Watch out for those who cause divisions
When writing to Christians in Rome, Paul concluded by sending his greetings to several groups meeting throughout the city (Romans 16). Then, he sends this warning:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:17-18 ESV)
I think that many Christians today live by this warning, as long as they can define what Paul meant by “doctrine that you have been taught.”
In fact, many people come up with different levels of doctrine and use those levels to determine levels of fellowship. I don’t think this is what Paul had in mind here at all.
I guess my question is this: Given the importance of unity throughout Scripture and without naming particular doctrines (teachings), how do we decide which teachings to divide over?
A Simple Message
While teaching 1 Corinthians in Ethiopia, I noticed that Paul said that the gospel was both foolishness and a stumbling block to those who do not believe. However, he also said that he refused to present the gospel with “eloquent speech.” (1 Corinthians 2:1)
Instead, Paul presented the simple message of the gospel. He knew that those who believed would believe because of the power of the Spirit, not because of his delivery. (1 Corinthians 2:3-5)
He knew that when we presented the simple message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, some would think it foolishness and some would find it an obstacle. But, others, those who benefited from the work of the Holy Spirit (not Paul’s rhetoric) would believe and be saved.
(Note, Paul did present his arguments with eloquence to believers in order to exhort them toward faithfulness and obedience AFTER they believed… see 1 Corinthians 2:6.)
So, Paul trusted the Spirit to work through the simple message of the gospel. Is that still enough today?
Person of Peace
Felicity Dale (from “Simply Church“) has been writing a series of posts on Luke 10. Her latest post is called “How do you recognize a person of peace?”
She says:
A person of peace offers you hospitality. What does that look like in today’s society? You may not get invited into a home (although in my experience, that is not uncommon). Let’s say you have just started a new job, and after you’ve been there a few days, the lady in the office who everyone seems to revolve around says to you, “Some of us from the office go out for drinks on Fridays after work. Â Would you like to join us?” Â What has she done? She has offered you hospitality. Â She’s opening up her circle of friends to you.
Lately, our church has been talking about missional discipleship – although we don’t necessarily call it that. What is “missional discipleship”? It is going outside the walls and boundaries of the “church” not only to evangelism but even more to make disciples. It means meeting people where they are in their own environment and help them grow in maturity in Christ and then help them disciple their friends and neighbors and co-workers, etc.
Thus, the idea of finding a “person of peace” becomes very important. What do you think of Felicity’s description?
Saying Goodbye
There is a difficulty in building community: saying goodbye. This week, we say goodbye to several very good friends. All of them have had a tremendous impact on our family, from me and my wife to our two children.
Whenever we share our life with other people, it become extremely difficult to say goodbye.
With superficial relationships, it is much easier to say goodbye.
In our context (with a seminary close by) saying goodbye comes more often than we would like. That makes it tempting to stop building close relationships. Of course, then, we would miss so much that God is doing in our lives through so many different people.
So, when necessary – when God moves people away from here – we must say goodbye… for now. We stay in touch as much as possible. And, we miss one another. We know we will see one another again, and we hope that it’s soon.
But, that doesn’t make the pain go away… or make saying goodbye any easier.
I Want to be a Broken Record
I’m guessing that some of my readers don’t know what a record is. A record is a vinyl disk used to play music before the invention of cassettes and CDs. When the record was scratched, the needle on the record player would skip. When it skipped backwards, the player would repeat the same thing over and over again, until someone stopped it.
I want to be a broken record.
You see, there are alot of important things in this work and in my life as a follower of Jesus Christ. But, if it is most important to make disciples and be discipled, then I want to be a broken record asking people, “Are you making disciples? Are you being discipled?”
If the person cannot answer, “Yes,” to these questions and if they cannot point out specific people who are discipling them and who they are discipling, then there’s something wrong. So, I will encourage them to build discipling relationships. And, the next time I see them, I will ask, “Are you making disciples? Are you being discipled?”
I think, eventually, the people who know me will understand how important I think discipleship is. Or… they’ll get tired of hanging around me.
