Thinking about imitation
My good friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has written an excellent article called “On the Importance of Imitation.” In this post, Eric talks about imitating those churches that come before us.
Imitation takes several forms, including imitating other churches and imitating other believers.
But, there is a common denominator… we must know (intimately know) those who we are imitating.
I think the fact that the we do not intimately know others (either churches or individuals) is a hindrance to our discipleship, since we have no model to imitate. We can only imitate what we’ve seen and experienced. What do you think?
Since we’re talking about making disciples
In my previous post, I encouraged my readers to join the “Making Disciples” Facebook page. The purpose of that page is to encourage people to actually make disciples, not just talk about it.
Making disciples is very important. In fact, I think it’s one of our callings as followers of Jesus Christ. But, it’s much easier to talk about, read about, discuss, and argue about making disciples than to actually make disciples.
So, how do you make disciples?
Making Disciples Facebook Page
If you are on Facebook, please check out the “Making Disciples” Facebook page. I’m not one of the administrators of this page, so I’m not trying to boost my own traffic. However, I think the statements, questions, and discussion on that page have been outstanding.
Here are some examples of various statements made on the “Making Disciples” page:
- Don’t get caught up in trends ABOUT Making Disciples, get caught up IN Making Disciples.
- Making Disciples is a relational, intentional, supernatural and incarnational process. It speaks to a fluidity wrapped and compelled by the love of God! Jesus modeled it well!
- Don’t wait for change in order to Make Disciples, Initiate it by Making Disciples.
- Heres a tip: Making Disciples starts with loving the people God puts in your path.
And, here are a few of the questions asked on the page:
- What are some common roadblocks to effective Disciple Making?
- Is apprenticeship a good synonym for Discipleship? Why or why not?
- What is the most effective environment for making disciples?
- What experiences have you had using the Internet as a vehicle for making disciples?
If you use Facebook, I encourage you visit the “Making Disciples” page, join it, and take part in the discussions. Let’s help one another make disciples.
Obedience, Disobedience, and Grace in Deuteronomy
In Deuteronomy, the blessings of God which are associated with the covenant are conditional. The people will be blessed by God if they obey God and keep the law. However, if the people disobey God by breaking the law, then God will not bless them but will curse them instead. Thus, in the Book of Deuteronomy, obedience and disobedience are very important. As Moses speaks to the people for the final time on the banks of the Jordan, he is not concerned about whether or not the people are able to possess the land. Instead, he is concerned whether they will obey God this time, or if they will disobey as they did previously.
A. Obedience
After reminding the people of the Ten Commandments and other commands that God gave to the people through the previous generation (Deut 5:1-21), Moses next tells the people that God gave him these statutes so that he could tell them to the people. But, Moses does not stop at telling the people about the laws; he calls them to actually do what God tells them (Deut 6:1). Obedience comes through both hearing and doing what God commands. While this may seem obvious, Moses repeats it several times in Deuteronomy, and often reminds the people that they do not always do what God tells them.
As already indicated, Moses writes the Book of Deuteronomy using several journey narratives. Even these journey narratives work to encourage the people toward obedience. As Moses recounts the journey from Egypt to their present location, he reminds them of times when they obeyed God and times when they disobeyed God (Deut 11:1-32). These remembrances encourage the people to remember the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience so that they will later choose to obey God.
The concept of obedience includes more than simply doing what God says to do. Those who obey will neither add to what God has said, nor will they take away from what he has said (Deut 4:2). In context, keeping laws that were not given by God is not equated with obedience. Also, obedience includes recognizing that these commands are important because of their source: God (Deut 4:7). God’s commands are to be obeyed because of the person, nature, and characteristics of God, not because of the personal benefits that come from keeping the laws.
Furthermore, the people are to teach their children to obey God (Deut 6:7). While this instruction can partially take place in formal situations, the people are to primarily teach their children as their live their lives: “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Thus, as the parents obey God, they teach their children to obey God both by their words and also by their lives of obedience.
There are blessings associated with the people’s obedience. Obedience will lead to God exalting the people above other nations (Deut 28:1). The people’s cities and fields will be blessed, as well as the fruit of the womb, agriculture products, and livestock (Deut 28:3-4). These blessings will include everything that the people undertake, from kneading bread to warring against other nations (Deut 28:5, 7).
