Scripture… As We Live It #211
This is the 211th passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble that’s his problem because I’m free in Christ to eat whatever I want to eat. (1 Corinthians 8:13 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
My son graduates from high school today
Today, my son Jeremy graduates from high school. We started homeschooling Jeremy when he was in the third grade, and we continued to homeschool him through this year, his senior year. (Here is an interview that my wife did explaining why we started homeschooling our children: “Part of our family’s homeschool story.”)
We’re part of a homeschool co-op that puts together a graduation ceremony for the seniors each year. This year’s ceremony takes place at 2:00 p.m. today. Many of our family members are in town, and we’re making this a special time for Jeremy.
But, in reality (and as I’ll say to him when I present his high school diploma to him), this is really just another step in a journey he started many years ago. Over the last few years especially, he has started growing into a young man, taking on more responsibilities and making more of the decisions related to his life.
Today, in my presentation, I plan to remind him of three things: 1) we love him, 2) we’re proud of him, and 3) he can trust God through anything.
We’re excited for Jeremy and for the plans that he has in mind.
Replay: When community hinders God’s community
Four years ago, I wrote a post called “When ‘community’ hinders community.” God is building a community of his children, bringing together those who are saved by Jesus Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. However, we can build a true community that actually hampers the work that God is doing in building his community. This happens when we build community on our own or when we find our “common unity” in anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ.
Community is hard work. But, are we doing the hard work of living in God’s community, or are we doing the hard work of building a different kind of community?
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When “community” hinders community
This is my second post in the “Community” synchroblog that is taking place this week. My first post was called “Community is unnatural today“. Glenn at “re-dreaming the dream” organized this synchroblog. Posts will be added to this synchroblog throughout this week by various individuals. If you’d like to take part in this synchroblog, write your post and leave a comment with a link on Glenn’s latest synchroblog info post called “Community Synchroblog“.
Community is simply a group of people connected by some common bond. It is possible to relate to other people as community based on many different things: location, vocation, hobby, age, children, school, etc. Within the church, it is popular to build community based on meeting location, rules, doctrines, and human leadership. However, these types of commonality are not the foundation for the community that God is building.
Instead, God builds his community (perhaps a better translation of “ekklesia”) on the person of Jesus Christ and the common fellowship that his children have with him through the Holy Spirit. The community that God builds begins with a relationship with God himself through Jesus Christ and the Spirit. But, community doesn’t end there. God continues to build that community through relationships with one another. In fact, you could say that these interrelationships are the outward signs that God is building community. But, it must begin with God himself – both his work and our relationship with him. Finally, God’s community does not end with interrelationship among his children. Instead, God’s community reaches outside itself and welcomes those who are not yet part of the community.
The outward-looking and outward-loving aspect is perhaps one of the most peculiar aspects of the community that God builds. In almost every other case, community because a boundary, both for keeping people in and for keeping people out. When community is not based on loving God, loving each other, and loving others, then the community quickly becomes isolated and independent – the opposite of God’s community.
But, what happens when God’s children decide to build their own community based on meeting location, rules, doctrines, or human leadership? Again, the community turns inward and becomes more about who is outside of the community than welcoming people into the community. Differences and disagreements and struggles, even among those who are brothers and sisters in Christ, become justification for not welcoming or accepting someone into the community. The “community” ends up hurting and isolating themselves from the very people that should help them form the community.
Thus, it is possible to build a “community” – a true community in every aspect of the word – that hinders the community that God desires to build – a community that is centered on Jesus Christ and a common love for God, each other, and others. In fact, I believe that many who write of loving Jesus but not the church, or who write of being hurt by the church, or who write of being disillusioned by the church, are living the after effects of a community that is based in something other than Jesus Christ – the type of “community” that expels easier than it welcomes.
The difference between sermons and the word of God
Miguel at “God Directed Deviations” has written a thought-provoking post called “Well, we like to elevate the Word of God around here.”
In the post, Miguel is commenting on a couple of quotes related to sermons and the pulpit, and the relationship to those and the fellowship meal (or communion). He makes some interesting statements, many of which line up with what I’ve noticed when comparing Scripture to modern practices and beliefs.
For example, at one point Miguel writes:
I suppose I should make a personal distinction here. I do not necessarily equate the preaching of the word with “sermons” as they are thought of today. I believe we are all to be out preaching the word. “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2
Yes, we run into problems when we equate sermons and the pulpit with the Scriptures or with the word of God. As Miguel points out in his post, a group of believers can highly value the Scriptures and encourage one another to listen to and follow the word of God with neither pulpits nor sermons.
