Church involvement
I’ve been part of several churches in which the leaders were very concerned with involvement. What does that mean? It means that they wanted people to be involved with their church programs. Some even had staff members who were paid to make sure that people got involved.
At the end of When the Church Was a Family, Joseph H. Hellerman makes the following statement:
Church involvement in the New Testament sense means the development of intimate, healthy, long-lasting relationships with one’s brothers and sisters in Christ. (223)
Is Hellerman correct? Is there a difference between getting people involved in programs and activities and getting them involved in intimate, healthy, long-lasting relationships?
(By the way, I’ve finished reading Hellerman’s book, and I’m working on a review. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone!)
Adolf Schlatter on the Church
About two and half years ago, I wrote an article called “Adolf Schlatter on the Church“. In the post, I responded to something that Schlatter wrote concerning the unity of the early church. I still wonder why we can’t live in that same unity today.
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Adolf Schlatter was an anomaly in late nineteenth and early twentieth century German theological scholarship. Though holding a teaching position at Tübingen, a university well-known for approaching the Bible through higher criticism, Schlatter maintained conservative (evangelical?) beliefs. I have wanted to buy his two volume set The History of the Christ and The Theology of the Apostles for some time. I was finally able to buy them, and I flipped through The Theology of the Apostles looking for Schlatter’s view of the church. There is certainly much more to read, but I found this paragraph very interesting:
Moreover, the public confession of Jesus’ lordship produced in them a union that oriented everyone’s conduct toward the same goal, and the Spirit’s presence invested the community with a thoroughly spiritual dimension. Baptism did not result in a multitude of autonomous congregations but the one church, because baptism called its recipients to the Christ. Likewise, the table around which the community gathered was not the table of a teacher or baptizer or bishop but Christ’s table. By receiving their share in Christ, they simultaneously entered into communion with all other believers. The concept of the church thus took on a universal dimension from the start that remained undiminished, just as the individual local Jewish congregation had always been considered to be part of the one Israel.
According to Schlatter, the universality and the unity of the church was more than an ideal. The church was universal and united because of its shared confession, conduct, goal, baptism, table, and portion in Christ, not to mention the common presence of the Spirit of God.
As I look at that list – a list of items that, according to Schlatter, once brought the church together – I recognize that many, perhaps all, are now used to divide the church instead of unite the church. While the confession (“Jesus is Lord”) was originally intended to separate believers from nonbelievers, we now use expanded confessional statements to separate one group of believers from another group of believers. While the one baptism originally represented death to self and new birth in Christ, baptism is now used to divide the body of Christ into different factions. Similarly, the Lord’s table and even conduct are often used to separate churches instead of uniting them.
Do we recognize that who we are as the church has little (if anything) to do with the things we say or even the things we do? I would suggest (along with Schlatter) that who we are as the church is instead associated with us having received a “share in Christ”. But, that also means that who other people are does not depend on the words they say or the things they do. Instead, those who have received Christ have “simultaneously entered into communion with all other believers” – not because of their actions or a prayer or a confession, but because they now belong to Christ and they now belong to the Father’s family. Certainly, there may be a need for discipleship and teaching people to live as a part of the Father’s family, but we do not have the right nor the authority to dismiss someone from the Father’s family nor to choose to disassociate with someone who Christ has claimed as His own.
Can we know with certainty that someone belongs to Christ? No. But, then again, no one can know with certainty about us either. With the “confession of Jesus’ lordship” (“Jesus is Lord”) someone claims acceptance into the family of God and the presence of the Spirit. As a family, we are then required (yes, I do mean required) to accept that person, to disciple that person, to bear with that person, to love that person, to serve that person, to teach that person, to forgive that person even if (especially if!) that person disagrees with us. We come together in community, but that community is not based on us and our beliefs and our confessions. That community is based solely on our individual and mutual relationships with God through Jesus Christ enabled by the Holy Spirit.
When we separate from someone that we consider a brother or sister in Christ, we are usurping the authority of God. And, when we refuse to hold brothers and sisters accountable to their confession “Jesus is Lord”, then we are ignoring our mutual responsibilities as part of God’s family.
Church Life #4 – e-fellowship
This series is about our life with the church as we attempt to live together as brothers and sisters. (For a more detailed description of this series, see my post “Church Life – A New Series.”)