However, the people should not be motivated to obey because of these blessings. Instead, their motivation should come from the presence and character of God himself. For example, in the context of obedience, Moses tells the people to “fear the Lord” because “the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God” (Deut 10:12, 17). Furthermore, when they people obey the Lord, they are demonstrating his “justice” and “love” and that he is worthy of praise above everything else (Deut 10:18-21). Finally, God’s providence while the people were wandering around the desert for forty years is another motivations for the people’s obedience (Deut 8:1-20). Therefore, the people are called to obey God in everything that he says because of who he is and what is has done for them.
B. Disobedience
In much of his retelling the story of the people’s travels from Egypt, to Sinai, to the promised land, then back into the wilderness, then finally back to the border of the promised land, Moses recounts the people’s disobedience. While God calls the people to obedience, the people continually disobey.
Their disobedience began very early, because they began to complain against the Lord even as they were leaving Egypt (Deut 9:7). While God was delivering the law to the people through Moses on Mount Sinai, the people were disobeying by creating and worshiping a golden calf (Deut 9:16). When the people reached the promised land, they rebelled against God again and refused to enter the land (Deut 1:19-33). Then, after God told them that as punishment for their disobedience they would not enter the land, they disobeyed again and tried to enter the land on their own (Deut 1:41). These were not isolated incidences of disobedience. Instead, God, through Moses, spoke in extreme terms concerning the people’s disobedience. God said that the people had rebelled against him since the day he knew them (Deut 9:24).
In spite of Moses’ reminder of their past disobedience, the people would continue to disobey after they enter the land. The people are instructed to love the Lord with all of their heart (Deut 6:5), and to keep the Lord’s commands in their heart (Deut 6:6), but the people’s hearts will continue to rebel against God and his law, and they would continue to be disobedient. In fact, it was impossible for the people to obey God because their hearts were hard, and because they could not understand the Lord (Deut 29:4). They were completely reliant on God to give them a new heart; otherwise there was no hope for their obedience (Deut 30:6).
Just as blessings were promised for the people’s obedience, the people would face curses because of their disobedience. Curses were declared for those who make idols (Deut 27:15); for those who dishonor their parents (Deut 27:16); for those who move their neighbor’s boundary markers (Deut 27:17); for those who mislead a blind man (Deut 27:18); for those who refuse to care for foreigners, orphans, and widows (Deut 27:19); for those who commit sexually immoral acts toward their father or his wife (Deut 27:20); for those who commit bestiality (Deut 27:21); for those who commit incest (Deut 27:22); for those who commit adultery with their in-laws (Deut 27:23); for those who kill their neighbors, even in secret (Deut 27:24); for those who accept a bribe to kill someone (Deut 27:25); and for those who do not confirm the words of the law by actually putting them into practice (Deut 27:26).
Similarly, Moses says that if the people disobey God, then their cities, fields, gathering baskets, kneading bowls, offspring, agricultural produce, herds, and flocks will be cursed (Deut 28:15-18). In fact, just as the people were told to teach their children “when you come in and when you go out,” if they disobey all of God’s commands, they will likewise be cursed “when you come in and when you go out” (Deut 28:19). God’s curses will include confusion, frustration, pestilence, disease, drought, blight, defeat, boils, madness, and blindness (Deut 28:20-29). Because of these curses, the people will lose their families, their houses, their land, and their reputation among foreign nations (Deut 28:21-62). Perhaps, in the most devastating blow of these curses, Moses says that as God delighted in multiplying the people, if they disobey God will likewise take delight in bringing ruin, destroying, and scattering the people to the point that they will find no where to rest (Deut 28:63-68).
In one of God’s final communications with Moses, he warned Moses (and the people through Moses) that the people would again rebel against God once Moses died. God said that the people would turn to other gods, forsake him, and break his covenant (Deut 31:16). In response, as God had promised earlier, the Lord said that he would be angry and punish the people by forsaking them and bringing many evils and troubles upon them (Deut 31:17). As God repeated through Moses throughout of Book of Deuteronomy, he takes disobedience very seriously. Unfortunately for the people, God had also told them they because of their hard hearts, stubborn disposition, and rebellious nature, they would continue to disobey God, and they would continue to deserve curses and punishment from God. Their only hope rested in God’s merciful, forgiving, and gracious nature.