Then, of course, there’s the question of the connection between the modern notion of “sermons” and the scriptural exhortation to “preach/proclaim” the gospel or the word of God. The two are not necessarily the same.
What do you think?
Trust and love… now what? Fellowship and discipleship…
In my last two posts, I’ve written about trusting God (“Show me your faith apart from your works“) and the primary response of that trust, which is love (“That God kind of love“). Trusting God results in loving God and loving others. When we love God and love others, that love will be demonstrated in our lives.
How is it demonstrated? In Scripture, two terms are used as umbrella terms to describe the “now what”: fellowship and discipleship. Not only are these two a direct response to trusting God and love, they are also related to one another.
The first term – fellowship – describes the connection that we have with one another through Jesus Christ. We do not have to build that connection; it is already built for us when the Holy Spirit indwells us – that is, when we are saved by Jesus Christ. Immediately, we are connected with one another because of our mutual connection to God our Father through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Thus, we can understand why the authors of Scripture would choose a word like “fellowship” to describe this connection. At its foundation, the word “fellowship” points to “sharing.” In this case, what we share is ourselves and our lives. We become part of one anothers’ lives (become “members together with one another”) as we share in the life of God in us.
Now, it’s interesting to talk about the spiritual fellowship and connection that we have with believers all around the world. But, the authors of Scripture primarily talked about real, visible, relational fellowship, the kind of sharing and connection that takes place between people who actually live near one another. We cannot choose who we are connected to – we are connected with everyone who is in Christ. And, as long as we do not hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in us, and as long as we submit to his leading, we will find ourselves sharing our lives with all of God’s children that he brings into our life.
This sharing of life – or fellowship – leads directly into “discipleship.” It’s common today to think of “discipleship” as some type of program or class. That’s not what I’m talking about. The foundation of “discipleship” is the idea of being a disciple or “following.” In this case, “discipleship” is about helping one another submit to lordship of Jesus Christ and follow him and his direction in our lives.
Because of our fellowship, we will desire to see one another mature in Jesus Christ and live more and more in a manner worth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God can and will work through us to help one another follow the will of God in our lives. Helping one another walk in obedience to Jesus Christ is what discipleship is all about.
So, we trust God, which is demonstrated in our lives. That faith is primarily demonstrated by an increase in love for God and for others, especially those who could be deemed “unlovable.” The Holy Spirit knits our lives together, and we share our lives with one another. Through sharing or lives with one another, God works through us to help one another follow Jesus Christ.
Yes, you are sent. Why do you ask?
Scholars, missiologists, ecclesiologists, and other “ologists” continue to argue about the connection between the church and mission. Does the church have a mission, or does the mission have a church?
In reality, God has both a mission and a church, and in Christ we are part of both.
Joe (JR) at “More than Cake” has written an excellent post about our part in God’s mission called “I have already sent you! – A Missional Moment with Jesus.”
The main part of Joe’s post is a commentary on Jesus’ statements in John 4:25-27 and John 4:35-38. (Please jump over to Joe’s post and read his discussion of this passage.)
However, I want to focus on the last part of his post. In the last few sentences, Joe points out that Jesus has sent US (that is, all of us who are in Christ) into a “mission field”:
- Jesus has sent us into our workplaces where people go to earn a living, but do we share with them how God’s riches are far better.
- Jesus has moved us into neighborhoods where people seek shelter, but have we helped them know that God is the only house of refuge.
- Jesus has placed is in earthly families where people long for acceptance, but have we shown them by example that God’s family is the only way to find true love.
- Jesus has sent us into our local Safeway where they sell, “ingredients for life”, but have we held back from sharing our secret ingredient for Life Eternal?
- Jesus has sent us into the world where we demonstrate compassion by giving food, money and medicine, but have we forgotten about the spiritual need for nourishment and healing in Jesus?
Jesus has already sent you to sow and reap a harvest, did you miss it?
Yes! Exactly! We are all sent by God to proclaim his grace through Jesus Christ and to serve others in his name. Are you “living sent”?
That God kind of love
If faith (trust) is one of the most pervasive terms in Scripture (as I said in my previous post “Show me your faith apart from your works“), another term which is often found alongside it is love. In fact, the ideas of faith and love are often intertwined and interrelated by the authors of Scripture. (Just browse through 1 John to see this connection.)
