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I ‘ve been thinking quite a lot about a key event in history recently. An event of such proportions that had it happened slightly differently, the modern world would be a vastly different place.

What got me going down this train of thought was a chance viewing of the BBC’s ‘Luther’ drama-documentary, concerning the life and times of Martin Luther, the man who stood up against the world. It was a fairly balanced documentary in some ways, and somehow managed to capture something of the spirit of the age in which Luther lived.

 Now if you’ve turned up on this page looking for the civil rights campagner, sorry. You’ve got the wrong guy, but keep reading, because the bravery of this Martin was possibly even greater than that of the political activist.

Anyway, to continue, one particular flash of brilliance which caught my eye in this man’s life, was that great showdown at the Diet of Worms, so often portrayed as the flashpoint of the reformation. (incidentally, for those MLK fans who are still perservering here, a Diet was a political council of rulers and dignitaries, and Worms is a place. this is not some obscure, New Age weight loss plan.)

One cannot quite imagine what was going through Luther’s mind as he determined whether to respond to Charles V’s demand that he attend.  A comparison with the Garden of Gethsemane would be inaccurate, as the two are beyond comparing, however the weight of responsibility which Luther bore, must have felt similar to him. To live or to die, was surely his dilemma. To stand up to kings, princes, authorities, an Emporer, a Pope, or to live a quiet life, were his only options. To speak the truth of the Word of God, or to ignore the Word of God, were perhaps the only two avenues he could see.

The most important and far reaching decision which Luther made, was not to say ‘I will not recant’, but that initial decision to attend the Diet. He knew what awaited him, he knew the church’s demand that he recant many of his writings, he was all to aware of the powers that would be at this Diet, some cruel, some fair. Yet still, against the advice of his friends, Luther set off on that long journey across Germany, knowing in his heart that he would not recant, that he would rather please God than man.

Here I stand, I can do no other. Those famous words attributed to Luther, were surely cast in stone long before the Diet. But what a stand to make, here I stand, on the truth and seeking the will of God. Here I stand, resisting the temptation of an easy life. Here I stand,  my life is not my own, it belongs to Jesus Christ, I can do no other.

As our church has been working its way through Mark’s gospel, I recently preached on chapter 8, the hugely significant passage where Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, immediately followed by Jesus’ revelation that his earthly destiny lies at the cross.

Something that is startling about this passage is the way that the disciples’ entire worldview is smashed into a million pieces in the course of one sentence. As the hope and glory of their Lord being exalted as King over all unbelievers, kings and foreigners begins to drift to the shame of their Lord being exalted as mock-king upon a cross, all they can do is clutch at straw. Indeed doesn’t Peter’s vain cry of rebuke against Jesus reveal his attempts to grasp this desired future, as the sand simply slips out of his clutches?

What really strikes me about this passage is not the way the perceived fortunes of those 12 men are shattered, nor even the way in which the disciples rail against the Lord’s words. Rather, what is most dramatic is the manner in which Jesus is emphatically declaring, ‘this is my destiny on earth, and if you follow me, then it’s yours too’. Surely we all understand that being a Christian was never going to be easy, but Jesus is here calling those disciples and crowds to a kind of pride-less and self-less obedience to God will.

Doubtless we would all agree that Christianity is not merely about everlasting glory, as the disciples had imagine, but is there not something in us that would clutch at it, thus rebuking Jesus’ call to selflessness and obedience. Matthew’s account of this passage reveals that “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed”. If he must go to Jerusalem, then so must they, if they were truly following Jesus, then they were in possession of a shared destiny. Of course, not all of the disciples would suffer a cruel death as did the Lord, none would have to endure the anger of God and the pain of undeserved retribution. But each of those men, with the exception of Judas, would follow Jesus’ path to Jerusalem, and that would be a path they walked for their whole lives; the path to the heavenly Jerusalem, not looking to pride, possessions or glory, but simply to the one that walked that path before them.

If we follow him, then we share a destiny with Jesus; a walk to Jerusalem; a mocking crowd; a cross to carry. If we follow the Lord then there is no other option, no lighter path, no easier road. He calls us to come after him and surely coming after him is at the heart of Christ-likeness.

Now before you begin to argue that the greatest problem of this world is clearly sin, violence, war, disease or famine, let me assure you that what I wish to say is that Scientology typifies the problem of this world. Scientology typifies objections to biblical Christianity, moreso, it typifies the movements that have fought against the powerful message of God’s forgiveness for a guilty world; Christ’s redemption through his blood.

If you saw the exploding tomato incident with John Sweeney and laughed as hard as I did, you may be thinking ‘sure, they’re a little creepy, sinister even. But this is taking it a bit far’. Have a look at these three prime beliefs of the Scientologists and you’ll see some things for the church to be avoiding, ideas that have been working against Jesus Christ and his church for many years:

1. Man can overcome his problems; reach his potential; find his own happiness.

Clearly the heart of Christianity, the heart of Christ’s teaching is that man is totally helpless. He may overcome some problems, he may achieve much, he may even find great happiness, but he will never achieve perfect results. Jesus taught that it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean, so even his best efforts will be tainted by greed, selfishness, pride and any number of other problems.