C. Grace
If God’s people are bound to break their covenant and rebel against God, then their only hope to continue receiving any blessings from God lies in God’s mercy, forgiveness, and grace. As Millar says, “The most significant contribution of Deuteronomy to biblical theology lies in its view of God’s grace. The grace that God has shown to Israel in the past will one day be surpassed by his provision of a lasting solution to the problem of human sin. At the deepest level, the theology of Deuteronomy is a theology of grace, and thus anticipates the coming of Christ to deal with human sin.” In spite of the people’s rebellion, God promises to circumcise the people’s hearts and the hearts of the descendants so that they can love the Lord (Deut 30:6). At that time, the curses that will fall on the people because of their disobedience will then fall upon their enemies (Deut 30:7). It is only then (when God gives them a circumcised heart) that the people will real blessings from the Lord (Deut 30:9); and it is only then that the people will be able to obey the Lord (Deut 30:10). Thus, in spite of the promise of future rebellion, the book ends with blessings (Deut 33:6-28) and with pointing the people to another prophet like Moses (Deut 34:10).
Remembrance in Deuteronomy
In Deuteronomy, Moses describes the covenant and teaches obedience to God in a narrative framework. In this narrative framework, Moses calls the people to remember what God had done for them and their ancestors. Similarly, the narrative records the journey of Abraham’s children to their present position, east of the Jordan River. This history describes both a physical journey and a spiritual journey. As Waltke explains, “Memory becomes the divine instrument for maintaining the continuity of Israel and for upholding the divine welfare of those within it.â€
A. Physical Journey
While the Book of Deuteronomy begins with the children of Israel located in the wilderness on the east side of the Jordan (Deut 1:1). However, within the book, Moses reminds the people that their journey began much earlier in a different place. He called the people to remember that God had promised the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deut 1:8), including the current generation in the promises that God made to the patriarch, and beginning their journey hundreds of years earlier, even before the captivity in Egypt.
As Moses began to retell the people’s story, he begins by reminding them of their suffering while in slavery and how they cried out to God for help (Deut 1:27). The journey continues with God “fighting†for the people in Egypt through the various plagues (Deut 1:30), and specifically against Pharaoh himself (Deut 6:22). God destroyed the army of Pharaoh (Deut 11:4) and led the people out of Egypt toward the land he promised to their ancestors (Deut 2:1). While in the wilderness, God went before the people in the form of a cloud and fire (Deut 1:33), and he provided manna to eat and water to drink (Deut 8:3). Finally, they arrived at the foot of the Mt. Sinai (Deut 4:11). Importantly, many from the current generation—that is, the generation that Moses is speaking to in the Book of Deuteronomy—were not present for this part of the journey. However, Moses calls them to remember this as part of their own history. Moses presents God’s redemption of their parents from slavery and his faithfulness to and provision for their parents while in the desert as happening to this current generation.
The next important step in their history happens at Mt. Sinai, and this frames the majority of the information in the Book of Deuteronomy. At the mountain, God spoke to the people (Deut 4:13), but the people asked Moses to speak with God on their behalf (Deut 5:27). Even as Moses received the law from God (Deut 5:31), the people rebelled by forming and worshiping an idol (Deut 9:16). After Moses entreated the Lord on behalf of the people, they continued their journey to the Jordan River. However, the people refused to obey the Lord, and instead listened to the concerns of the spies (Deut 1:32). God determined that none of that generation would cross over into the promised land, so everyone under the age of twenty died in the wilderness (Deut 1:35). When God decided that they had travelled around the wilderness long enough, he instructed Moses to turn back toward the Jordan (Deut 2:3). God protected the people against Shihon, king of Heshbon (Deut 2:30), and Og, king of Bashan (Deut 3:1).
However, the journey does not end at the Jordan River for this people. Though the narrative begins and ends on the banks of the River, Moses directs the people to continue their physical journey. They are to cross the Jordan and take possession of all the land that God had promised to them through their ancestors (Deut 9:1). Furthermore, after they cross over the Jordan, the people are to assemble on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in order to remember what Moses taught them and what God had done for them (Deut 27:12-13). Once they are settled in the land, the people are to begin sacrificing in the place that God chooses (Deut 12:5).