In order to keep this series interesting, and not always a recitation of my interaction with other people, I will occasionally change things up. For example, in this post, I want to discuss how we use various forms of non-face-to-face communication to supplement our more personal interactions.
Now, I think it is important for me to point out that I’m talking about various forms of communication as supplements to face-to-face meetings. I do not think these forms of communication should ever replace face-to-face interaction among believers. We need that close connection that we can only get by sitting down with someone face-to-face. By the way, this also applies to larger meetings where we only see one another, but we don’t actually interact with one another. These meetings should also only be seen as supplements to our times of close, intimate fellowship.
The close, intimate fellowship that I’m talking about does not necessarily have to happen one-on-one. It could happen in a smaller group as well. But, it has to be a group where everyone is comfortable sharing their struggles and concerns and even victories with one another. Even our church meeting on Sunday morning (usually around 50 or so) is too big for this kind of interaction, although it can supplement the kind of fellowship that we need.
But, other forms of communication can be useful as an aid to fellowship. Here are some examples of how we use various forms of communication.
Telephone: This may seem obvious, but don’t forget about the telephone. When you are driving or taking public transportation from place to place, why not call someone you know is struggling to check on them. Plus, talking on the phone gives you an opportunity to plan to meet together face-to-face.
Email: We use a group email account for our church. Anyone can send an email to the group. Anyone can reply to an email to the group. Sure, sometimes its messy. But, messiness is part of life. The group email gives us an opportunity to communicate with the larger group without gathering together. We also use personal email account for communication as well. Probably the majority of my lunch or coffee meetings are planned through email.
Facebook: A large majority of our brothers and sisters use facebook. Facebook is a great way to know what is going on in someone’s life from day to day (as a supplement!). We also have a group facebook page. We can communicate with the members of that group, plan events, and send out notices. We also include photos of various meetings, outings, and service projects. The last time I checked, there were almost 500 photos on that page.
Twitter: While a few of us are on twitter, we don’t use twitter very much. But, depending on your demongraphic, this is another way to stay in touch with one another.
Blogs: Several of us have blogs. The blogs are a good way to begin conversations or continue conversations from face-to-face meetings. Often the posts on my blog are triggered by a discussion that I’ve had with someone.
Obviously, there are many other ways to supplement our face-to-face fellowship. We’ve occasionally gotten letters or cards from people as well. But, these are the primary methods that we use to communicate with one another when we’re not meeting together.
What other means have you used to communicate with one another and supplement your face-to-face fellowship?
Camping with the Church
A few years ago, someone suggested that our church go camping together. Everyone had a great time! I wrote about it briefly in a post called “The House of God… The Church of the Living God… The Pillar and Support of the Truth.” (Yes, weird title, I know, but if you read the post you’ll understand why I chose that title.)
Well, in a few weeks, our church is going to camp together again. This will be our fourth or fifth time camping in the last three years. Some people will camp with us Friday night and Saturday night. Some will just camp one night. Some will come to the campsite during the day or at night to fellowship around the campfire. Many will join us for our weekly church meeting Sunday morning which will also be held around the campfire.
Camping together has always been a wonderful time to get to know one another better, to encourage one another in the Lord, to eat and play together, … to simply share life together for an entire weekend.
And, we’ve almost always had people join us who are not officially part of Messiah Baptist Church.
So, if you are interested, you are invited to join us on Falls Lake at B.W. Wells campground (site #2) from Friday, October 9 around 5:00 p.m. until Sunday, October 11 around 5:00 p.m. Our weekly church meeting will start around 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning at the same location. If you can join us, please let me know so that I can give you more detailed information (aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu).
Church Life #3
This series is about our life with the church as we attempt to live together as brothers and sisters. (For a more detailed description of this series, see my post “Church Life – A New Series.”)
Monday: I was able to have lunch with Jonathan today. Jonathan and I had lunch together several times during the summer. But, with his new work schedule and school schedule, we’ve had a hard time getting together. I think we’ll both be available on Mondays now! We talked about school and work and games and elders and Bible studies and missions and many, many other things.
Tuesday: My new friend Jeremiah had to take his van to the shop. So, he called and asked if I could pick up him and give him a ride home. I was able to spend a few minutes talking with him and one of his daughters. Once we got to his house, I think we talked longer than either of us intended… lots of good topics though.
Wednesday: After work, we went over to the Henry’s house. They had mentioned that they were painting their house that night, so we wanted to help them. They fed us some very delicious chili before we started painting! We were able to get the first coat on their living room and hallway before going home.