Thinking About Culture – Ethiopia Report 3
While thinking about our recent trip to Ethiopia, I have to write a post about culture. But, hopefully, this post will help you understand more than the food and living conditions. Instead, I hope it helps you think about your own culture better.
You see, there are good things and bad things about any human culture. There are good aspects of American culture and there are bad aspects of American culture. This is true of Ethiopian culture as well.
I learned alot from the Ethiopians and their culture. I learned about service. I learned about hospitality. I learned about being content working within the roles of your society. I learned about the importance of greetings and welcoming people.
While we were in Ethiopia (Alaba, especially), we were served as if we were kings. While this was often disconcerting, it was also necessary to give them opportunities to serve. We also looked for opportunities to serve them, but we had to allow them to serve us as well. This service often took the form of hospitality, with various people offering us food, coffee, or a place to sleep.
(By the way, Ethiopian food is outstanding! We enjoyed (almost) everything that we ate and drank. One warning… watch out for the long green peppers, especially if they still have the seeds in them. Oh, and the buna (coffee) with salt and butter takes some getting used to.)
I’m glad that most of the songs that we heard were original Ethiopian tunes, and not American tunes with Amharic words. We even met a guy who wrote and recorded music for the church. Of course, this also meant that we didn’t understand the songs that the people were singing. But, I was glad that the Alaba church was creating their own music.
Greetings are very important to the people of Ethiopia. When someone comes into a room, he or she will greet every person that is already there. Often, the people who are in the room will shift seating positions to give the newcomer a place to sit. This creates a very welcoming and accepting atmosphere.
Men and women have specific roles in Ethiopian culture. And, they are content with their roles. Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that they accept their roles begrudgingly. I’m saying that they find contentment and joy in working within those roles. The woman who prepared our meals for a week was one of the most joyful people that I saw while in Ethiopia. Work was not a burden, but a blessing.
However, culturally, the people do not confront one another. If there is a problem, they will tend to ignore the problem, even in relationships. Thus, we heard (though did not witness) about sin that was not confronted. This was sin that was obvious to the people involved, and affected the life and ministry of the church involved. (It was not in our area of Ethiopia.)
So, in all cultures, including Ethiopian culture, there are good things and there are bad things. In any culture, the church must learn to operate within the culture, but not to allow the culture to dictate a way of life for believers. Unfortunately, I think the American church lives more according to “the American way” than to the wisdom of God.
I hope this trip to Ethiopia helps me to think about my own culture, and how I live within this culture but do not conform to this culture. I am a citizen of the kingdom of God and must live as his child.
In the video below, you’ll see (kinda) many of the people who gathered on our last night in Alaba. There was a big party and feast. Unfortunately, part of the video is very dark. There was only one light bulb for the whole room. They seem to like things darker than we do.
Get together / party on our last night in Alaba, Ethiopia from Alan Knox on Vimeo.
Anabaptists on the Reformation Preacher
After publishing “Things I Didn’t Learn in Baptist History Class,” I became even more interested in the source of the quote on that post. It turns out that the quote is from a Swiss Anabaptist pamphlet from 1532-1538, very early in the Reformation. You can find it in the article “Answer of Some Who Are Called (Ana-)Baptists – Why They Do Not Attend the Churches†by Shem Peachey and Paul Peachey. (Mennonite Quarterly Review 45 (Jan 1971), 5-32)
As I was reading through this pamphlet (which we only have because it was copied by one of their detractors), I noticed that the original authors did not stop at encouraging mutual edification during the church meeting. They also spoke against the practice of one person speaking, especially when the only person allowed to speak is an ordained minister:
And thus, as already mentioned, they [primarily Lutherans and Zwinglians] deny that we possess the evangelical order nor would they permit us to exercise it (if we did attend their preaching), but teach and presume that we also, as those who err, should remain silent in their preaching regardless of what we would have to speak to edification whether or not their preacher defaults from the truth, one must be silent, even though according to 1 Cor. 14 the listeners must judge the preacher’s doctrine. All judgment and everything, yes everyone in his conscience, is bound to the preacher and to his teaching, whether it be good or evil (to accept the same in conscience to believe and to do), and not the teaching of Christ and of his Holy Spirit. (12)
Later, the writers say that requiring everyone but the preacher to remain silent “annuls, transgresses and resists… yes, forbids and then also frustrates and impedes the rivers of living water.”