B. Spiritual Journey
This people’s journey was not merely a physical journey. Instead, the reminder of the physical journey also brought to mind their spiritual journey. Moses reminds the people of their journey from Egypt to the Jordan, and also reminds them of their record of disobedience toward God. While they obeyed on occasion, they primarily disobeyed, represented by creating images to worship (Deut 9:12) and failing to enter the promised land as directed (Deut 1:32-33). While there were spiritual high points and low points on the physical journey from Egypt to Jordan, according to Moses, the spiritual future of the people does not appear hopeful. Instead, he warns them that they will disobey God, and that they will face the consequences. “Much of the book [Deuteronomy] is devoted to explaining that even God’s people are intrinsically sinful, and the inevitability of their moral failure. Despite all that God has done for his people, they will surely disobey.â€
C. Remembrance
Moses did not remind the people of their physical and spiritual journeys simply for the benefit of their memory. Instead, the remembrance was to lead them toward obedience and away from disobedience. When dealing with leprosy, they were supposed to remember how God dealt with Miriam, which would then lead them to obey God (Deut 24:9). When dealing with foreigners and strangers, they people were supposed to remember how God brought them out of Egypt, which would encourage them to obey God is offering justice and mercy (Deut 24.18). By remembering how Amalek treated the people on their physical journey out of Egypt and to the Jordan, Moses exhorts the people to obey God in destroying the Amalekites (Deut 25:17-19). Furthermore, Moses’ speeches to the people would not be the last reminders. Instead, the people are instructed to read the law again every three years so that they will not forget what God had done and would instead be reminded to obey him (Deut 31:9-13).
Remembering exhorts the people toward more than obedience. By remembering what had happened to them on their journey from Egypt, the people are also exhorted to trust God for protection and provision. For instance, the people are reminded that God protected them and led them to victory against King Sihon (Deut 2:26-27) and King Og (Deut 3:1-22). Also, by remembering the forty year journey through the wilderness, the people are reminded that God will take care of them and provide for their needs (Deut 8:1-20). The physical journey also reminds them of the covenant that God made with them through Moses (Deut 5:1-33).
Finally, by remembering the physical journey from Egypt, the people are warned against disobedience. When the people remembered their past disobedience, the reminder would exhort them toward obedience. They would remember how they rebelled against God in creating the golden calves while God was given Moses the law, which would encourage them to stay away from idolatry (Deut 9:12). They would also remember how they had refused to go into the promised land the first time and how God had forced them to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Deut 1:19-33). This remembrance would encourage them to trust God.
Thus, Moses reminds the people of their physical and spiritual journey—from Egypt to the Jordan, and through obedience and disobedience—in order to teach the people. Through the journey narratives, the people learn the importance of obeying God and trusting in him. Furthermore, they are encouraged not to disobey, and warned of the consequences of future disobedience.
The Discipline of Listening
News flash: I like to talk.
It’s true. I know that it’s probably hard to believe from reading my blog, but I do like to talk. And, from my perspective, I usually have something beneficial to say.
But, I’m learning an important lesson about listening. I’m learning that it really is important to listen to others. Yes, I know that James wrote, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…” (James 1:19). But, I always figured that James didn’t mean those of us who are leaders and who are well-studied and well-prepared and who had something important to say.
I always thought that for people like me, James would tell us to go ahead and talk. I mean, I would never say that out loud… that might hurt someone else’s feelings. But, apparently I really thought that James didn’t mean for me to be slow to speak, because that’s the way I acted. I also acted as if it were okay for me to speak whenever I wanted to.
But, I’m learning that James really did mean for “every person” to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Yes, he really did mean me, and other leaders, and even preachers.
How can I be quick to listen and slow to speak? Well, it’s easier for me in my situation, especially at times when the church is meeting. Because, even though I’m a leader in the church, the church does not depend upon my speaking/teaching/preaching. The church has learned that all believers are responsible for speaking in ways that edify one another.
So, when the church meets, being quick to listen for me means to wait before I speak. It means that even if I have something important to say, I should be “quick to hear and slow to speak.” It means disciplining myself to allow others to speak first.
This is an important lesson that God is teaching me. Last Sunday, I still spoke a few times, but I spoke much less often than I would normally speak. And, I noticed something, I was more tuned in to what other people were saying. And, guess what? They had very important things to say too… things that I needed to hear.
But, as I’ve been thinking about the “discipline of listening”, I wonder what other leaders do… those leaders who don’t have a choice but are required to speak every Sunday (or even assume they are supposed to speak every time the church meets). What about situations where others are not allowed to speak? How do these leaders exercise the discipline of listening?
Corinthian Divisions
In 1 Corinthians, Paul exhorts the believers in Corinth to unity:
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:10-13 ESV)
In this passage, Paul does not tell us exactly what the nature of the division is. We don’t know what caused the divisions. (Although, there may be some clues in the rest of the letter.)
Here’s the question. When the Corinthians claimed to follow Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), or Christ, were they simply stating their preference for those people, or were they stating their preference for certain doctrinal distinctives represented by those people?