Thursday: A friend of mine (not a “member” of Messiah Baptist Church) was dealing with depression. He told me over the phone, so he and I got together for a few minutes to talk about his situation.
Thursday afternoon, a young man asked if he could meet with me. He had met with us one Sunday and had questions about the church. We talked for a while about elders and ministry (service) and other things. Usually, when I talk to someone like this, I end up saying “Well, we do things a little differently” several times.
Friday: Margaret and I went to New Bern, NC for the weekend to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Our anniversary was actually back in January, but Margaret’s dad had heart surgery then and she spent a month with him to take care of him. Some friends stayed at our house and took care of Jeremy and Miranda while we were out of town.
Saturday: Our good friends Kevin and Misty moved to the New Bern area last year. So, Saturday night we got together with them for dinner. Kevin is a football coach at a local public high school, and I am so excited about what God is doing through them there!
Sunday: Since we were out of town, we did not intend to meet with the church Sunday morning. However, it turns out that downtown New Bern closes Sunday morning. So, we ate breakfast and drove back home. We go to the meeting place around 1:00, and the church was still meeting. This was a very encouraging meeting because four men who had been nominated to be elders by the church were leading a discussion. The church was asking them questions as the church prepares to recognize some or all of them as elders.
Sunday night, Jeremy and I and Jeremy’s friend Jason went to Jeremiah and Kerri’s home for a bonfire. We had a great time getting to know them better and eating s’mores!
Church Life #2
This series is about our life with the church as we attempt to live together as brothers and sisters. (For a more detailed description of this series, see my post “Church Life – A New Series.”)
Monday: Monday was Labor Day. Sunday evening, our friends the Carpenters came to town to spend a couple of days with us. Eric was one of our original elders before his family moved to India. We went out for pizza for lunch, then to a local coffee house. While we were at the coffee house, we ran into Jonathan. We invited him to our house that evening for hamburgers and hot dogs. Jonathan said he would invite a neighbor who had met with us for the first time Sunday morning.
Monday evening, our friends the Henrys and Jonathan and his neighbor John joined us and the Carpenters at our house for dinner. We played games and talked until late.
Wednesday: In this series, I primarily list my interactions with other believers. But, there are many daily interactions among the church which neither I nor my family are involved with. For example, on Wednesday evening, a group of our friends get together for fellowship and Bible study. For the last month or two, this group has been spending their Wednesday evenings helping our friends the Disseaus work on their house. Since the Disseaus moved earlier in the week, this group resumed their normal Wednesday night get together. This week they started by talking about elders, since we are in the process of recognizing additional elders among the church. Then they spent the remainder of the evening playing games and enjoying ones another’s company.
Thursday: I had lunch with my friend Geth on Thursday. Last Spring, Geth and I had lunch together almost every week. We got out of the habit over the summer because he decided to travel to Scotland without me. (I’m pouting, but only slightly.) We always have a great time together, talking about life and marriage and Scripture and faith and anything else that comes up. I also like to talk to Geth about his work teaching in prisons.
Thursday night, our family and the Henry family went to the Disseau’s house to clean. They left for Texas earlier in the week. We told them that we would clean their house so they wouldn’t have to do it and they could leave earlier. While we were there, two of our friends dropped by: Katie and Laurel. They had each worked hard over the last couple of months helping the Disseaus get their house ready.
Friday: Friday evening, we had one of the most fun times we’ve ever had in downtown Wake Forest, thanks to the Wake Forest Coffee Company and our friends Danny, Adam, and Jonathan (and Danny’s guitar student Sam). Danny, Adam, and Jonathan played together outside the coffee shop while many, many people milled around and talked while listening to the music. I’ve heard about several awesome conversations that went on during sets which included Joe Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughn songs among others.
Saturday: Saturday morning, Margaret and Miranda volunteered to help at a rabies clinic put on by the Franklin County Humane Society. They were able to have lunch with other volunteers afterward, and Margaret even found out that her waitress had a medical need. We hope to go back to the restaurant to talk to her again.
While they were at the rabies clinic, Jeremy and I spent some time in “The Neighborhood.” It was a beautiful day, and we were able to talk to one of the neighbors outside. Unfortunately, one of the ladies who has been having health problems was taking her bath, so we were not able to talk to her. Also, when we went by the nursing home, Ms. Jennie was out with someone for the day. We’ve missed her two weeks in a row now.
