There was a time when the Church used to preach and sing about Heaven. A quick perusal of any good hymnal will yield a whole category of songs about heaven and glory. I remember singing "When We All Get to Heaven" in Church. It just seems that people used to be more aware of the brevity and frailty of life on earth. People seem to live today without giving a thought to the day of death, not to mention what comes after. The Church once had the perspective of life described in John Bunyan’s classic "The Pilgrim's Progress" – that we are just passing through this world on our way to the Celestial City.
Something has radically changed in the Church. The focus is now on THIS life and everything associated with being successful here and now. People want to know who to marry, what career to enter, how to save and invest for retirement, and raising a family. If all this can be accomplished while still having a little Christianity that is ok. But to most people in this generation Heaven seems like an irrelevant subject. The point is to make it in the world now and worry about Heaven later. Many would even say that "you don't want to be so heavenly-minded that you are of no earthly good." And, "why are we thinking so much about heaven when there is so much work to do here in this world?" So if you think too much about heaven you are made to feel guilty for being irrelevant and overly spiritual.
In neglecting Heaven in its preaching and worship, the Church has not only ignored the Scriptures and the Gospel, it has also passed over one of the deepest and most profound aspect of the human condition: the longing for home.
Both of the passages we are considering include descriptions of exile, captivity, and homelessness, as well as promises from God about coming home, and having a city and a country of our own. God's promises about Heaven are not just pie in the sky, but address the deepest longings of the human heart.
The passage from Jeremiah includes promises about Israel's return from Babylonian captivity and restoration to the Promised Land. But as you read the context you begin to understand that God is not just addressing Israel alone but is speaking from a much larger context.
The Babylonian Exile must be seen in the larger context of the Bible as a kind of picture of the human condition. This condition is something that even thoughtful pagan people have observed and identified as alienation. This alienation is a sense that the world in which we live is not our true home and cannot really support the deepest desires of our hearts. There are things that our hearts need that this world, at least in its present state, cannot support or provide for us. Let's say you were able to get on a spaceship and go to Mars. Your ship lands and you step out into the Martian atmosphere. And your lungs immediately begin to experience alienation. That is because your lungs were made to breathe in Earth's atmosphere. But Mars has only a fraction of the oxygen in its atmosphere that the Earth has. And you would also experience another kind of alienation: loneliness. There's nobody home! But you were made to live in community with other humans.
But the Earth is our home and there is oxygen to breathe and people all around us, right? So where is the alienation?
You have to dig a little deeper, but the alienation is there. Since we started with an illustration from the natural world, let's stay with that theme. Is our earthly environment in the natural world really home to us? Annie Dillard is one of those thoughtful pagans I mentioned, though she at one time claimed to be a Roman Catholic. She was one of those East Coast intellectuals from the 1960s who thought she would learn about God by being close to Nature. There are still a lot of these misguided people today, people who are very close to being Pantheists and worshiping the creation rather than the Creator which is a very old and not a new sin.
At any rate, Annie Dillard observed nature and wrote her observations in a Pulitzer Prize winning book called "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." But what she observed about nature is somewhat disturbing. She writes that "the universe that suckled us is a monster that does not care if we live or die—it does not care if it itself grinds to a halt. It is a beast running on chance and death, careening from nowhere to nowhere. It is fixed and blind, a robot programmed to kill. We are free and seeing; we can only try to outwit it at every turn to save our lives."
What is she saying about the natural world? Is it our home? Not really. You could make the case that the natural world is trying to kill us! Anyone who really does try to live that close to nature finds out very quickly that it does not love us at all. Dillard was actually observing what the Bible teaches us. Solomon called it vanity. Paul called it the bondage of corruption. We could also call it alienation. Human beings are alienated from the environment or the natural world.
Let's hear from another thoughtful pagan: a philosopher named Albert Camus. He has a very famous quote that also has in it the simple wisdom of observation, something very much akin to Solomon's kind of wisdom in Ecclesiastes. "Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time."
What is he saying about life? Isn't beauty one of the best things about life? Who doesn't love the beauty of a sunset over the Pacific, a newborn baby, a symphony by Bach, a sonnet by Shakespeare? But beauty is unbearable, says Camus, and he is right. He is right because we have a natural inclination to want to keep these beautiful things forever, and we can't keep them. Take for example what many people would say is the most beautiful thing in the world: love. Do we get to keep love? We don't. We can't keep love because at some point in every marriage, even a Christian marriage, one of you is going to have to look at the other one in a coffin. No matter what beautiful thing we find in this life, eventually we are going to lose to death. We desperately want to hang onto these beautiful things, we want them to last forever, but they don't. Even the best things of life slip through our fingers like sand through an hourglass. This alienation could drive us to despair.
But actually behind this desire to hold on to beautiful things forever, or to be in harmony with the natural world, is something that is good because it is something that comes from God. Many of the deepest desires of the human heart, if followed far enough, would lead us to God. Now that might sound heretical.
The word "desire" brings negative associations to our minds, like something sensual and sinful. The word "lust" is always associated with sinful desires. But in the Bible the word that we translate "lust" is neither good nor bad by itself it is just a strong desire for something. It is the thing desired that makes the desire good or bad. Augustine said that sin is where we take a completely legitimate desire and we try to fulfill it without God. This desire that we have for an eternal home is a God-ordained desire.
But it is a desire that most people try to fulfill without going to God. So people go through life feeling this alienation and yet trying to ignore it by doing all the things that people do: eating and drinking, marriage, family, career, etc. Every heart is searching for its home, but like the Prodigal Son, getting farther and farther from the Father's House. But still we yearn. We pine. As C.S. Lewis said, "We remain conscious of a desire which no natural happiness will satisfy." This desire is from God.
To really understand the alienation we feel, as well as this longing for home, we must go back to the source of this condition. We must go back to Eden. In the Garden Man was at home. He walked with God. But the result of sin was man being cast out. Sin always casts you out. Sin alienates us. For example, if you lie to someone there is an almost immediate alienation from that person. You now have to be on your guard so that you maintain the lie and don't give yourself away. You can't really be yourself, or be open and vulnerable. If you lie to your spouse, now that is the beginning of the end of your marriage, at least of a happy marriage.
The story of the human race began with being cast out. Man lost his original home. And we can't get back, no matter how hard we try. Remember how God blocked the way to the Tree of Life with a flaming sword. Any access to the Tree of Life will be costly. Anyone passing that way must go under the Sword. So from the very beginning the story of humanity is of exile and homelessness. And so Milton wrote "Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the world, and all our woe, with loss of Eden, till one greater Man restore us, and regain the blissful seat." So begins the story of Redemption in Scripture.
There was a movie made in the mid-80s called "Trip to Bountiful" that was originally a TV play from the 1950s. It has recently been opened on Broadway just last month. At any rate, the film, set in the 1940s, tells the story of an elderly woman, Carrie Watts, who wants to return home to the small town where she grew up. Old Mrs. Watts is determined and sets out to catch a train, only to find that trains do not go to Bountiful anymore. She eventually boards a bus to a town near her childhood home. On the journey, she befriends a girl traveling alone and reminisces about her younger years and grieves for her lost relatives. The local sheriff, moved by her yearning to visit her girlhood home, offers to drive her out to what remains of Bountiful. The village is deserted, and the few remaining houses are derelict. Mrs. Watts is moved to tears as she surveys her father's land and the remains of the family home.
It is a known fact that our memories of the past, of things like home and childhood, are often much more positive as memories than the actual events.
This is what we call nostalgia or the good ole days. A preacher once said that "the good ole days were just basically old." But there is a deeper reason for this syndrome. There is a reason why people still want to go to places like Bountiful. We are trying to get back home. It is the collective memory of Eden. The strange thing is that the memories, while they evoke a longing, should not be mistaken for this longing itself, which is deeper still. If mistaken for the longing itself your memories of times gone by will deceive you and end up breaking your heart.
The 90th Psalm says "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations." Isaac Watts, the great hymn writer, echoes the 90th Psalm in his great hymn: "O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come; our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home." Ultimately, God Himself is our home and our hearts will be ever restless until we find rest in Him.
