{"id":31030,"date":"2022-09-10T15:14:04","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-biblical-theology-unlocks-both-grace-and-truth-in-hard-conversations\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:14:04","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:14:04","slug":"how-biblical-theology-unlocks-both-grace-and-truth-in-hard-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-biblical-theology-unlocks-both-grace-and-truth-in-hard-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"How Biblical Theology Unlocks Both Grace and Truth in Hard Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"
iMattSmart photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Sam Allberry<\/p>\n

I can still remember the first DVD I ever owned: 1999\u2019s The Matrix<\/em>. Not only was it wonderful to see all the groundbreaking effects and stunts in amazing new clarity; I also got to enjoy the whole new concept of bonus features. These became a huge selling point.<\/p>\n

Bonus features are great for nerdy types like me. In those included on The Matrix <\/em>DVD, the directors talked through various creative choices. So that\u2019s why it looked so cool. <\/em>The set-piece effects wizardry was all explained. So that\u2019s how they did that. <\/em>Basically, all the behind-the-scenes beans were spilled.<\/p>\n

Some people hate all this, of course. They\u2019d rather just see the movie and leave the magic unexplained. But it gives me more appreciation for the movie rather than less. Even a bad movie is somewhat improved by hearing those behind it talk through what they were at least trying to accomplish.<\/p>\n

What bewilders us in nature is explained to us in Scripture. \u2014 @SamAllberry Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

The Bible gives us unique insight into the brokenness of creation, including our bodies. Paul has shown us that the world has been subjected to futility by God himself, such that it does not work properly. What bewilders us in nature is explained to us in Scripture. So we, of all people, should understand and appreciate the extent to which this world is fallen. God has given us a unique backstage pass into why this has happened and what it means. We should be able to make sense of it in a way that no one else can. It\u2019s like we\u2019ve been given exclusive access to all the best DVD extra features: explaining what is really going on, showing us behind the scenes, and, above all, giving us the words of the Creator himself to help us understand why things are the way they are.<\/p>\n

This insight should, at the very least, make us unusually compassionate. When we see people going through the throes of bodily brokenness\u2014perhaps some chronic illness, or the recurrent pain of body shame, or having to pick their way through the wreckage of some sexual sin\u2014we have no reason to stand aloof, as if these things are beneath us, or somehow make those people less worthy than us. When someone is going through something we\u2019ve never had to face personally, it is all too easy to adopt a mindset of \u201cpull yourself together,\u201d even if we would never actually say those words. Yes, where sin has taken place, there is personal responsibility and culpability, but this does not justify a cold attitude or a lack of sympathy as the sinner wrestles with the aftermath.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Yes, where sin has taken place, there is personal responsibility and culpability, but this does not justify a cold attitude or a lack of sympathy as the sinner wrestles with the aftermath. \u2014 @SamAllberry Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

It was a few years ago that I first met someone who experiences gender dysphoria. A mutual friend introduced us, and this individual\u2014I\u2019ll call him Max\u2014was kind enough to spend an afternoon talking me through his story. I\u2019ve struggled with all sorts of sins and temptations, but I\u2019ve never experienced gender dysphoria. I\u2019ve never not felt male or desired to be female. There are plenty of other ways my desires and wants have been twisted by sin, but this has not been one of them.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
See also  The Power of the Ordinary Moments<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

There were two ways I felt I needed to relate to this new friend. The first was to make clear that I had never gone through what he was experiencing. I couldn\u2019t come close to saying, \u201cI know just how you feel.\u201d I didn\u2019t. Max was articulate and honest enough to help me understand what he was dealing with far more than I\u2019d been able to beforehand. But there was no obvious and neat correspondence between his trial and any I had faced. His experience was quite different from mine.<\/p>\n

Romans 8 puts us in the same boat\u2014we\u2019re all making our way as fallen people through life in a fallen creation. \u2014 @SamAllberry Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

At the same time, though I couldn\u2019t claim to know his experience, I could show him that we are all in this together. Romans 8 puts us in the same boat\u2014we\u2019re all making our way as fallen people through life in a fallen creation. However alien his experience might seem to me, we are definitely part of the same tragically broken species. At that more fundamental level, I could identify with him.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Related: U.S. Protestant Pastors See Gender Change as Immoral<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n