Saturday afternoon, Jeremy, Miranda, and I went to the apartment of our friends Jason and Ryan. They were hosting a brother from South Africa. Several other brothers and sisters were there as well. After spending a couple of hours eating together and getting to know this brother, he told us about how he and his family serve some children in a neighboring village. He doesn’t run a huge ministry. They’re just a family serving God and others where they are.
Sunday: We met for our scheduled weekly meeting Sunday morning. This week, the songs that the church chose were more recent songs, but still very relevant to who we are as the children of God. “Ancient of Days” and “How Great is Our God” stands out. After we sang the latter song, several people praised God for his blessings during the previous week.
I was scheduled to teach that morning, so I taught from Matthew 22:15-22. (We are studying Matthew together.) We started by focusing on “giving back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”, but we ended by discussing how we can “give back to God the things that are God’s.” Again, there was a great discussion about this passage. I’m always encouraged when I’m scheduled the teach, but the church teaches me as well.
As normal, we ate lunch together. Jeremy wanted pizza, so we picked up some pizza, while other brothers and sisters picked up subs, and others had brought their food with them. At one point, I was greatly challenged by a brother who was talking about struggles and trials. I tend to get angry during trials, but James encourages us to “Rejoice!” I’m not there yet, and I thank God for brothers and sisters who can exhort me (and others) toward a life of joy in spite of our circumstances. (Oh… the pizza was good too.)
Church Life #1
This series is about our life with the church as we attempt to live together as brothers and sisters. (For a more detailed description of this series, see my post “Church Life – A New Series.”)
Tuesday: (It could have been Wednesday.) My friend Danny sent me an email Tuesday morning asking about Luther’s “The German Mass and Order of Divine Service.” We had talked about it some the Sunday before, and Danny wanted to read a copy. I had just finished writing another post about Luther’s essay (see “Luther on Making Decisions for the Church“) so I sent Danny a link and printed a copy for him. I also met him for lunch. We went through Luther’s essay and noticed how Luther wanted to meet together with those who were truly Christians (his words, not mine). It was great comparing Luther’s thoughts to our own thoughts about the church.
Wednesday: Wednesday night, Margaret made dinner for our friends the Disseaus. They were in the last few days of prepping their house so that they can move to Dallas. After dinner, we did some electrical work for them in order to help with their house. We were not the only people helping them. Several friends from the church came over to the Disseaus house that night to help.
Friday: I had lunch with a great couple (J. and C.) who wanted to talk to me about the church. We talked about the church as family, and how living as brothers and sisters should affect everything that we do – yes, Sunday morning, but not just on Sunday morning.
Friday night, we had dinner with our friends Jim and Kirstie. We talked for so long that the waitress had to tell us that the restaurant was closed.
Saturday: Margaret and I took our children to a birthday party, then the two of us went to visit our friends in “The Neighborhood.” We were able to give our friend T. a Bible that she could read. She had been having trouble reading (small print) and understanding (KJV) her Bible. (She called me the next day to say that she had read her new Bible and could understand it! She was so excited!)
Saturday afternoon, we all went back to the Disseaus house to help out a little more. I was able to finish some of the electrical work that needed to be done, and we started (continued?) saying goodbye to them.
On our way home from the Disseaus, we stopped by one of our favorite places: Wake Forest Coffee Company. Our friend Danny was playing guitar and singing. We were able to talk with him and J. and C. (from my lunch Friday) before his set.
Sunday: Sunday morning, the church started gathering together at our meeting place around 10:30 a.m. We talked with one another for about 15 minutes as more people arrived before we started our meeting. We sang the song “I (We) Exalt Thee” as everyone found a place to sit. (Our chairs are arranged in two circles, generally.)
I began by reading from Ephesians 4 and praying. Jason played guitar and led us in singing “You are Holy (Prince of Peace).” Later he also chose the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” He also asked the church to select songs that they wanted to sing. I remember that we sang “A Mighty Fortress” and “The Old Rugged Cross” among others.
