingdom of Jesus.

The honor which issues forth from this kingdom is embedded exclusively in Christ. This honor in Jesus creates for believers a visceral experience which conquers shame. It is an honor surplus provided to followers of Jesus the moment they are saved. It is symbolized when believers are baptized, immersed into “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mat 28:19). This honor surplus is a fullness of life which overflows. It is thirst-quenching, thoroughly satisfying (John 7:38). This honor surplus is maintained experientially by being filled with the Holy Spirit, growing in the knowledge of the Word of God, and sharing in the life of Christ’s nurturing body-community (1 Cor 12:21–26), the church.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

One might think that the pursuit of knowing Christ and experiencing his glorious honor is somehow selfish. But this pursuit is the practice which Jesus commanded: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mat 6:33). It was embodied by the life of Apostle Paul (Phil 3:7–11). Paul wrote about this pursuit—this seeking-for-glory-and-honor—to the church at Rome: “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life” (Rom 2:7). This pursuit is, in reality, the very antithesis of selfishness or sinful pride.

It is by their kingdom-infused, Christ-embedded, Spirit-breathed, Word-informed, church-supported honor surplus that believers are set free from sin (Rom 6:7–8, 17–18). True believers love and give sacrificially. When insulted, true believers are free, if necessary, to absorb the shame of others. Believers are ministers of reconciliation. Believers can stop being defensive or violent, because in Jesus Christ they are peacemakers.

On the one hand, believers can, like Jesus, humbly challenge the status quo and speak truth to power. On the other hand, they freely can stoop down and wash one another’s feet, because like Jesus, they have no honor deficit (John 13:14–15).

All of these freedoms are expressions of selflessness. These freedoms reveal the very life of Jesus.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth..

Many believers live in a consumerist society in which things are worshiped, but because of their honor surplus, they are free to avoid or even relinquish things which signify social status. They may possess the latest technology devices, fashionable cars and clothes, stylish houses, or impressive job titles. But while these things may all be considered gifts from God, believers nevertheless consider them optional because believers are content (Phil 4:11). They are content because they are satisfied in knowing and serving their King. Their honor is located in the King and his kingdom, not the kingdom of this world.

Because of their honor surplus in Jesus, they rejoice in suffering—“counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41). They joyously live with an ethical righteousness that rises above depraved cultural values which are insulting to God. Believers know that sin is more than the breaking of a legal code, it is the very dishonoring of Almighty God (Rom 1:21–26, 2:23–24).

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

Believers saturated with the King’s honor gladly serve him. They know it is by the King’s saving blood and cross and resurrection that they are spared condemnation (Rom 8:1), and are adopted (Eph 1:5) into the honorific eternal family of God (1 Pet 2:6–10).

They embrace with all their hearts the honor of extending the blessing of salvation in Christ to “all the families of the earth” (Gen 12:3, Gal 3:29). They can join the King and his family on mission to bless all peoples with his great salvation. This honor thrills them because it gives them so much purpose and joy.

Their experience of Christ’s kingdom and his shame-conquering love brings healing now (Mat 5:3, Rom 5:5). It will be experienced in fullness and perfection for all believers in eternity.

Believers have no honor deficit.
They are children of God, siblings of the King.
They are not ashamed.
They are full and they are free,
on mission with God to bless all the peoples of the earth.

This is the global gospel.

Here’s an update on the progress of my book, The Global Gospel

Bible commentary, Contextualization, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, The Global Gospel

Global Gospel updateSince February 2012, I’ve been working on a major book called, THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World.

It’s a book about honor/shame dynamics in the Bible and what it means for Christians engaged cross-cultural ministry across the street and around the world. In upcoming posts, I’ll be sharing various bits and pieces from the book.

Since our own cities and communities are becoming ever-more diverse, the need for contextualizing the gospel and connecting with people from Majority World cultures is rapidly growing. So the book is not just for cross-cultural workers serving on the other side of the world. It for those of us who want to connect with people from other cultures in our schools and workplaces. Or to make friends and share the gospel of Jesus with the new neighbors from across the world who now live in our own communities.