So if we are trying to get home, to get back to Paradise, to even get back to God, how can we get back? The answer is back there in Jeremiah 31, though it might surprise you. We will get back to home through the tears of Rachael. Rachael's tears are mentioned three times in the Bible. This is mentioned originally in Genesis when Rachael had great pain in delivery and she had a son, but her soul departed. She named the boy Ben-Oni, or "son of my sorrow." Jacob changed it to Benjamin or "Son of my right hand." The tears of Rachael are mentioned in Jeremiah 31 and then Jeremiah is quoted by the Gospel writer Matthew at the birth of Jesus, when the innocents in Bethlehem are slain. What does all this mean? Through pain and death Rachael brought her son into the world.
Jeremiah is referring to the weeping of the women of Judah during the captivity in Babylon as they saw their children die. In a similar way, the women of Bethlehem wept when Herod killed their children. We live in a world where mothers and children are often separated because of death. How can this world be home with mothers losing their children and children losing their mothers?
Matthew says "thus were fulfilled the words of the prophet Jeremiah," but he is not talking just about those mothers in Bethlehem. Matthew is talking about Jesus. Jesus fulfilled the words of Jeremiah. Jesus is the ultimate Rachael. Years after his birth Jesus stood looking over the city of Jerusalem. And he said "How I have longed to gather you together as a mother hen will gather her chicks." There is Jesus, weeping like a mother over the alienation of the people. Jesus is Rachel, who through sorrow, pain, and eventually death, came to give us new birth. Here is Jesus, the son of sorrow on the cross, who was cast out on Golgotha so we could come home forever. He became the son of the right hand at the resurrection and has overcome sin, death, and alienation to reconcile us to God and bring us home to stay.
But let's not get too far ahead. We are not home just yet. What until then? The New Testament speaks to believers as if we have already been reconciled to God through Christ and faith in the Gospel.
Reconciliation is the opposite of alienation. Like the Prodigal Son we have brought home to the loving arms of the Father. This has already happened. In fact, Paul speaks as if the whole world, creation itself, has already been reconciled to God through the death of Christ. So why are we still in a world like this?
Why are we still in a world where we die and have to be separated from loved ones, for example? The Christian life is lived by faith in the tension between the NOW and the not yet. We must live in this tension and learn to accept it. We have been reconciled, but we are not home quite yet. We have been born again, but still live in a fallen world where death reigns. So we are not home yet. With this in mind there are some things we should not do, and there are some things we should do.
First, there are some things you should NOT do. You should not settle down here. Don't allow yourself to become anchored in your affections to this present world. Don't love the World or anything in the World. There is a very logical reason for this admonition in the New Testament: "the World and its desires pass away." The temporal nature of everything around us should teach us not to love those things simply because our hearts will be broken and our hopes dashed if we do. So don't settle down. But, on the other hand, don't check out. Don't settle down, that is one extreme, but don't check out either, which is the other extreme reaction. Some people reason that all is hopeless because we die and that is it! This is the despair and hopelessness you can even read in Ecclesiastes and is all around us in this society. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." That is the hopelessness of hedonism. Yet even Solomon knew that God holds us accountable. Death is not the end. It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. It DOES matter what you do in this world because God will hold you accountable for what you did and what you didn't do.
There are things God expects us to do with our time in the world, like letting our lights so shine before men that they may see and glorify God, and doing the good works that God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
But there are some things we should do. First, we should begin to live as strangers and aliens. Another term is as pilgrims, or someone who is away from home on a journey. We must learn from the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They lived as strangers, dwelling in tents, even though they were promised ownership of the land of Canaan. They lived by faith as they sojourned, leaving us an example. The Christian life is a life of faith, trusting God in a land that is not our home. We also dwell in the tents of these mortal coils, awaiting our permanent dwellings in heaven. God loves pilgrims. If you are not at home in this world, and if you are looking for a home elsewhere, you are the kind of person God loves to call His own! In fact, He has prepared a home for you. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you." And in the Father's House there are many rooms. There is a place for you there, though there is not a place for you here.
We have to learn from what it means to actually live as strangers in the world. Practically speaking this means we must accept certain realities, such as the fact that not everything is going to go our way. If we learn to accept these realities and still live by faith then we have learned a great life-lesson.
But even if you are a stranger in a land that is not your home, you can visit your true home. And you should do so regularly. How can we visit our true home? Well, you are already seated with Christ in heavenly places. You visit through prayer and when you worship with the Body of Christ.
Unfortunately, we can only visit and we do have to go back out into the world. Monday mornings still come. We look forward to that day when we will not have to leave. Until that time our visits into heavenly places, when the things of this world grow strangely dim, are preparing us for that day when we will be there with the Lord for good. Psalm 17 says "when I awake I shall be satisfied with your likeness." The Revelation says, "They shall see His face." When we awake from the curse of death, and we see the face of God, we will be home. And yet, even now, as Paul said, we are all beholding, with faces unveiled, the glory of the Lord.
Everyone enjoys visiting a beautiful park. But what if everyone decided to just live in the park? Literal homelessness is still a big issue in our country, and it is sad to see people who actually live in a park because they have no place else to go. But if we all decided to just live in the parks, what would happen to the condition of those parks? They would become places of squalor because parks are nice places to visit but these places are not designed to support the needs of our whole lives. There are things we need to live that are just not available in a park! Consider this parable. There are needs and desires in your heart, very deeply buried there, that nothing in this world can touch. This world cannot support the deepest needs of our hearts, and we should not try to make it do so. The results will be devastating. But if there is nothing in this world that can satisfy you . . . rejoice! That means you have been made for another world, and God is not ashamed to be called your God, because he has prepared a city for you! So travel light!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
The Fellowship of the Saints
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD (Psalm 122:1-4).
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47).
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).
We are living in a time and a culture where the fellowship of believers has been greatly minimized and even denigrated. Part of the problem has to do with our view of ourselves. Western people tend to view themselves as independent individuals. The desires and freedom of the individual is the most important value in our society. And so people believe that they are free to do whatever they want and are not constrained by any other outside obligations or responsibility.
Unfortunately this kind of Western individualism has also crept into the Church. Christians today think of themselves as individuals who have received a personal and individual salvation. Being with other believers is just an optional addition to this personal salvation.
A second problem in our culture today is our addiction to entertainment, especially sports and television. It is very easy now to just stay at home by yourself and watch TV, even religious programs, and entertain yourself without even being in contact with another living human being. Many people will admit that they prefer this to actually having to interact with other people. It seems that relationships are complex and difficult and it is easier to just have artificial relationships, perhaps through social media, rather than having to put in the time and hard work of having real relationships with real people.
All of these factors such as individualism, media, entertainment have had a negative effect on relationships in our culture generally and have also influenced the fellowship of the Church.
But God’s people have always made fellowship a high priority. Obviously, we do not allow the surrounding culture to dictate to us how to practice our faith. Christians must always be counter-cultural. We only bend to the wind of the Spirit and not to the winds of our culture.
And when we read in the Scriptures or even in Church history about the people of God we always find them gathering together. When David wrote Psalm 122 about going to the house of the Lord he was not speaking about just being with the Lord by himself, but going to worship God along with the people of God. “Let US go to the house of the Lord.” And David also says “OUR feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” While God worked through certain individuals, such as David, the focus in the Scriptures is always on the people of Israel as a group of people and not just on individuals.
This same pattern continues in the New Testament Scriptures. There are certain individuals who are doing important things, but the focus is on the people of God, the Church, which is the Body of Christ. The first Christians converted on the Day of Pentecost were known for their close fellowship. They met together every day, in the Temple courts and in their homes. Those early Christians were also known for their generosity with one another. In fact, it was the quality of their relationships and fellowship with each other that made the early Christians so unique.
The fellowship of saints is not just a duty to be performed but a joy and a blessing to be greatly desired. We can view these times of fellowship as something that we must do – as something that must be endured. Indeed there are many Christians who feel that enduring times of fellowship is part of taking up their cross and following Jesus. Going to Church is something like getting tortured and killed. Other Christians make the fellowship something like a law that is necessary to earn one’s salvation. For these people salvation is by grace through faith plus going to Church. When they have gone to Church they can then mark this off their list of things they must do to stay in God’s favor and earn heaven. People who are legalistic about going to Church are almost always condemning of others who don’t go as often as they do.