Taking steps toward relational unity
In two previous posts, I’ve discussed John H. Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small (see “Your Church is Too Small – a review” and “Real Unity – Is it possible?“). Armstrong argues that the unity for which Jesus prays in John 17:20-23 is relational unity, not only spiritual unity.
“Relational unity” is visible, palpable. It can be pointed out and experienced. It can also be quenched and grieved.
Few (if any) would argue that the church today rarely shows relational unity across denominations, theological systems, historical traditions, institutions, organization, or even “local churches”. We occasionally attempt to relate to those who are like us and who believe like us (although even this is difficult in today’s church where acquiescence to a set of beliefs has replaced true community).
Thus, the church today is splintered and fractured, and lives as an anti-apologetic to the good news of Jesus Christ.
For those of us who are grieved by this state of affairs, how do we take steps toward relational unity. First, we must realize that we cannot create the kind of unity for which Jesus prayed. God creates unity in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. We can only maintain or quench this unity.
Second, we must realize that we cannot make the choice of maintaining unity for others. I cannot force you into relational unity with me. However, I can make the offer and be open to relational unity, whether you desire unity with me or not. I can love you and serve you, whether you accept me or not.
Finally, we must realize that relational unity cannot be organized or institutionalized. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Organizations and institutions can help or hinder relational unity, but neither organizations nor institutions can maintain relational unity.
“Relational unity” is relational (seems simple enough, doesn’t it). This means that relational unity is based on relationships between individuals and communities. What does this mean for us?
Let me give an example. Let’s assume that two of my neighbors are believers, and each of them are part of different denominations than myself. That makes three believers and three different denominations. If our denominations choose to interact with one another, that choice will not create relational unity between myself and my neighbors. If our denominations decide not to interact with one another, that decision will not destroy relational unity between myself and my neighbors.
So, what is it that creates or maintains relational unity between myself and my neighbors? God creates the unity, and we decide the maintain that unity in the way that we treat and interact with one another. If we decide to ignore one another, even though we say we are brothers/sisters and even though we live next door to one another, we will quench the work that God is attempting to do in our lives in creating and maintaining relational unity.
However, if we choose to spend time with one another (regardless of what our denominations decide), and if we choose to accept one another and treat one another as brothers/sisters, then we are working to maintain the unity that God has created in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
This is the kind of unity for which Jesus prayed, and this is the kind of unity that Jesus said would demonstrate to the world that the Father sent him into the world.
Discipleship and Sectarianism
For the purpose of this post, I consider “sectarianism” the practice of separating from other believers (that is, people that we consider to be brothers and sisters in Christ) because of differences in beliefs other than differences concerning the gospel.
Our call to “make disciples” is to help one another follow Jesus Christ by living as citizens of the kingdom of God.
If a group (or individual) limits discipleship to their (or his/her) own group, background, denomination, tradition, organization, or even local church, then that group (or person) is not making disciples of Jesus Christ. Instead, that group is making converts to their (his/her) own group, background, denomination, etc. No group, background, denomination, etc. is equal to the kingdom of God.
Thus, sectarianism annuls discipleship.
Real Unity – Is it possible?
In his book Your Church is Too Small, John H. Armstrong begins his argument for real, relational unity from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:20-23 ESV)
Early in his book, Armstrong says, “I knew that I couldn’t be satisfied with loving a concept of the church. So I set out to find God’s people, to get to know people outside of my own tradition.”
Concept… We love in concept. We’re united in concept. We’re family in concept.
But, Scripture doesn’t describe or exhort a concept of church, love, unity, and family. Instead, as we read about the church in the New Testament, we read about a reality of love, unity, and family. However, like Armstrong, whenever I talk to people about unity, I hear these kinds of interpretations (taken from Armstrong’s book specifically of John 17):
- We should never try to unite different churches or congregations. The union of churches or denominations is not in view here. Jesus is not interested in such unity.
- We should never engage in serious dialogue with churches that we believe to be unfaithful to the truth. We will become disobedient if we follow this course.
- There is no common mission that churches are called to engage in; thus there is no reason to work together to achieve Christ’s mission in our communities.
- There is no concern in this prayer for the worldwide church, at least as seen in a visible form, since this will lead to ecumenism, a great twentieth-century enemy of the gospel.
- We must always keep in the forefront of our practice the serious biblical warnings about compromise and false teaching (see Deuteronomy 7:1-6; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Revelation 18:4). These great truths always trump concern for visible unity among churches and Christians.
How would you respond to the five objections above? Yes, no, why, or why not?
And more importantly, how do we as believers move forward toward unity, and how do we encourage churches to move forward toward unity?