Here’s an update on the progress of the book

I am done writing the chapters, but we are not done with our own internal editing process. Right now, Mission ONE president Bob Schindler is reading the manuscript. Because of his suggestions we are doing some enhancements and other changes to the text. I hope that this part of the process will be done in May. I’m really grateful for Bob’s careful reading of the manuscript.

We are also currently in the process of getting endorsements from mission leaders, pastors, etc. If you would like to review the manuscript and contribute an endorsement, send me a request by email.

We will ultimately be giving the manuscript to Livingstone, the company which will proof, edit and design the book. I hope this can happen sometime in May. Their work will require at least three months. Then there is our own approval process. I am thinking the book will be available sometime around the end of the year or early 2015.

We are getting forewords written by two outstanding Christian mission leaders. One of the already-completed forewords is by Steven Hawthorne, editor of Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. I am grateful for Steve’s most encouraging words.

Here’s a list of features from The Global Gospel:
  • Explains why Christians from every theological tradition, including Western ones, have theological blind spots.
  • Thoroughly explains why honor and shame is the pivotal cultural value of the Bible.
  • Organizes nine dynamics of honor/shame in the Bible into a cohesive whole using graphic icons.
  • Uses more than 84 visual aids (diagrams, charts, and graphs) to make concepts more easily understood—to serve Christian leaders, pastors, cross-cultural workers, and lay persons.
  • Thoroughly explains why understanding honor and shame is a strategic issue for world evangelization—across the street and around the world.
  • Explores in variety of ways the importance of honor/shame dynamics in the gospel—and what this could mean for reaching unengaged and unreached peoples.
  • Presents honor-status reversal as a motif of Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation.
  • Shows how the Bible’s various dynamics of honor and shame are contained in a multitude of Scripture passages about salvation and the atonement of Christ.
  • Reveals ten Scripturally-rooted ways to freshly articulate the gospel of Christ—in ways that may better resonate with Majority World peoples.
  • Explains the pathological dark side of honor/shame, but also reveals the Bible’s amazing (and surprising) bright side of honor/shame.
  • Presents five levels of awareness of honor/shame dynamics and what this means for cross-cultural ministry.
  • Demonstrates how honor/shame dynamics are key to understanding the meaning of the kingdom of God.
  • Reveals from Scripture how the legal framework for the gospel can be balanced by a regal framework.
  • Explains from Scripture how God actually shares his honor and glory with persons and people groups—fresh thinking about our motive and purpose for missions.
  • Offers a rationale to train cross-cultural workers in the Bible’s honor/shame dynamics and reinforces Scripture as the beginning point of the contextualization process.
  • Demonstrates the value of using an “honor factor” in developing mission strategy—with three recommendations related to cross-cultural collaboration and ministry to unreached and unengaged peoples.

Our publishing advisor is Dan Wright Publisher Services, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Dan has been providing expert guidance on this project “since day one,” for which I am very grateful.

If you would like to see the latest manuscript, please send me an email, and I will send you the latest PDF.

Available for preview—THE GLOBAL GOSPEL: Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World

Bible commentary, Bible study, Contextualization, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, Training

I’ve been working since February on a book concerning honor and shame in cross-cultural ministry. The unfinished book is now going out for initial reviews. Three sections are done; one section to go. The fourth section will address a wide range of practical implications for cross-cultural ministry. My goal is that it will be completed some time in the first quarter of 2014.

If you decide to preview the manuscript, please keep a few things in mind. First of all, the manuscript is not without errors. I’m sure you’ll discover some typos. That’s okay. I am not looking for corrections of errors in spelling or grammar, but feel free to share them if you want to. We have a company waiting in the wings which does professional editing and proofing. They will do that later.

I am seeking your insights and asking if the book is useful and helpful. I hope you will have a lot of “ah-ha” moments. If you do, I’d like to hear about that.

I would also like to hear if you disagree with something. Maybe you’ll see a point I am making that does not jive with your perspective or maybe it just seems unclear or inappropriate somehow. I would definitely like to hear about that.