But this attitude is all wrong for a Christian and does not agree with the nature of the Gospel and the New Covenant. We are not motivated to gather together because we are keeping a law. We must view the fellowship of the saints as a gift and even as a traveling mercy. God has given us a great resource when He put us in the Body of Christ. God wants to bless us, and He will do this when we are together functioning as the Body and not just when we are at home by ourselves. Those who are born again should have a craving and an appetite for the fellowship of the saints. We should not have to be commanded on this point because we should already have this desire. Those who do not have a desire for fellowship are not born again and there is no law that can give this new life. If we view the fellowship as grace and not law then we will want to get as much as we can instead of just doing the minimum.
Worldly people love going to their sports and places of entertainments. No one in these events are trying to reduce the time or the number of events – they can’t get enough and always want more! So why do some Christians seem to go to Church so that they can get home? Why are Churches reducing the number of meetings? There is no law for how often we are to get together or for how long, but I think the nature of the New Covenant and the Gospel would leave us wanting to get as much as we can. So our attitude toward our times of fellowship should be one of anticipation. We know that God will speak to us and bless us as we come together.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47).
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).
We are living in a time and a culture where the fellowship of believers has been greatly minimized and even denigrated. Part of the problem has to do with our view of ourselves. Western people tend to view themselves as independent individuals. The desires and freedom of the individual is the most important value in our society. And so people believe that they are free to do whatever they want and are not constrained by any other outside obligations or responsibility.
Unfortunately this kind of Western individualism has also crept into the Church. Christians today think of themselves as individuals who have received a personal and individual salvation. Being with other believers is just an optional addition to this personal salvation.
A second problem in our culture today is our addiction to entertainment, especially sports and television. It is very easy now to just stay at home by yourself and watch TV, even religious programs, and entertain yourself without even being in contact with another living human being. Many people will admit that they prefer this to actually having to interact with other people. It seems that relationships are complex and difficult and it is easier to just have artificial relationships, perhaps through social media, rather than having to put in the time and hard work of having real relationships with real people.
All of these factors such as individualism, media, entertainment have had a negative effect on relationships in our culture generally and have also influenced the fellowship of the Church.
But God’s people have always made fellowship a high priority. Obviously, we do not allow the surrounding culture to dictate to us how to practice our faith. Christians must always be counter-cultural. We only bend to the wind of the Spirit and not to the winds of our culture.
And when we read in the Scriptures or even in Church history about the people of God we always find them gathering together. When David wrote Psalm 122 about going to the house of the Lord he was not speaking about just being with the Lord by himself, but going to worship God along with the people of God. “Let US go to the house of the Lord.” And David also says “OUR feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” While God worked through certain individuals, such as David, the focus in the Scriptures is always on the people of Israel as a group of people and not just on individuals.
This same pattern continues in the New Testament Scriptures. There are certain individuals who are doing important things, but the focus is on the people of God, the Church, which is the Body of Christ. The first Christians converted on the Day of Pentecost were known for their close fellowship. They met together every day, in the Temple courts and in their homes. Those early Christians were also known for their generosity with one another. In fact, it was the quality of their relationships and fellowship with each other that made the early Christians so unique.
The fellowship of saints is not just a duty to be performed but a joy and a blessing to be greatly desired. We can view these times of fellowship as something that we must do – as something that must be endured. Indeed there are many Christians who feel that enduring times of fellowship is part of taking up their cross and following Jesus. Going to Church is something like getting tortured and killed. Other Christians make the fellowship something like a law that is necessary to earn one’s salvation. For these people salvation is by grace through faith plus going to Church. When they have gone to Church they can then mark this off their list of things they must do to stay in God’s favor and earn heaven. People who are legalistic about going to Church are almost always condemning of others who don’t go as often as they do.
But this attitude is all wrong for a Christian and does not agree with the nature of the Gospel and the New Covenant. We are not motivated to gather together because we are keeping a law. We must view the fellowship of the saints as a gift and even as a traveling mercy. God has given us a great resource when He put us in the Body of Christ. God wants to bless us, and He will do this when we are together functioning as the Body and not just when we are at home by ourselves. Those who are born again should have a craving and an appetite for the fellowship of the saints. We should not have to be commanded on this point because we should already have this desire. Those who do not have a desire for fellowship are not born again and there is no law that can give this new life. If we view the fellowship as grace and not law then we will want to get as much as we can instead of just doing the minimum.
Worldly people love going to their sports and places of entertainments. No one in these events are trying to reduce the time or the number of events – they can’t get enough and always want more! So why do some Christians seem to go to Church so that they can get home? Why are Churches reducing the number of meetings? There is no law for how often we are to get together or for how long, but I think the nature of the New Covenant and the Gospel would leave us wanting to get as much as we can. So our attitude toward our times of fellowship should be one of anticipation. We know that God will speak to us and bless us as we come together.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Jesus Speaks to the Church (Revelation 1.9-20; 2.1-3.22)
In the final book of the Bible Jesus speaks to the Church. But the Jesus in Revelation is hardly recognizable as a humble carpenter from Nazareth. Of course the Jesus in Revelation is the same Jesus who walked in Galilee. But this is an exalted, glorified Christ. It is fitting that the last book of the Bible begins with a vision of a reigning, victorious Christ. This vision sets the tone for the entire book.
The Apostle John needed this vision of Christ. John had been exiled to the lonely isle of Patmos as an old man. He was probably the last living Apostle. And John had every reason to believe that he would die there. So it is fitting that Christ would reveal Himself to John as the One who has died and been raised to life again, and is now holding the keys to Death and Hades!
John was the leader of a Movement that was beginning to feel the wrath of Rome – the most powerful Kingdom the world has ever seen. Rome had devoured every other kingdom in the civilized world up to that time. So it would seem a small thing for the Empire to stamp out a newborn religious movement, just as a horse might swat a fly with the end of its tail. Behind the Beast of Rome was the Dragon, seeking to devour those who worship Christ. And the Dragon has many devices he can use against the churches. As he sat on the shores of Patmos, John must have been thinking about his brethren and how weak and vulnerable the churches seemed to be when he considered the forces arrayed against them.
The churches were on Jesus' mind too. Before He unveils the purpose of God for the consummation of history to the apostle John, Jesus first addresses His churches on earth. With eyes like blazing fire that penetrate into all dark secrets, and with words sharper than a two-edged sword that lays bare the hearts of men, Jesus has a message for the Church. Christ specifically addresses seven churches, all in the Roman province of Asia.
But astute Bible students understand the number seven is not coincidental. Seven is the Divine number representing perfection or completeness. So Jesus is actually addressing the entire Church by speaking to these representative churches of Asia. Jesus is intensely interested in the condition of His Church in the world.
There is an intimate connection between Jesus and the Church. When Jesus appears to John on Patmos Jesus is seen standing in the midst of seven lamp stands – the heavenly representations of the seven Churches of Asia. Jesus is walking in the midst of His Churches. The glorified Christ is dressed in a robe that reminds us of priestly garments. He is interceding for His Church in heaven. It is impossible to see Christ and not see His Church, which is His Body.
The very first priority for Jesus in this Revelation is to speak to His Churches on Earth. And it seems that if anyone is going to understand the Revelation he must first hear what Jesus says to the Church.
The first chapters of the Revelation are often passed over for the more enigmatic material later in the book. This is a serious error! The Revelation should never be read apart from Jesus and His Church. Everything that is said in this book is said with the Church in mind.
And yet a large segment of the professed Church today has adopted a theology that removes the Church from the world by the fourth chapter of this book! Novel doctrine like this is why this book has remained mysterious. The book of Revelation was written with these seven Churches in mind and it should be interpreted first of all as a message for them. But this book is often interpreted futuristically as if it had nothing to do with the seven Churches of Asia, or even succeeding generations of believers, because it is taught that the Church is removed from the world in the rapture. We should make it clear that the rapture is not mentioned in Revelation. And there is no completely new doctrine taught in this book that has not already been expounded by either the Prophets or Apostles.
