The Common View

Whenever we start roaming inside the story of Pentecost, it almost inevitable that we end up thinking about the church of our own day.  Questions start rising from a deep place within us.  Could what happened then happen now?  Is it possible for the church to be renewed in such a powerful way?  Is there anything we could do which would enable the Holy Spirit to once again act in such a transforming way?  Does the church really have any hope of a future apart from some kind of divine intervention by the Holy Spirit?   

The second chapter of Acts does not invite us to a quick casual reading, but to a moment of spiritual pondering which touches the core of our soul.  One of the obvious things about this moment of spiritual empowerment is the seriousness with which the disciples regarded Jesus.  They were witnesses to His life, to His death, to His resurrection, and to His disappearance in the clouds above them.  His teaching and preaching had taken root in their lives in such a way that it became the center of every thing considered and done.  Jesus was not a friend or buddy, He was not a teacher or prophet, but He was Son of God and Savior.  Nothing made sense without Him.    

The common view of Jesus in our day is much less than it was in that day.  His teachings can be manipulated and interpreted to give credibility to our personal viewpoint.  More stock is placed in His teachings than His sacrificial death on the cross.  In many ways the cross has become unnecessary to today's trendy theology and the church which preaches it.  To expect renewal in the church established through that sacrifice when it is not regarded as something which has inherent saving power is not something which makes any sense to expect.