{"id":2722,"date":"2013-07-11T08:17:43","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T00:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/?p=2722"},"modified":"2021-06-15T06:55:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T22:55:58","slug":"we-cheat-students-when-we-confuse-grace-and-wrath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/2013\/07\/11\/we-cheat-students-when-we-confuse-grace-and-wrath\/","title":{"rendered":"We cheat students when we confuse grace and wrath"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In the last post<\/a>, I listed a few initial ideas to help address the problem of academic cheating among Chinese Christians. Here are a few more suggestions.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t confuse grace and wrath <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

When I have argued for consistent enforcement in the past, I have heard colleagues cry out, \u201cYou have to give them grace!!\u201d My question is simply this: When did discipline and accountability cease being considered grace? Doesn\u2019t Hebrews 12 tell us that God\u2019s disciplines those he loves as sons? Isn\u2019t it for the sake of building us up?<\/p>\n

By \u201cgrace,\u201d I fear some people practically mean blind tolerance. If standards are not enforced, then is there any practical difference? In Romans 1, Paul does not call this grace. Instead, he calls it God\u2019s wrath<\/em> (cf. Rom 1:18\u201332). God gave them up<\/em> to debased thinking and actions.<\/p>\n

\"1024px-Cheating\"<\/a>Have Higher Expectations<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t patronize the Chinese church\u2013\u2013or anyone else. I sometimes hear students complain about the amount of work required for accredited seminary education. They don\u2019t have to do that much work in typical non-accredited training centers. I then give them my speech that I will not belittle Chinese Christians as if they can\u2019t handle the same standards as the rest of the world. How then will the Chinese church lead the world in reaching the world? How will China produce great biblical thinkers and strategists?<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t come by having low expectations and even lower standards of accountability.<\/p>\n

Focus on God\u2019s Honor than Human Face<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we should do it to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). It\u2019s not primarily about our churches, the number of new churches we see, or a degree. We need to raise the bar when it comes to motives. We should be concerned with God\u2019s<\/em> reputation.<\/p>\n

Do our actions, policies, strategies, and teachings actually reflect this?<\/p>\n

Understand How Face Works <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cFace\u201d is more than a mere synonym for pride. I\u2019m concerned too many foreigners trivialize this concept. As a result, they don\u2019t go deeper to understand the underlying web of motives and perceptions. Therefore, we also miss the chance of speaking the gospel in a way that makes sense to an Eastern thinker. This was a big reason I wrote Saving God\u2019s Face<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Take Out the Systemic Splinters from Our Eyes<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

How will anyone take cheating seriously when people brush off similar offenses in other areas of life? For example, how many Christians are contributing to the problem by buying pirated movies and music?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard some pitiful justifications, like \u201cWell, they don\u2019t really enforce the law\u201d, \u201cHow else can I get movies?\u201d and \u201cBut it\u2019s so much more expensive in iTunes!\u201d You would think we were talking about food as if entertainment were essential for survival.<\/p>\n

I could write a few blogs on this one. I\u2019ll just leave it at that for now.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: CC 2.0\/commons.wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n

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