Christ is no longer in this World but has been exalted into heaven and is reigning at the Father's right hand. This is made clear in John's vision. But the Body of Christ, the Church, is still in this World. This means that the Church is the only representation of Christ on Earth, since Jesus is not here Himself. This also means that if the work of Christ is going to continue on Earth, it must be done by the Body of Christ. With these things in mind it is no surprise that Jesus is intensely concerned about the condition of His Church in the World. Jesus is also concerned about lost people. He came to seek and save the lost. But now that He is in heaven the lost will be saved through the witness of the Church. So the Churches must be strong with their lamp stands shining brightly. Weak Churches bring reproach to Christ instead of a witness for Christ.
Every Church is invited by the Revelation to examine itself! We should do this understanding that Jesus Himself is examining His Churches.
The greatest threat to the Church is internal decline. The Church has some intimidating enemies. In the Revelation these enemies will be unmasked and identified. There is the Beast, the False Prophet, Babylon, and the Dragon himself. But before we see any of these enemies Jesus first focuses His attention, and ours, on the Church Herself. The greatest enemy of the Church is not those coming from the outside, but what arises from within.
Three of the seven Churches of Asia are rebuked by the Lord because of some kind of internal decline. Ephesus is rebuked for leaving its first love for Christ, even though it had retained doctrinal purity. Sardis is rebuked for being dead, though it had a reputation for being alive. And the infamous Church at Laodicea is rebuked for being lukewarm, even though it thought it was rich.
A common thread here is that the true condition of these churches was not obvious, even to the churches themselves. I don't think anyone in these churches would have made this assessment of their church. In fact, they all seemed to come to the opposite conclusion of their true condition. And most outside observers would have probably thought these churches were healthy and successful. But the Lord Jesus sees the truth and He does not judge by appearances.
Of these three examples perhaps the most surprising is Ephesus. They had remained doctrinally pure and worked hard for the Lord. But they had lost their love and tenderness toward Christ Himself. We see how subtle the decline can be! All of the machinery can be kept going while the inside deteriorates.
When He was on Earth, Jesus saw this same tendency in the Jewish religion and He condemned it for being like a whitewashed tomb filled with dead men's bones! There seems to be nothing the Lord hates more than religious hypocrisy. Jesus did not shout at the woman at the well in Samaria or the woman caught in adultery, but He called the Pharisees snakes! Jesus made a whip of cords to cleanse the religious moneymakers from the Temple, but he never chased away the tax collectors and prostitute with a whip. There are those people out there who are sinners and they know it. They may even be proud of it. Then there are those sinners who hide their sin behind a religious cloak. Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people. He was talking about Christianity, at least the kind of Christianity that had dominated Western Civilization for more than two millennia. There is a religious mind set that can dull the senses and make us impervious to the truth about ourselves.
The spiritual condition of any church is just the sum total of the spiritual condition of its members.
If the majority of the people are cold, dead, or lukewarm, then that is what the church will be. There may be a remnant, like at Sardis, but the remnant will only save itself, not the whole community.
The Church is also internally weakened when it compromises its moral purity. One of these Churches, Thyatira, is rebuked severely by the Lord for its immorality. This immorality came from tolerating a false teacher. False teaching will always lead to bad living. False teaching always manages to somehow muddle what is clear. We are often amazed at how people can actually justify all kinds of behavior. And I am talking about Church people!
Some of these arguments can get rather sophisticated. In the ancient world it was commonly taught that there was this dichotomy between flesh and spirit. Some began to teach that you could be spiritual while indulging all of the desires of your fleshly body. Others have taught, and still teach, that since we are under grace and not law, then sin is automatically covered and is therefore permissible, even advantageous, because you can always get more grace. There are those who say that they have no power over their lusts, but are helpless addicts who can no longer control themselves and are therefore not really fully responsible for their actions. We often hear the cultural argument for certain sinful lifestyles. What the Bible seems to clearly condemn was actually only condemned at that cultural moment and was not meant to be a universal prohibition. But now times have changed and we can't possibly remain slaves to something that was commanded so long ago.
While some of the nuances of these arguments change, we know these all come from the same ancient source whence have come all lies and doubts about God's Word. All false doctrines are developed in order to justify some kind of carnal expression while twisting the clear meaning of God's Word, obscuring what once seemed clear.
This happened in Eden, around a golden calf, in the Church at Thyatira, and it continues in our society today.
Now we expect the pagans to live like pagans. Idol worship and immorality have always gone hand in hand. But God's people are supposed to be different. God's people are supposed to be holy, separate, set apart. This holiness is always because of our association with God and with His Son. God is holy, so God's people are to be holy like Him. God will not tolerate His people thinking and living just like everyone else because this makes it seem that God Himself is just like a common thing which can be taken lightly and thrown aside easily. The consequences are sever for treating an association with the living God in a casual manner. Just consider the history of the nation of Israel and her unfaithfulness.
There are those who seem to think that God has changed and no longer expresses wrath. These folks need to read the book of Revelation! If holiness was the standard for Israel, we can expect it to be the standard for those whom Jesus has purchased with His own blood! The logic for holiness is even stronger under grace than under the Law.
It is never acceptable for the Church to tolerate false teachers and their doctrines. Thyatira was not the only Church to have been infiltrated by false teachers. The Church at Pergamum is also rebuked by the Lord for this.
It should be noted that the Lord not only rebukes these Churches for believing these false teachers, but for allowing them to continue in the assembly. These teachers and those who hold to their doctrines should not have been allowed to continue speaking or even to continue in the fellowship. The churches should have exercised discipline and removed those who sinned morally as well as those who either taught or accepted false doctrine. The influence of those who sin is like leaven that works its way through the whole Body.
The purpose of removing immoral people from the assembly is to remove their influence and to also bring about repentance, as we see in the case of the man at Corinth who had his father's wife. This kind of church discipline is almost never seen today in the nominal Church. Churches seem to tolerate almost anything as long as the existence of the organization is not threatened.
In his words to both Thyatira and Pergamum the Lord uses two examples from the Scriptures to illustrate the nature of false teachers and their doctrine. The first allusion from the Scriptures is to Jezebel. This heathen queen was the wife of Ahab, who was the king of Israel, and she did much to harm the nation by introducing Baal worship.
The second example is that of Balaam. Balaam was a prophet hired by the king of the Moabites to curse Israel. God would not let him do this, so Balaam found another way to bring God's curse. He instructed Moab to lure the Israelite men into immorality and idol worship. In both of these examples we see that false teachers are those who bring paganism and worldliness into the Church creating some kind of compromise and unholy union. We also learn that false teachers are usually motivated by some kind of material gain and their teaching and lifestyles promote carnality.
I have no doubt that most false teachers are probably very intelligent and charming individuals who work by deception, just as their Master, Satan works by disguising himself as an angel of light. It is crucial that the churches are able to recognize these deceptive infiltrators who are actually Satan's employees.
We lament the fact that the professed church has welcomed false teachers with open arms, tolerating and promoting their doctrines. This may be because a strong delusion has been sent upon the institutional Church.
Another mark of false teachers is seen in the many divisions that have been created in the nominal Church. Sound doctrine unites. False teaching creates heresies, or divisions, which is a mark of the flesh and is called a sin in the Scriptures. We may have differences of opinions on disputable matters, but we cannot tolerate anyone who preaches another Gospel.
The Church regularly experiences pressure from the surrounding culture. The World-system exerts a tremendous amount of pressure on people to conform. The World is not neutral, in spite of what is often said about tolerance, but demands obedience. If we do not conform there are consequences. Some consequences may simply be getting ignored. But in extreme situations there may be open hostility or even physical and violent retribution.