The big lie of this world is progress. Humankind can overcome all of its problems and constantly rise to new levels. That lie has arguably been going for several hundred years and has got us no-where. It has been the lie of secularism and of all world religions to an extent, and it has even featured in Christianity across the years; Pelagianism, some Arminianism, and is even creeping into modern evangelicalism. Because of what lies inside of him man is helpless in the face of his problems. He is particularly helpless when it comes to his spiritual problems; a dead man cannot wake himself up, yet this dangerous idea that man is ‘basically good’ would give him hope that he can wake himself up from his spiritual deadness.

As for scientology promising self-made happiness, Jesus promised a fullness of joy from himself. We’re designed to trust in God and enjoy him, even the greatest pleasures of this world will never measure up to that

2. Faith is irrelevant, knowledge can be discovered.

In Scientology there is no need for faith; what is true or false can simply be determined by a person’s experience, and he believes what he wants. The implication is that this person becomes judge of truth and if the ‘truth’ doesn’t fit in with his experience and understanding, he rejects it. Clearly discernment is good and blind acceptance is bad, but surely there are some things that we will reject based upon our character, background and belief, rather than it’s integrity as truth.

This is dangerous trend within Christianity #2; man is judge over all knowledge of God, he constructs his own understanding of God and if he dislikes it, he removes it. Conversely, you’ll remember Paul writing that it is God who has made known to us the mystery of his will. God is the revealer of eternal truth, God is the one who reveals himself, God is the one who reveals man’s place in all of creation. It is up to man to judge whether something is from God or not, but if by God’s grace he is convinced that it is then all he has left to do is trust it. There are those who would say that the Bible contains some of God’s truth but human reason can do the rest. However if Paul was right then there can be no knowledge of or about God, without the Spirit of God enlightening the heart of a Christian, and speaking through God’s Word.

3. Spiritual release and freedom is achievable.

Mankind have never had the ability to free themselves from their spiritual captivity, spiritual freedom has never, in all the history of this world, been something that man has been able to obtain. He cannot overcome the problem of sin, he cannot find complete happiness, he cannot discover God for himself. Surely the great truth of the Bible is that man is controlled by his sinful nature, he cannot do what he may long to do, yet God brings freedom where there is none. Surely the great message for today’s church is that the freedom this world needs is found purely in the cross. Freedom is achievable, but only by God!

So these are the three prime beliefs of the Scientologists according to their website. I do not blame them for these ideas, they are rife through society and even through the church. Yet doesn’t it all remind you that we live in a world which desperately needs the grace of God. These ideas concerning man’s independence and ability are possibly the greatest enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ when they begin to seep into our evangelism, ministry and general thinking. Man can do nothing of himself, but God can do everything.

It may seem suprising, but there is meaning behind this seemingly odd title. There is a profound link between truth and melons.

In the last blog, John mentioned the Truth of God reaching his mind and the heart, something deeper than merely knowing or understanding. That’s what the melon is all about; truth that isn’t merely cerebral, belief that is based in the heart, ideas that are more than abstract theories but are grasped with faith and in real hope.

Confused?

The second century church leader, Irenaeus, had a bit of a problem with people who loved ideas. People who were crazy about leaping from one exciting and gargantuan theory to the next, consistency and integrity were nothing, all that mattered was philosophy and intellectualism: people whose minds were buzzing but whose hearts were silent. What was his response? Well, naturally he made up a story about melons, gourds and cucumbers!

There exists a power which I term a Gourd; and along with this Gourd there exists a power which again I term Utter-Emptiness. This Gourd and Emptiness, since they are one, produced (and yet did not simply produce, so as to be apart from themselves) a fruit, everywhere visible, eatable, and delicious, which fruit-language calls a Cucumber. Along with this Cucumber exists a power of the same essence, which again I call a Melon. These powers, the Gourd, Utter-Emptiness, the Cucumber, and the Melon, brought forth the remaining multitude of the delirious melons of Valentinus.

This was his attempt, brimming with irony, to show that to live by changeable ideas and theories is entirely subjective. His point was that truth that is made up is not truth, any meaningful truth that can be gained about God, must come from God!

We live in a world that loves to speculate, it loves the unknowable and the mysterious. Irenaeus’ melon set out to show that speculation is pointless, God can neither be known by mysterious speculation nor by scientific research. The melon was an attempt to reveal some eternal truth about God and his self revelation, in a relevant and comprehensible way.

There is an important lesson to learn here. The truth about God was never meant to find its resting place in our minds, it was never meant to stop there. Christians, students, Sunday school teachers, parents, lecturers, pastors…the truth is intended for the heart not merely the mind! If it is left in the mind alone then it will become at best forgotten, and at worst, theorised, rationalised and critiqued.

The truth God has revealed about himself in the Bible, is an eternal, glorious and powerful thing. How are we getting this across in a way that does not solely encourage its dissection in the mind? How are we encouraging others to grasp this truth in their hearts? And how are we putting it across so that it can be understood? I guess it comes down to that old chestnut again – eternal truth for a contemporary world; the progressive practice of the one unchanging truth.

So where do melons fit into your way of thinking? What are you doing to make the revealed truth of God known in a way that goes beyond intellectualism? Clearly I am not against rational thought, discussion and theorising, but surely our greatest need in relation to God’s truth, is to embrace it, grasp it firmly by faith and live by it in our hearts.