In Scripture, love is the primary response of God towards people, and love is supposed to be the primary response of people toward God and toward other people. If this is not clear in the majority of Scripture, Jesus certainly spells it out for his listeners in this passage in the Gospel of Matthew:
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him [Jesus] a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40 re-mix)
Jesus’ audience immediately understood the implication of his instructions to love your neighbor as yourself. So, in response, someone asked him to clarify what he meant by “neighbor.” Luke tells us that it was at this point that Jesus told the parable that we call “the Good Samaritan.” While the Samaritan’s love is impressive, we often lose sight of the extent and scope of that love because of cultural and historical differences.
Jews and Samaritans hated one another. When traveling, they would each go out of their way to avoid running into each other. While there were many historical and cultural reasons for this animosity, religious differences lie at the root of the bitter feelings that the Jews and Samaritans had for one another. The hatred was ingrained; it was taught and learned from birth. Thus, the Samaritan’s love is even more shocking given this background. Furthermore, the Samaritan’s love was not simply an emotional response, but instead it resulted in action that benefited the other individual. Jesus is saying that this is the kind of love that we should have for anyone that we meet: a love that goes beyond differences and cultural standards and generously gives and serves for the benefit of the other, that is, for the one who should be hated.
Previously in Matthew, Jesus had said,
For if you love those who love you, what reward to you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet [accept] only your brothers [and sisters], what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5:46-47 ESV)
As Jesus points out, even those who are not part of God’s kingdom “love” people who are lovable and who love them back. This is normal love… natural love… worldly love. It is the kind of love that asks the question, “What can I get out of this?” It is the kind of love that is extended because of who the other person is or what the other person does.
This is not God’s kind of love. It is not the kind of love that he demonstrated toward us, and it is not the kind of love that we are supposed to demonstrate towards others. But, this God-kind of love is extremely important for those of us who follow Jesus Christ. Notice that in this passage Jesus said that the teachings of the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) depends upon this two-fold kind of love: love of God and love of neighbor. Just love of God or just love of other people is not enough. It is the combination of the love of God and love of others that demonstrates God’s kind of love.
But, Jesus said this God-kind of love demonstrates more than the teachings of the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament). Jesus also said that those who love in this way show the world that they are truly his disciples.
Show me your faith apart from your works
Faith is one of the most pervasive terms in Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, people are called to have faith, they demonstrate their faith, or they are rebuked because of their lack of faith. In many instances, “faith” is the difference between the children of God and the enemies of God, between the righteous and the wicked. But what did the authors of Scripture mean when they used the term “faith”?
The English term “faith” carries a range of meanings from trust and confidence to adherence to a set of religious principles. But, in Scripture, faith tends toward the former meaning: a strong trust or confidence in someone. In particular, faith is concerned with trusting or having confidence in God.
In verb form, translators often use the English term “believe.” Unfortunately, this term also has a wide range of meanings. Today, the term “believe” is often used to indicate a mental assent or agreement. Again, though, it may be best to think of “believe” as trusting God to do what he says he will do.
In Romans, Paul begins his letter by contrasting the difference between the righteous and the ungodly or unrighteous. But, what makes someone “righteous”? He quotes the prophet Habakkuk in saying that the righteous person is the one who lives his or her life by trusting in God. Notice that the primary verb in this statement is the verb “live.” Paul’s focus is not on a set of beliefs about God or facts about Jesus, but instead he focuses on a person’s life as a demonstration of trusting God. The righteous person is the person who trusts God as he or she lives day by day.
Certainly, the idea of trusting God includes knowing some information about God. It is impossible to trust God without knowing something about him. However, the opposite is not true. It is also possible to know much about God and, yet, not trust him. Throughout the Bible, faith in God is tied to active response to him. For this reason, James is able to state, “Faith without works is dead.” Those works, then, are actions that are taken in response to God; actions that demonstrate that someone trusts God.
In the same way, Paul clearly states that works alone is not enough to save anyone. As he wrote to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV) While some have suggested that Paul and James contradict each other, that is not a necessary conclusion. In fact, both James’ statement and Paul’s statement work within the understanding of “faith” as trusting God. Those who are saved trust God, and those who trust God are saved. Similarly, those who trust God will demonstrate that trust by their actions, their works. Someone with this kind of faith will also have works. Someone without works does not have that kind of faith.
The connection between faith and works and the connection between James and Paul is clearer when Ephesians 2:10 is considered along with Ephesians 2:8-9: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)
Jesus used the metaphor of “fruit” to describe these kinds of works – that is, the kinds of righteous deeds that result from living a life of trusting God. He told his disciples, “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-27 ESV) Just as a fruit tree bears only a certain kind of fruit, so people living by faith in God (or not living by faith in God) will demonstrate a certain kind of “fruit” through the actions in their lives. The “fruit” does not determine the type of tree; the type of tree determines the “fruit.”