Jesus is speaking to churches that had already begun to experience this overt kind of pressure or persecution from their culture and we know from history that this situation would become much worse as Rome targeted the Church. The Church at Pergamum had a martyr there: a man named Antipas. That Church was said to dwell where Satan had his throne. That city was like a headquarters for Satan's operations. There are churches in the world that are located in places of concentrated spiritual darkness. The congregations at Smyrna and Philadelphia were enduring persecution from unbelieving Jews. It seems that when the Church is persecuted the hottest opposition always comes from religious people.
Jesus' greatest enemies were religious leaders. Most scholars who study the historical background to Revelation agree that one of the factors contributing to Rome's hostility to the early Church was the Emperor Cult.
While the early Church was persecuted by Jews and then by the Roman Empire, the astonishing thing is that an Apostate and unfaithful Church have been one of the greatest persecutors of the saints. Our Protestant forefathers were relentlessly pursued by the Roman Church and some, like Tyndale, were put to death. (Foxe's Book of Martyrs is a must-read for all serious Christians! I have been particularly encouraged by the story of the martyrdom of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was asked to recant his faith in Christ and replied, "Eighty-six years have I served Him and He had done me no wrong. How can I deny the Lord who saved me?")
It is interesting that the only two Churches NOT rebuked by the Lord Jesus in Revelation were Smyrna and Philadelphia, both of which were being persecuted. I think we can take from this that persecution tends to have a purifying effect on the Church. If there comes a time when the Church in our culture faces violent persecution there would immediately be a cleansing of all those who are not serious about the Faith! Many worldly distractions and trivial pursuits are instantly stripped away during persecution. It is when the Church becomes comfortable and prosperous, like the Church at Laodicea, when it is in a danger zone.
In our land of freedom and tolerance we might think that persecution is impossible. Yet things are changing and our culture is becoming more hostile to real Christianity. Greater pressure is being put on believers to conform or pay the penalty. Who knows how far it will go? Churches are being pressured to conform on the issue of Sodomy and many are capitulating to culture.
If the churches remain faithful to Christ, He will continue to work through them in this world. A common message through all of the letters to the Churches is the call for the Church to remain faithful to Christ. There are tremendous rewards for those who overcome and abide in Christ. Faithfulness and overcoming are inseparable actions.
On the other hand, there are tremendous warnings for those Churches that are unfaithful. Churches who do not hear these words will have their lamp stands removed.
We can conclude from this warning that Jesus will not recognize or continue to work in an unfaithful church. This aspect of the Lord's character is not taken seriously at all today. There is this modern view of Jesus as patient and a tolerant friend who never condemns anyone. This is not the Christ of Patmos at all! It is often preached that Christ will continue to work in the churches even if the churches are weak, immoral, and unfaithful. This is simply not true, if we take these letters in Revelation seriously.
There are things that will render churches useless to the Lord, and we have some examples of what these things might be here in Revelation. The Lord is offended by spiritual lethargy, immorality, and false teaching. The Lord commands the church to repent of these sins. If the churches repent then the Lord will continue to recognize them as His churches. But there is no evidence here that grace covers these issues.
However, if the Churches keep themselves pure, there will be placed before them an open door, as with Philadelphia. In Scriptural language an open door is some kind of opportunity, particularly an opportunity to serve the Lord. Effectual service is only possible if the Lord opens the door, and the Lord only opens the door for faithful people. Faithfulness brings opportunity and usefulness. This is what the Scriptures teach us about sanctification. If we cleanse ourselves, we will be useful vessels. God will not use something that is unclean. The Lord is looking for people He can use. The Church is the Body of Christ in the World. If there is work to do in the World, Jesus will do it through His Body. But the members must be subject to the Head.
If the churches are powerless and ineffective, as seems to be the case in most of Western Culture today, this is because no door has been opened for them. No door has been opened for them because Christ is no longer working in them. This situation exists in spite of all the religious activities that continue in the Church today.
Churches have the ability to keep the religious organization running even when Jesus has exited the scene. But no matter how impressive the institution, if Jesus is not there opening the door for the churches, then there will be nothing of eternal significance being accomplished. Peter and his associates fished all night and caught nothing on their own. With Jesus their boats were filled.
In the world there are certain people who have clout and are considered authorities in their field of expertise. When these people speak and make judgments, other people listen and take action. We often see this in the financial world. When certain financial leaders talk, the entire market can shift just because of their words!
Now Jesus is the authority on the Church. The Church belongs to Him. He sees and knows everything about the Church. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Jesus' assessment of the Church is the last word on that subject and the Church had better listen.
We can come away from this message in Revelation and use it to criticize other churches. If that's all we do we have not heard Jesus. Can you imagine the Church at Ephesus poking fun at the Church in Laodicea? That would be inappropriate. We are called to examine ourselves. What would Jesus say to our fellowship? Have we lost our first love? Has the Lord opened a door for us? Keep in mind that every member of the Body adds something to the whole. What are you adding to this Body?
Hear what the Spirit says to the Churches!
The Apostle John needed this vision of Christ. John had been exiled to the lonely isle of Patmos as an old man. He was probably the last living Apostle. And John had every reason to believe that he would die there. So it is fitting that Christ would reveal Himself to John as the One who has died and been raised to life again, and is now holding the keys to Death and Hades!
John was the leader of a Movement that was beginning to feel the wrath of Rome – the most powerful Kingdom the world has ever seen. Rome had devoured every other kingdom in the civilized world up to that time. So it would seem a small thing for the Empire to stamp out a newborn religious movement, just as a horse might swat a fly with the end of its tail. Behind the Beast of Rome was the Dragon, seeking to devour those who worship Christ. And the Dragon has many devices he can use against the churches. As he sat on the shores of Patmos, John must have been thinking about his brethren and how weak and vulnerable the churches seemed to be when he considered the forces arrayed against them.
The churches were on Jesus' mind too. Before He unveils the purpose of God for the consummation of history to the apostle John, Jesus first addresses His churches on earth. With eyes like blazing fire that penetrate into all dark secrets, and with words sharper than a two-edged sword that lays bare the hearts of men, Jesus has a message for the Church. Christ specifically addresses seven churches, all in the Roman province of Asia.
But astute Bible students understand the number seven is not coincidental. Seven is the Divine number representing perfection or completeness. So Jesus is actually addressing the entire Church by speaking to these representative churches of Asia. Jesus is intensely interested in the condition of His Church in the world.
There is an intimate connection between Jesus and the Church. When Jesus appears to John on Patmos Jesus is seen standing in the midst of seven lamp stands – the heavenly representations of the seven Churches of Asia. Jesus is walking in the midst of His Churches. The glorified Christ is dressed in a robe that reminds us of priestly garments. He is interceding for His Church in heaven. It is impossible to see Christ and not see His Church, which is His Body.
The very first priority for Jesus in this Revelation is to speak to His Churches on Earth. And it seems that if anyone is going to understand the Revelation he must first hear what Jesus says to the Church.
The first chapters of the Revelation are often passed over for the more enigmatic material later in the book. This is a serious error! The Revelation should never be read apart from Jesus and His Church. Everything that is said in this book is said with the Church in mind.
And yet a large segment of the professed Church today has adopted a theology that removes the Church from the world by the fourth chapter of this book! Novel doctrine like this is why this book has remained mysterious. The book of Revelation was written with these seven Churches in mind and it should be interpreted first of all as a message for them. But this book is often interpreted futuristically as if it had nothing to do with the seven Churches of Asia, or even succeeding generations of believers, because it is taught that the Church is removed from the world in the rapture. We should make it clear that the rapture is not mentioned in Revelation. And there is no completely new doctrine taught in this book that has not already been expounded by either the Prophets or Apostles.
Christ is no longer in this World but has been exalted into heaven and is reigning at the Father's right hand. This is made clear in John's vision. But the Body of Christ, the Church, is still in this World. This means that the Church is the only representation of Christ on Earth, since Jesus is not here Himself. This also means that if the work of Christ is going to continue on Earth, it must be done by the Body of Christ. With these things in mind it is no surprise that Jesus is intensely concerned about the condition of His Church in the World. Jesus is also concerned about lost people. He came to seek and save the lost. But now that He is in heaven the lost will be saved through the witness of the Church. So the Churches must be strong with their lamp stands shining brightly. Weak Churches bring reproach to Christ instead of a witness for Christ.