Here is what I believe you’ll gain from this book:

  • Why shame is such a pathology in our world, and why the church is largely unprepared to deal with it.
  • The many ways that God’s Word reveals that our shame is covered and our honor restored through Jesus Christ.
  • How the honor/shame dynamics in Scripture can be a vital key for ministry among unreached and unengaged peoples.
  • One basic reason why people from Western and Eastern cultures are so different.
  • More than 70 diagrams, charts and graphics to make complex things easier to see and understand.
  • Why guilt is more likely to lead to healing behavior, whereas shame is more likely to lead to hurtful behavior.
  • Why so much violence in some honor/shame cultures?
  • Theological blind spots—where they come from, and what I believe is the most serious one.
  • Why, if you’re a Westerner, the Bible is not your book!—culturally speaking.
  • References and citations to more than 70 scholars—many of them PhDs.

  • Nine basic dynamics of honor and shame that are present in honor/shame societies and in the Bible—to help you makes sense of what the Bible says.

  • One major motif of Scripture (related to honor/shame) which ties together the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
  • How a “conversation within Scripture” can stimulate fresh ways of thinking about the gospel of Jesus.
  • What is the “gospel of the kingdom?”
  • Innovative ways rooted in Scripture to articulate the gospel of Jesus Christ—using the “thought forms” of honor and shame.

Friends, my word count on this book right now is about 106,00. That will make this about a 300-page book, so far. So it’s not exactly light reading. But I think you will find it well worth your while.

Download here—
THE GLOBAL GOSPEL:
Achieving Missional Impact
in Our Multicultural World

What does it mean to contextualize the gospel?

Contextualization, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame

What does it mean to contextualize the gospel?

The great missionary-theologian Lesslie Newbigin asked, “How can the gospel ‘come alive’ in all these different cultural contexts, and still be the same authentic gospel? That is the problem of contextualization.” [1]

Saving God's FaceBelow is a presentation I’ve created concerning how to contextualize the gospel. I was inspired in part by a new book by Jackson Wu: Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame.[2] (Amazing scholarship and hard to read. Highly recommended.) This presentation explores issues such as:

  • What does it mean to “assume the gospel”?
  • Can biblical truth overlap with a cultural context, even though it does not fit into one’s theology?
  • Where do theological blind spots come from?
  • Why is honor and shame hardly recognized as a valid theological subject?
  • Traditional view of contextualization compared to an expanded view of contextualization
  • Introducing a “Canopy of Biblical Truth”—alerting us to various spectrums of biblical-cultural values
  • How does Campus Crusade’s “The Four Spiritual Laws” compare culturally to “The Father’s Love Gospel Booklet”—a gospel presentation focusing on story, family, and honor/shame?
  • How does culture influence our understanding and communication of the gospel?
  • What are some considerations about contextualizing the gospel?
  • How does this form a foundation for something called an “Abrahamic gospel”, based on Galatians 3:7–9?

I am working on a book concerning honor and shame in cross-cultural ministry; portions of this presentation will be incorporated into that book.

1. Lesslie Newbigin, 
The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans/WCC, 1989), 142.
2. Jackson Wu: Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame (EMS Dissertation Series, William Carey International University Press: Pasadena, 2013)

Spanish version of The Father’s Love Gospel Booklet now available

Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame, Ministry tools and resources, , , ,

p1

 “Amor Del Padre” — the Spanish edition of The Father’s Love Gospel Booklet is now available. You can explore the pages of this resource at the Spanish page on the website for The Father’s Love Gospel Booklet. You may also click here to purchase.
Debi Clifton
I want to recognize Debi Clifton, Director of Global Outreach at Grace Community Church in Tempe, Arizona … Debi was responsible for the fine Spanish translation of The Father’s Love Gospel Booklet. I am grateful for her vital role in this project.
Debi has been a great encouragement to me in my journey of learning and sharing about the pivotal cultural value of honor and shame. Thank you, Debi!
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What does baptism have to do with honor and shame? Part 3

Bible study, Gospel of Jesus, Honor and shame,

Baptism image

In two prior blog posts (Part 1 and Part 2), I wrote about the connection between baptism and the dynamics of honor and shame. I made the following summaries:

From Part 1: The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13–17) signified the inauguration of Christ’s ministry; it is an example of the motif of honor-status reversal in God’s Word. The occasion of Jesus’ baptism is punctuated by a voice from heaven—the Father gives immense honor and affection to the Son—and it immediately precedes Christ’s entering the desert to be tempted by the devil. This is an example to Christians: When we experience honor and worthiness accompanied by affection from God, it produces in us something called “shame resilience”—empowering us to fight temptation, to resist the shaming techniques of our communities, and to maintain our integrity and honor before God.