The actions in a person’s life, then, demonstrates to the world whether or not that person is trusting God. Certainly, stating creeds or singing praises or other types of speech can be a portion of those fruits. But, in Scripture, the primary “fruit” indicator is the loving action demonstrated toward other people, especially people who (apparently) do not deserve that love.
Or, to put this in James’ words, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18 ESV)
If you won’t gather the way I think you should, then I’ll find a group who will!
The title of this post has been the (sarcastic) point of several of my blog posts, including one of my favorites called “A Cup o’ Joe or a Cup with Joe.” (By the way, if you jump to that post, make sure to read the comments. Those are some of the best comments on my blog… ever.)
Now, Kurt at “church then and now” has written a post on the same topic called “A Holiday Disaster – A Parable.” Kurt not only begins his post with a humorous “parable,” but he also continues by examining the problem of requiring others to be and act the way we think they should.
Here is Kurt’s parable:
It was one of the worst possible family gatherings imaginable. People showed up late. Aunt Mary was supposed to bring the salad but forgot. Uncle Sam was in charge of the meat. It was overdone a tough. Some of the cousins got into a fight with lots of name calling and even a few hard shoves. The dessert…we always have apple pie. This year we had chocolate cake. It just isn’t the same.
I was a bit frustrated, maybe even angry. Everything seemed different. I didn’t like it. Mistakes, change…I don’t like it at all. My first inclination, my knee jerk reaction, was to find another place to go for my next holiday meal. I am having a hard time. I don’t like this a bit.
I heard that a house down the street has nice people, a happy atmosphere, and wonderful food, including apple pie. I think I will go to that house next time.
It sounds funny when it’s a family reunion… but it seems the church is so much like that. We accept one another and fellowship with one another based on our levels of agreement instead of basing everything on our mutual relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
How much different this “family reunion” we call church would be and would appear to others (especially outsiders) if we accepted one another as God has accepted us in Jesus Christ.
Don’t miss the remainder of Kurt’s post. He has some good things to say in regards to accepting one another as God’s family.
Elitism among the body of Christ
According to dictionary.com, an elitist is “a person having, thought to have, or professing superior intellect or talent, power, wealth, or membership in the upper echelons of society.”
Last summer, when I start running, I began to hear advice from “elite” runners. Those were the people who could run faster or longer distances than most other people.
But, it seems there is a difference in connotation between the word “elite” and the word “elitist.” The term “elitist” usually refers to someone who looks down on other people because of their (assumed) superiority in some aspect of life or society.
Throughout Scripture, life with Christ is described as a process of growth and maturity. We do not start perfect in our understanding and life in Christ. Instead, we start as “babes,” and are intended to continually grow as the Spirit works in and through us.
If any of us look back on our lives with Christ, we will probably see changes in our beliefs, love, actions, spiritual gifts, relations with other people, etc. This is normal growth in the Spirit. Even Paul recognize that he had not yet attained full maturity, but he pressed on toward growing more and more in Christ.
But, it’s possible for any of us to forget where we once were and begin to look down on others who are not where are currently. In fact, there are a couple of passage of Scripture that indicate the same thing was happening even then.
For example, in Romans 12, Paul seems to address the possibility that some Christians thought less of others based on spiritual gifts:
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3 ESV)
Some parts of 1 Corinthians 12-14 indicate that some of the believers in Corinth may have had elitist thoughts regarding spiritual gifts as well.
Plus, when writing to the Corinthians, Paul indicated that some of them made have thought more highly of themselves (in comparison to other believers) because of their knowledge in certain spiritual areas:
Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. (1 Corinthians 8:1-2 ESV)
Before we look down our spiritual noses on the Corinthians (and perhaps demonstrate our own elitism), we should recognize that we can all fall into this trap. It’s easy to look down on others, even when they are demonstrating the same beliefs and/or actions that we demonstrated only a few years, months, or days before. But, just as God worked in us to bring us to where we are today, we must trust God to do the same in others. And, on top of that, we must remember that God is also still at work in our own lives. Tomorrow, he may reveal (and we may finally accept) that we are wrong about something we believe or do today.
There is no room for elitism among the body of Christ. Instead, as Paul wrote, we must always consider others as more important than ourselves – which is the exact opposite of elitism.