Every Church is invited by the Revelation to examine itself! We should do this understanding that Jesus Himself is examining His Churches.
The greatest threat to the Church is internal decline. The Church has some intimidating enemies. In the Revelation these enemies will be unmasked and identified. There is the Beast, the False Prophet, Babylon, and the Dragon himself. But before we see any of these enemies Jesus first focuses His attention, and ours, on the Church Herself. The greatest enemy of the Church is not those coming from the outside, but what arises from within.
Three of the seven Churches of Asia are rebuked by the Lord because of some kind of internal decline. Ephesus is rebuked for leaving its first love for Christ, even though it had retained doctrinal purity. Sardis is rebuked for being dead, though it had a reputation for being alive. And the infamous Church at Laodicea is rebuked for being lukewarm, even though it thought it was rich.
A common thread here is that the true condition of these churches was not obvious, even to the churches themselves. I don't think anyone in these churches would have made this assessment of their church. In fact, they all seemed to come to the opposite conclusion of their true condition. And most outside observers would have probably thought these churches were healthy and successful. But the Lord Jesus sees the truth and He does not judge by appearances.
Of these three examples perhaps the most surprising is Ephesus. They had remained doctrinally pure and worked hard for the Lord. But they had lost their love and tenderness toward Christ Himself. We see how subtle the decline can be! All of the machinery can be kept going while the inside deteriorates.
When He was on Earth, Jesus saw this same tendency in the Jewish religion and He condemned it for being like a whitewashed tomb filled with dead men's bones! There seems to be nothing the Lord hates more than religious hypocrisy. Jesus did not shout at the woman at the well in Samaria or the woman caught in adultery, but He called the Pharisees snakes! Jesus made a whip of cords to cleanse the religious moneymakers from the Temple, but he never chased away the tax collectors and prostitute with a whip. There are those people out there who are sinners and they know it. They may even be proud of it. Then there are those sinners who hide their sin behind a religious cloak. Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people. He was talking about Christianity, at least the kind of Christianity that had dominated Western Civilization for more than two millennia. There is a religious mind set that can dull the senses and make us impervious to the truth about ourselves.
The spiritual condition of any church is just the sum total of the spiritual condition of its members.
If the majority of the people are cold, dead, or lukewarm, then that is what the church will be. There may be a remnant, like at Sardis, but the remnant will only save itself, not the whole community.
The Church is also internally weakened when it compromises its moral purity. One of these Churches, Thyatira, is rebuked severely by the Lord for its immorality. This immorality came from tolerating a false teacher. False teaching will always lead to bad living. False teaching always manages to somehow muddle what is clear. We are often amazed at how people can actually justify all kinds of behavior. And I am talking about Church people!
Some of these arguments can get rather sophisticated. In the ancient world it was commonly taught that there was this dichotomy between flesh and spirit. Some began to teach that you could be spiritual while indulging all of the desires of your fleshly body. Others have taught, and still teach, that since we are under grace and not law, then sin is automatically covered and is therefore permissible, even advantageous, because you can always get more grace. There are those who say that they have no power over their lusts, but are helpless addicts who can no longer control themselves and are therefore not really fully responsible for their actions. We often hear the cultural argument for certain sinful lifestyles. What the Bible seems to clearly condemn was actually only condemned at that cultural moment and was not meant to be a universal prohibition. But now times have changed and we can't possibly remain slaves to something that was commanded so long ago.
While some of the nuances of these arguments change, we know these all come from the same ancient source whence have come all lies and doubts about God's Word. All false doctrines are developed in order to justify some kind of carnal expression while twisting the clear meaning of God's Word, obscuring what once seemed clear.
This happened in Eden, around a golden calf, in the Church at Thyatira, and it continues in our society today.
Now we expect the pagans to live like pagans. Idol worship and immorality have always gone hand in hand. But God's people are supposed to be different. God's people are supposed to be holy, separate, set apart. This holiness is always because of our association with God and with His Son. God is holy, so God's people are to be holy like Him. God will not tolerate His people thinking and living just like everyone else because this makes it seem that God Himself is just like a common thing which can be taken lightly and thrown aside easily. The consequences are sever for treating an association with the living God in a casual manner. Just consider the history of the nation of Israel and her unfaithfulness.
There are those who seem to think that God has changed and no longer expresses wrath. These folks need to read the book of Revelation! If holiness was the standard for Israel, we can expect it to be the standard for those whom Jesus has purchased with His own blood! The logic for holiness is even stronger under grace than under the Law.
It is never acceptable for the Church to tolerate false teachers and their doctrines. Thyatira was not the only Church to have been infiltrated by false teachers. The Church at Pergamum is also rebuked by the Lord for this.
It should be noted that the Lord not only rebukes these Churches for believing these false teachers, but for allowing them to continue in the assembly. These teachers and those who hold to their doctrines should not have been allowed to continue speaking or even to continue in the fellowship. The churches should have exercised discipline and removed those who sinned morally as well as those who either taught or accepted false doctrine. The influence of those who sin is like leaven that works its way through the whole Body.
The purpose of removing immoral people from the assembly is to remove their influence and to also bring about repentance, as we see in the case of the man at Corinth who had his father's wife. This kind of church discipline is almost never seen today in the nominal Church. Churches seem to tolerate almost anything as long as the existence of the organization is not threatened.
In his words to both Thyatira and Pergamum the Lord uses two examples from the Scriptures to illustrate the nature of false teachers and their doctrine. The first allusion from the Scriptures is to Jezebel. This heathen queen was the wife of Ahab, who was the king of Israel, and she did much to harm the nation by introducing Baal worship.
The second example is that of Balaam. Balaam was a prophet hired by the king of the Moabites to curse Israel. God would not let him do this, so Balaam found another way to bring God's curse. He instructed Moab to lure the Israelite men into immorality and idol worship. In both of these examples we see that false teachers are those who bring paganism and worldliness into the Church creating some kind of compromise and unholy union. We also learn that false teachers are usually motivated by some kind of material gain and their teaching and lifestyles promote carnality.
I have no doubt that most false teachers are probably very intelligent and charming individuals who work by deception, just as their Master, Satan works by disguising himself as an angel of light. It is crucial that the churches are able to recognize these deceptive infiltrators who are actually Satan's employees.
We lament the fact that the professed church has welcomed false teachers with open arms, tolerating and promoting their doctrines. This may be because a strong delusion has been sent upon the institutional Church.
Another mark of false teachers is seen in the many divisions that have been created in the nominal Church. Sound doctrine unites. False teaching creates heresies, or divisions, which is a mark of the flesh and is called a sin in the Scriptures. We may have differences of opinions on disputable matters, but we cannot tolerate anyone who preaches another Gospel.
The Church regularly experiences pressure from the surrounding culture. The World-system exerts a tremendous amount of pressure on people to conform. The World is not neutral, in spite of what is often said about tolerance, but demands obedience. If we do not conform there are consequences. Some consequences may simply be getting ignored. But in extreme situations there may be open hostility or even physical and violent retribution.
Jesus is speaking to churches that had already begun to experience this overt kind of pressure or persecution from their culture and we know from history that this situation would become much worse as Rome targeted the Church. The Church at Pergamum had a martyr there: a man named Antipas. That Church was said to dwell where Satan had his throne. That city was like a headquarters for Satan's operations. There are churches in the world that are located in places of concentrated spiritual darkness. The congregations at Smyrna and Philadelphia were enduring persecution from unbelieving Jews. It seems that when the Church is persecuted the hottest opposition always comes from religious people.
Jesus' greatest enemies were religious leaders. Most scholars who study the historical background to Revelation agree that one of the factors contributing to Rome's hostility to the early Church was the Emperor Cult.
While the early Church was persecuted by Jews and then by the Roman Empire, the astonishing thing is that an Apostate and unfaithful Church have been one of the greatest persecutors of the saints. Our Protestant forefathers were relentlessly pursued by the Roman Church and some, like Tyndale, were put to death. (Foxe's Book of Martyrs is a must-read for all serious Christians! I have been particularly encouraged by the story of the martyrdom of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was asked to recant his faith in Christ and replied, "Eighty-six years have I served Him and He had done me no wrong. How can I deny the Lord who saved me?")