The key idea from Part 1: Baptism is a dynamic of honor-status reversal.

From Part 2: The Great Commission passage of Matthew 28:18–20 gives us the requirement of baptism for all new disciples of Jesus Christ. The meaning of baptism is “immersion that produces a permanent change”. This permanent change for followers of Christ is largely the result of being baptized into the honor of “the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” For Christians in societies whose pivotal cultural value is honor and shame, this offers wonderful benefits—a King who offers them a new source of eternal honor (His own), the development of shame-resilience, and a community with whom to walk in a most honorable journey.

The key idea from Part 2: Baptism is “immersion that produces a permanent change”.

In this post, I want to explore a third key passage about the meaning of baptism for Christians. This is a reflection on the first four verses of Romans 6.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  (Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

So let’s observe what Romans 6:1–4 says about the first key idea:
Baptism is a dynamic of honor-status reversal.

1) Descending with Christ into shame. To be “baptized into Christ Jesus” means being “baptized into his death”. To identify with Christ means to identify with his death by crucifixion, a death literally full of shame. That is why, when going down to be immersed in the water, a believer signifies his identification with the shame of Christ’s death. The downward movement into water showcases the believer’s humble descent with Christ. The Christian identifies with the shame of Christ’s death and burial. “We were buried with him by baptism into death…”

Reversal.sm2) Rising with Christ into honor. In Christ, death and burial are not ultimate, but rather, the means, the momentum—unto a glorious rise. Note that it says, “…baptism into death, in order that…”.  The whole point of Christ entering that humbling descent of death was to be “raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.” Christ experienced the ultimate honor-status reversal (Philippians 2:8–11). What a story! What a drama! Likewise, believers are baptized into Christ—His death, burial and resurrection—so they too “might walk in newness of life.” As believers enter into Christ’s life and story, it is no less a great and magnificent drama! There is clear parallel between the honor-status reversal of Jesus Christ, and the honor-status reversal of those who claim Him as Lord and Savior.

Now let’s observe what Romans 6:1–4 says about the second key idea:
Baptism is “immersion that produces a permanent change”.

To explore this second key idea, we must ask: To what does this “newness of life” refer?

What we observe both from the text in Romans 6, as well as from other New Testament passages, is this: As Christ experienced honor-status reversal and was raised from shame unto a multifaceted exalted honor (Philippians 2:9-11), so also followers of Jesus Christ experience an honor-status reversal (see also Ephesians 2:5–6) which the Bible describes in multiple ways. The honor possessed by believers, referred to as “newness of life”, represents an incredibly brilliant, multifaceted diamond. Here are just a few of those facets:

  • The honor of freedom from sin (Romans 6:6, Romans 6:18)—a freedom far superior to that of being a free citizen of the Roman Empire.
  • The honor of living before the face of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings—with an “unveiled face”, that is, without shame (2 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 3:18).
  • The honor of being adopted into a royal family (1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 1:5).
  • The honor of being ambassadors for Christ to share with others the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20).
  • The honor of kingdom power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) by which believers witness for Jesus Christ, and extend His blessing to other peoples to the very ends of the earth.
  • The honor of possessing eternal life as an heir of the family of God (Romans 6:22, Ephesians 1:13–14)
What is baptism? Baptism is a dynamic about one’s core identity being embedded in Christ’s Person and drama. Baptism is at once the act of embracing—while being embraced by—the drama of Christ’s life and death and resurrection. It is the dynamic of honor-status reversal—an immersion that produces a permanent change.
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