Redeemer Reformed Church of Oklahoma City

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he [Thomas] said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” –John 20:24, 25

G.K. Chesterton has a quote in his 1906 essay Skepticism and Spiritualism, which speaks to this situation:

I do not mind spiritualism, in so far as it is fierce. In that it seems to me to be akin to sex, to song, to the great epics, to all that has made humanity heroic. I do not object to spiritualism in so far as it is spiritualistic. I do object to it in so far as it is scientific. Conviction and curiosity are both very good things. But they ought to have two different houses. There have been many frantic and blasphemous beliefs in this old barbaric earth of ours; men have served their deities with obscene dances, with cannibalism, and the blood of infants. But no religion was quite so blasphemous as to pretend that it was scientifically investigating its god to see what he was made of.
Skepticism, spiritualism, and scientism all collide each Easter when we, like Thomas, are faced with the truth-claim of a ton of people that Jesus died bodily and was raised from the dead, bodily in real time and real space. Scientism scoffs, skepticism puffs up, and spiritualism keeps seeking but never finding.

Chesterton’s quote above is great because he succinctly exposes the deception of each approach. Spiritualism that is fierce is no longer spiritualism: it is worship. Spiritualism that is spiritualistic is not for seekers, but for those who have found, which is not what “spiritual” people usually mean.

Perhaps Thomas is afraid to hope, or maybe he’s afraid to put all his eggs in the Jesus basket. Whatever the reason, no amount of inquiry or seeking leads him to the truth. That comes from Jesus:

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” –John 20:26-28

The gospel is not that we scientifically investigated our god to see what he was made of, liked him, and began worshipping him. The gospel is not that our spiritual search led us to worship him. The gospel is that the risen Jesus walked through the walls of our life, came right in, and crushed our skepticism. It is not that we called upon or loved him first. It is that he called us to believe and we gave the only answer possible to his effectual call: “My Lord and my God!”

And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.

The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Up from the Grave He Arose
Crown Him with Many Crowns

This Saturday (April 3) is the Monthly Men’s Prayer Breakfast at 8:30.  All men are welcome. Click here to get more info.

Sunday school for children (in Genesis) and adults (in Galatians) is up and running! Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15. 

Visitors are always welcome!