It is interesting that the only two Churches NOT rebuked by the Lord Jesus in Revelation were Smyrna and Philadelphia, both of which were being persecuted. I think we can take from this that persecution tends to have a purifying effect on the Church. If there comes a time when the Church in our culture faces violent persecution there would immediately be a cleansing of all those who are not serious about the Faith! Many worldly distractions and trivial pursuits are instantly stripped away during persecution. It is when the Church becomes comfortable and prosperous, like the Church at Laodicea, when it is in a danger zone.
In our land of freedom and tolerance we might think that persecution is impossible. Yet things are changing and our culture is becoming more hostile to real Christianity. Greater pressure is being put on believers to conform or pay the penalty. Who knows how far it will go? Churches are being pressured to conform on the issue of Sodomy and many are capitulating to culture.
If the churches remain faithful to Christ, He will continue to work through them in this world. A common message through all of the letters to the Churches is the call for the Church to remain faithful to Christ. There are tremendous rewards for those who overcome and abide in Christ. Faithfulness and overcoming are inseparable actions.
On the other hand, there are tremendous warnings for those Churches that are unfaithful. Churches who do not hear these words will have their lamp stands removed.
We can conclude from this warning that Jesus will not recognize or continue to work in an unfaithful church. This aspect of the Lord's character is not taken seriously at all today. There is this modern view of Jesus as patient and a tolerant friend who never condemns anyone. This is not the Christ of Patmos at all! It is often preached that Christ will continue to work in the churches even if the churches are weak, immoral, and unfaithful. This is simply not true, if we take these letters in Revelation seriously.
There are things that will render churches useless to the Lord, and we have some examples of what these things might be here in Revelation. The Lord is offended by spiritual lethargy, immorality, and false teaching. The Lord commands the church to repent of these sins. If the churches repent then the Lord will continue to recognize them as His churches. But there is no evidence here that grace covers these issues.
However, if the Churches keep themselves pure, there will be placed before them an open door, as with Philadelphia. In Scriptural language an open door is some kind of opportunity, particularly an opportunity to serve the Lord. Effectual service is only possible if the Lord opens the door, and the Lord only opens the door for faithful people. Faithfulness brings opportunity and usefulness. This is what the Scriptures teach us about sanctification. If we cleanse ourselves, we will be useful vessels. God will not use something that is unclean. The Lord is looking for people He can use. The Church is the Body of Christ in the World. If there is work to do in the World, Jesus will do it through His Body. But the members must be subject to the Head.
If the churches are powerless and ineffective, as seems to be the case in most of Western Culture today, this is because no door has been opened for them. No door has been opened for them because Christ is no longer working in them. This situation exists in spite of all the religious activities that continue in the Church today.
Churches have the ability to keep the religious organization running even when Jesus has exited the scene. But no matter how impressive the institution, if Jesus is not there opening the door for the churches, then there will be nothing of eternal significance being accomplished. Peter and his associates fished all night and caught nothing on their own. With Jesus their boats were filled.
In the world there are certain people who have clout and are considered authorities in their field of expertise. When these people speak and make judgments, other people listen and take action. We often see this in the financial world. When certain financial leaders talk, the entire market can shift just because of their words!
Now Jesus is the authority on the Church. The Church belongs to Him. He sees and knows everything about the Church. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Jesus' assessment of the Church is the last word on that subject and the Church had better listen.
We can come away from this message in Revelation and use it to criticize other churches. If that's all we do we have not heard Jesus. Can you imagine the Church at Ephesus poking fun at the Church in Laodicea? That would be inappropriate. We are called to examine ourselves. What would Jesus say to our fellowship? Have we lost our first love? Has the Lord opened a door for us? Keep in mind that every member of the Body adds something to the whole. What are you adding to this Body?
Hear what the Spirit says to the Churches!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
The Rapture Problem
For anyone struggling to refute the popular interpretation of the Rapture, here are some good words of explanation of this event from the astute Anglican scholar N.T. Wright:
"Farewell to the Rapture"
By N.T. Wright, Bible Review, August 2001
Little did Paul know how his colorful metaphors for Jesus’ second coming would be misunderstood two millennia later. The American obsession with the second coming of Jesus — especially with distorted interpretations of it — continues unabated. Seen from my side of the Atlantic, the phenomenal success of the Left Behind books appears puzzling, even bizarre. Few in the U.K. hold the belief on which the popular series of novels is based: that there will be a literal “rapture” in which believers will be snatched up to heaven, leaving empty cars crashing on freeways and kids coming home from school only to find that their parents have been taken to be with Jesus while they have been “left behind.” This pseudo-theological version of Home Alone has reportedly frightened many children into some kind of (distorted) faith.
This dramatic end-time scenario is based (wrongly, as we shall see) on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he writes: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first; then we, who are left alive, will be snatched up with them on clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
What on earth (or in heaven) did Paul mean?
Understanding what will happen requires a far more sophisticated cosmology than the one in which “heaven” is somewhere up there in our universe, rather than in a different dimension, a different space-time, altogether. The New Testament, building on ancient biblical prophecy, envisages that the creator God will remake heaven and earth entirely, affirming the goodness of the old Creation but overcoming its mortality and corruptibility (e.g., Romans 8:18-27; Revelation 21:1; Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). When that happens, Jesus will appear within the resulting new world (e.g., Colossians 3:4; 1 John 3:2).
Paul’s description of Jesus’ reappearance in 1 Thessalonians 4 is a brightly colored version of what he says in two other passages, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and Philippians 3:20-21: At Jesus’ “coming” or “appearing,” those who are still alive will be “changed” or “transformed” so that their mortal bodies will become incorruptible, deathless. This is all that Paul intends to say in Thessalonians, but here he borrows imagery—from biblical and political sources—to enhance his message. Little did he know how his rich metaphors would be misunderstood two millennia later.
First, Paul echoes the story of Moses coming down the mountain with the Torah. The trumpet sounds, a loud voice is heard, and after a long wait Moses comes to see what’s been going on in his absence.
Second, he echoes Daniel 7, in which “the people of the saints of the Most High” (that is, the “one like a son of man”) are vindicated over their pagan enemy by being raised up to sit with God in glory. This metaphor, applied to Jesus in the Gospels, is now applied to Christians who are suffering persecution.
Third, Paul conjures up images of an emperor visiting a colony or province. The citizens go out to meet him in open country and then escort him into the city. Paul’s image of the people “meeting the Lord in the air” should be read with the assumption that the people will immediately turn around and lead the Lord back to the newly remade world.
Paul’s mixed metaphors of trumpets blowing and the living being snatched into heaven to meet the Lord are not to be understood as literal truth, as the Left Behind series suggests, but as a vivid and biblically allusive description of the great transformation of the present world of which he speaks elsewhere.
"Farewell to the Rapture"
By N.T. Wright, Bible Review, August 2001
Little did Paul know how his colorful metaphors for Jesus’ second coming would be misunderstood two millennia later. The American obsession with the second coming of Jesus — especially with distorted interpretations of it — continues unabated. Seen from my side of the Atlantic, the phenomenal success of the Left Behind books appears puzzling, even bizarre. Few in the U.K. hold the belief on which the popular series of novels is based: that there will be a literal “rapture” in which believers will be snatched up to heaven, leaving empty cars crashing on freeways and kids coming home from school only to find that their parents have been taken to be with Jesus while they have been “left behind.” This pseudo-theological version of Home Alone has reportedly frightened many children into some kind of (distorted) faith.
This dramatic end-time scenario is based (wrongly, as we shall see) on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he writes: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first; then we, who are left alive, will be snatched up with them on clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
What on earth (or in heaven) did Paul mean?