When most churches practice that only the pastor (or his representative) can speak during the church meeting, I do not think they intentionally do what the Anabaptists claim. Usually, its probably a matter of tradition and pragmatism.
But, were the Anabaptists correct? When we silence everyone (except one) do we hinder the work of God?
What do you think?
Weak Clay Jars
I’ve seen two recent blog posts that mention our weakness:
Ben from “Ben & Bet’s Weblog” with “Lesson # 1: Wonder Working Weakness.” (A report from his trip to Ethiopia, 2 weeks before our trip.)
Mark from “Called Out in Kansas” with “Strength Depending on Weakness.” (An excerpt from The Gospel Coalition blog.)
I learned something about weakness on our trip as well. Missionaries (neither short term nor long term) should not be placed on pedestals. Neither should pastors, evangelists, elders, or other church leaders. Any work is a work of God, and God will and can work through any of his children.
But, and here’s the connection to weakness, God will work through those who are weak in themselves. And, he works as we are obedient… not before. When we know that we can’t do something, and we begin to obey anyway, that’s when God strengthens us and works through us.
Cult of Personality
Uh oh. Arthur (from “the voice of one crying out in suburbia“) is in trouble. He has the gall to question the “The cult of celebrity.” You know what that means, right? You know, where Christians flock to hear the latest and greatest speakers. Conferences boast big names – the bigger the better… the better the book sales the bigger the audience.
Here’s the interesting thing… Scripture always points us to imitate or follow someone’s life. Even Paul pointed to his way of life. So, why are we so interested in “following” people that we don’t really know? I mean, we may know what someone writes about marriage, but we don’t know how he treats his wife or children. We may know what someone says about leadership, but we don’t know if she really serves other people.
So… how long will the cult of personality continue? How big will it get?
Abraham was Wrong, but He Trusted God
Abraham trusted God. But, Abraham was wrong. He was not wrong to trust God; in that he was absolutely right! But, he was wrong in the way he had decided that God was going to work. His theological system was wrong, but he trusted God.
What am I talking about? Well, I’m glad you asked.
In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised to make Abram into a great nation through which the other nations of the world would be blessed. In Genesis 15:4-5, God further promised that the nation would spring from Abram’s own son. Then, in Genesis 18:10, God specified that the promised son would be a child of Abraham and Sarah. Finally, in Genesis 21:1-3, God kept the first part of his promise, and Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah.
But, something strange happens. God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering in Genesis 22:1-2. The Genesis account indicates that Abraham thought that Isaac would return down the mountain with him after being sacrificed (Genesis 22:5). However, Genesis doesn’t tell what Abraham thought would happen.
When we read Hebrews, we get a further glimpse into this story. According to the author of Hebrews, Abraham had decided that after he killed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). You see, Abraham knew that Isaac would live and have a family, because God had promised that he would be created through Isaac.
So, Abraham rationalized that since he was supposed to kill Isaac, and since Isaac was supposed to continue living, then God must plan to raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham knew what God had promised, but he did not know how God would accomplish that promise. Like most of us, he tried to figure it out for himself.
Abraham was wrong. His theological system – his way of understanding God and what God was planning to do and how God was going to do it – was in error on this point.
But, the good news is that Abraham did not place his trust in his theological system. Abraham did not trust what he had reasoned on his own. Instead, he continued to trust God, even when God worked in a way that was contrary to his understanding – contrary to his theological system.
You see, if Abraham had continued to operate according to his understanding, he would have sacrificed Isaac. Why? Because according to his system, that’s what was necessary for God to do the work that Abraham had decided God was going to do (raise Isaac from the dead). Imagine what would have happened if Abraham had continued to operate within his theological system…
It is not bad or evil to have a theological system. We all have one. And, every theological system is wrong at some point.
However, we must be certain that our trust is placed in God, and not in our theological system or our understanding of what God is going to do or how God is going to do it.
Even though Abraham’s understanding was wrong, he is still listed in Hebrews 11 because he trusted God (sometimes in spite of his theological system).