Danny taught from Matthew 22:1-14 – the parable of the wedding banquet. Since the previous two weeks we studied two other parables that dealt with Jesus taking the kingdom from the Jews, Danny focused on the last few verses (11-14) which deal with the man without wedding clothes who the king kicked out. He compared this to the parable of the wheat and tares. We talked about how we will never knew who is actually part of the kingdom and who is not, but the king always knows, and he will separate us out in the end times. This led to a great discussion about how we treat two different types of people: 1) those who profess to be believers but live immoral lives, and 2) those who do not profess to be believers. Other passages we brought up, such as 1 Corinthians 5.
After our discussion about Matthew 22:1-14, several brothers and sisters shared prayer requests, and we prayed for them. We made a few announcements and dismissed. During this time, we talked with one another, and some left for home or other obligations. Others stayed and ate lunch together. Some brought their lunch while others went to local fast food restaurants to pick up something to eat.
That evening, our family returned to the Disseaus to help them one last time before they left for Texas. Some good friends of ours (the Carpenters) were coming into town to spend a couple of nights with us. So, when they arrived, we went to our house to talk for a little while before bed time. (I’ll tell more about our time with the Carpenters next week.)
Church Life – A New Series
Often, I meet with people who have questions about the church. We talk about Scripture, and living as community in Christ, and leadership as service without someone “in charge,” and giving to those in need instead of “tithing to the church,” and church meetings where several speak or discuss or share.
Eventually, when talking with people about these things, someone usually says, “But, what does this look like?” or “How would this work?”
In other words, even if our understanding of the church begins to change, it is still difficult to know how it “works” without seeing it in action. We’ve seen the traditional church structures and organizations for so long that we can’t imagine something different.
But, I always have difficulty describing “how it works” in our case – that is, in the case of the church that we meet with. You see, when people asks, “How does that work?” they are usually wondering about the Sunday church meeting (what most Christians call the “worship service.”) Most Christians have a difficult time understanding how they can meet with other believers as the church without a music service, a pastor’s sermon, and a tithe to hold it all together. How can we have a “worship service” without someone “in charge”?
However, if I tried to describe our Sunday meeting, and only described our Sunday meeting, then I would be doing a disservice to Messiah Baptist Church and to my readers. Why? Because our Sunday church meeting is only a small part of who we are as the church. Sunday is only one day out of the week. The Sunday meeting is only one meeting between believers of several meetings during the week – either planned or spontaneous.
So, this series will help explain how we live life as the church… how we share our lives with one another. Certainly, I will not be able to talk about everything. But, hopefully, this will give my readers an idea of how we are trying to live together as brothers and sisters – not just in name, but in identity and reality.
No, I do not think we are perfect. Yes, we have problems. But, I’m hoping this series will be an encouragement to other followers of Jesus Christ to live in community with others.
I also encourage you to share stories (in the comments, or email them to me) about how you are living together as brothers and sisters with the church.
The unhypocritcal church
A couple of years ago, I published three posts called “The unhypocritical church” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The posts were based on a study of, meditation on, and comparison to Romans 12 (especially verses 9-21). Here are the three posts together:
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Most theologians comment about how “theological” the book of Romans is. This simply means that Paul speaks in terms that most closely resemble how modern theologians speak. Of course, Romans is far from a “systematic theology”. But Romans does include a good deal of theology – that is, Paul tells us what he things about God and people and salvation.
In fact, Chapters 1 through 11 are filled with theology. We learn that all people are sinful – all people are separated from God – all people deserve eternal separation from God. We also learn that the remedy is found in the person of Jesus Christ – his death, burial, and resurrection – and that the remedy is administered through the person and presence and power of the Holy Spirit. But, Paul doesn’t stop there.
In Chapter 12, Paul begins to show how his “theology” should work itself out in the lives of all followers of Jesus Christ. He begins by showing that a life sacrificed to God will lead to a life that is tranformed – changed – into a life that is acceptable to God. This life will demonstrate the gifts of the Spirit because it will be controlled by the Spirit. The Spirit will manifest himself differently in different people, but the manifestation of the Spirit’s gifts will always be for the same purpose. But, Paul doesn’t stop there.
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul lays down specific characteristics of the life that is led by the Spirit. This is what he says:
Let love be genuine (unhypocritical). Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Notice how the genuine (unhypocritical) love of Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led believers is described:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
This is how the church of God should live. This is how the church of God should be described. In fact, the “theology” of the previous 11 chapters means little if the lives of believers are not being transformed by the indwelled Spirit.
So, where do you stop? Do you stop at discussing theology? Or, do you see the power of the Spirit at work in your life? How does a description of your life match up to Paul’s description of the Spirit-led, transformed life?
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“The unhypocritcal church – Part 2”
When I wrote the post “The unhypocritical church“, I did not plan for it to continue into a second part. However, as I have been meditating on Romans 12 for the last few days, there are a few more thoughts that I want to share.
Sunday morning, we gathered with the church like we do every week. After the formal part of our meeting concluded, people hung around talking for about an hour. At one point, my daughter and another girl her age stood by the door and, like good stewardesses, greeted those who left by saying, “Buh-bye. See you next week.” This was funny at first. Then I realized exactly what they were saying. They recognized that we would not see many of these people for seven days.
Sunday afternoon, as I published the post called “The unhypocritical church” and thought about the episode with my daughter and her friend, I realized that it would be impossible to carry out the teachings of Romans 12:9-21 if we only see one another once a week in a formal setting. Look at this list again:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy
- believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
Sure, some of these we could probably do once a week, and pretend to have carried out Paul’s intention. But, can we have patience with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Can we live in harmony with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Similarly, we are to help one another live according to these descriptions. Can we help one another be hospitable toward strangers if we only see one another on Sunday?
This passage (Romans 12:9-21) is about community. Paul does not state, “Live as a community with your brothers and sisters in Christ”. However, he describes believers living together in such a way that they must recognize themselves as a Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led community in order to see these descriptions carried out in their lives. There is no way to understand “church” as a once or twice a week event and have these characteristics. No, Paul is not describing an event, or a location, or an organization. Paul is describing a way-of-life for people who are following their Master together.
Among the church where God has placed me, I recognize these characteristics in many of my brothers and sisters. On Sunday, I heard that several people are spending their Labor Day Monday helping some friends work on their houses. I heard about other friends who are donating furniture and delivering it to someone that they do not know, but who is in need of furniture. Other friends are spending their day off by working on cars for their brothers and sisters. In activities such as these (and probably many others that I do not know about), the love of Christ is manifest and proclaimed both to believers and to unbelievers alike.
A community… a kingdom community, ruled by the King, looking out for one another, serving one another and the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, and warmly welcoming those who accept his grace and mercy. This is the kind of church that Paul is describing. This is the church of unypocritical love. This is how I want to live my life.
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“The unhypocritical church – Part 3”
I think this will be my last post on Romans 12:9-21 for now. As a reminder, this is what Paul writes:
Let love be genuine (unhypocritical). Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Once again, notice how the genuine (unhypocritical) love of Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led believers is described:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
This is how the church of God should live. This description should characterize each believer and each group of beleivers.
Over the last few days, I have been asking myself which of these characteristics are evident in my life and which characteristics are absent. I can look back over the last few years and see where God has grown me and changed me. But, I can also see where I am not living as God intends. Specifically, God is still teaching me how to show hospitality (that is, love for strangers as opposed to love for those who I already know and love) and how to give to those who are in need. Perhaps, most of all, this is showing me areas in my life where I am not submitting to the presence of God.
As Joel pointed out in a recent post, we must begin with a proper understanind of who we are in Christ. I would also add that we should also recognize the awesome power and presence of the Holy Spirit who indwells us and changes us from the inside out.
Beginning with this understanding, I am going to ask you the same question that I have been asking myself: Meditating on the description of the unhypocritical (genuine) love of Romans 12:9-21, where is God still working in your life? In what ways are you not submitting to God’s presence in your life?
A Love / Hate Relationship
A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, one of our brothers made a statement similar to this:
I love meeting together with this church, because I know that you all love me and care about me and when you ask me how I’m doing, you won’t let me just give you simple answers, but will really ask about my life and how things are going especially between me and God.
But, I also hate meeting together with this church, because I know that you all love me and care about me and when you ask me how I’m doing, you won’t let me just give you simple answers, but will really ask about my life and how things are going especially between me and God.
I’ve been thinking about his statement alot lately. Isn’t it true? We want community… we really do. But, many times, we don’t really want to expose ourselves to other people in the manner necessary in order to maintain a healthy community.
This love / hate relationship really shows a love / hate relationship with ourselves. I think it is natural and healthy, as long as we’re allowing the Spirit of God to continue to work in us to open ourselves up to other people in spite of our “hate” of such things. (By the way, the brother who spoke those words does just that, talking about things that are sensitive and often painful for his own spiritual growth and the growth of the church.)