Understanding what will happen requires a far more sophisticated cosmology than the one in which “heaven” is somewhere up there in our universe, rather than in a different dimension, a different space-time, altogether. The New Testament, building on ancient biblical prophecy, envisages that the creator God will remake heaven and earth entirely, affirming the goodness of the old Creation but overcoming its mortality and corruptibility (e.g., Romans 8:18-27; Revelation 21:1; Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). When that happens, Jesus will appear within the resulting new world (e.g., Colossians 3:4; 1 John 3:2).
Paul’s description of Jesus’ reappearance in 1 Thessalonians 4 is a brightly colored version of what he says in two other passages, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and Philippians 3:20-21: At Jesus’ “coming” or “appearing,” those who are still alive will be “changed” or “transformed” so that their mortal bodies will become incorruptible, deathless. This is all that Paul intends to say in Thessalonians, but here he borrows imagery—from biblical and political sources—to enhance his message. Little did he know how his rich metaphors would be misunderstood two millennia later.
First, Paul echoes the story of Moses coming down the mountain with the Torah. The trumpet sounds, a loud voice is heard, and after a long wait Moses comes to see what’s been going on in his absence.
Second, he echoes Daniel 7, in which “the people of the saints of the Most High” (that is, the “one like a son of man”) are vindicated over their pagan enemy by being raised up to sit with God in glory. This metaphor, applied to Jesus in the Gospels, is now applied to Christians who are suffering persecution.
Third, Paul conjures up images of an emperor visiting a colony or province. The citizens go out to meet him in open country and then escort him into the city. Paul’s image of the people “meeting the Lord in the air” should be read with the assumption that the people will immediately turn around and lead the Lord back to the newly remade world.
Paul’s mixed metaphors of trumpets blowing and the living being snatched into heaven to meet the Lord are not to be understood as literal truth, as the Left Behind series suggests, but as a vivid and biblically allusive description of the great transformation of the present world of which he speaks elsewhere.
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Gospel Preached to Abraham (Gal. 3.8)
Introduction
The Gospel is not a matter of opinion or just someone's personal perspective. The Gospel is a revelation from God. We cannot afford to be wrong or ignorant about the Gospel. Accepting a false Gospel will wreck churches and cost people their souls. Now that the light of the Gospel is shining there is no excuse for those who reject it and turn to lesser things. We know that there are teachers today who have infiltrated the ranks of the Church with another Gospel. There are still those who are attempting to justify themselves through a principle of law, earning their justification through their works. There is the Health and Wealth Gospel which teaches that the primary blessing of God is not justification and eternal life but a wonderful, rich life here in this world.
Paul wrote to the Galatians because they had heard and accepted another Gospel. They were trying to be justified by a principle of Law. There was a group of teachers called The Circumcision which said that the Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved. In other words, the Gentile converts had to become Jews first in order to then become Christians. Faith in Christ was not enough. Paul refers to this group of teachers as false brethren and their message as another Gospel. The leaders of the Church had met at Jerusalem about this very issue and the determination was that the Gentiles were saved only through faith in Christ, the same as the Jews.
So Paul, when he writes to the churches in the region of Galatia, has to expound again the doctrine of justification by faith. The Galatians had been turned from the Gospel of justification by faith to the principle of Law that could not justify.
Paul writes with a sense of alarm and urgency. This was not a trivial matter, but was at the very core of the Christian faith and of salvation. We see in Galatians how serious it is to turn away from the Gospel.
When Paul expounds the doctrine of justification by faith, which was the central issue in Galatia, he bases his argument on Abraham. This is also his case in Romans. On this foundation Paul builds an impregnable theological superstructure. Any legitimate message that is preached today must also be built on this solid foundation. The core of the Gospel was preached to Abraham. All redemptive history in Scripture is the gradual unveiling and fulfilling of this original message to Abraham. We will consider this subject of the Gospel preached to Abraham as: 1. the revelation of the Gospel, 2. the exposition of the Gospel, and 3. the application of the Gospel.
1. The Revelation of the Gospel to Abraham
God revealed His purpose to Abram.
The promise of God stated in Genesis 12 should be viewed as a kind of preview for the rest of redemptive history. A similar statement is found in Genesis 3.15, which is the same purpose from a different perspective. Very early in the history of the human race and at the very dawn of redemptive history we have some very explicit statements from God about what He is going to do. God intends to defeat the Devil and bless the entire World.
Everything that follows these statements is a progressive unveiling of God's work to accomplish His stated objectives. God never forgets or deviates from His original purpose. There is no alternate plan because God is not simply reacting to what humanity does or doesn't do. There seems to be this idea out there that God is kind of like a heavenly janitor, just waiting to clean up the messes we make with our free will. But this is not the picture the Bible paints at all.
The Bible shows us a God who has an eternal purpose, something that was already in the Divine will from the very foundations of the Earth. Nothing catches God unprepared or causes Him to shift His plans.
God wants men to know His plans. The whole point of the Biblical record is to reveal God's plan and show how God Himself has carefully prepared the stage for the drama of redemption. God has not hidden himself or His plans from humanity. Now there were times in history when precious few people seemed to know God and what He was doing. The point is that God was working. He had not deserted His creation, in spite of their sin and rebellion against Him.
Salvation is such an enormous enterprise that God took what to us seems like long periods of time to develop His purpose. While the spotlight is on Abram it seems like the purpose of God is just crawling along. God is only speaking to one man and his wife. For a time He let the nations go their own way. And yet after years of careful preparation the result would be that the whole world would know God. This reveals to us the sovereignty and wisdom of God.
The effects of sin have been profound and far-reaching. The world has been so alienated from God that God could not have just revealed everything He was doing to the whole world all at once.
God is using Abraham to teach us something, so that when the seed that was planted begins to bloom we will recognize God's handiwork. God wants to be known as the God of Abraham. He wants us to remember what He said to Abraham.
This revelation of God's purpose comes right after the record of the tower of Babel. The focus shifts from the scattering of the nations to the call of Abram. The book of Genesis often follows how God chooses to work with certain men and their descendants while rejecting other men and their offspring as well. After Babel the focus shifts to Shem's line and his descendant Abram. The thing to learn here is God's sovereign choice in election. God chooses who He wants to work with and it is not up to men.
The initiative and the purpose is God's, from start to finish. This point is illustrated graphically for all to see in the Tower of Babel.
An excellent summary of what happened at Babel is captured in the aphorism that "man proposes but God disposes." Babel was not the purpose of God it was the rebellious project of a united humanity. The City of Man will never be successful but the City of God will be established, beginning with the call of Abram.
Abram himself was called out of the pagan city of Ur. It is believed that the city of Ur was located in the same area where the Tower of Babel had been built and abandoned. Scholars say that in Ur there was a center for pagan worship, perhaps a smaller version of the Great Tower that was never finished.
Abram and his family were pagans like everyone else in Ur, perhaps giving worship to the heavenly bodies and other aspects of nature. Almost all pagan societies were polytheistic and they worshiped aspects of nature that they either feared or depended upon for life and sustenance. Abram was called to leave Ur. There had to be a calling out of the Old life and into a newness of life – one that did not depend on the Creation and the cycles of heavenly bodies and seasons but a life of faith and dependence on the Creator of those things. Abram's call represents a radical new kind of vision for life in the world.
Abram and his call to leave Ur is the beginning of God's plan to in some way reverse the curse of Babel. Abram represents a kind of person who is the very opposite of what happened at Babel. Babel ignored God. They had their own agenda and were seeking their own glory. Abram's faith and obedience will give glory to God. In the same way the Gospel calls us out of the World, the continuing spirit of Babel, to repent of idolatry, and to believe in the living God.
The promise of God was blessing for the World, all the nations previously scattered at Babel, which would come through Abram's "seed".
The Apostle Paul is giving a lesson on Biblical interpretation.
The blessing was not going to come to the world by the many descendants of Abram, even though he was promised a multitude of descendants. Rather, the blessing for the world promised to Abram would come through a single, particular descendant.
In other words, Christ is the fulfillment of the promise God gave to Abram just as Christ is ultimately the fulfillment of all of God's promises. Paul is interpreting Scripture with Christ and the Gospel at the center of it all. Any reading of the Bible that puts something other than Christ and the Gospel at the center is inherently flawed. This is why so many people today misunderstand and misuse Scripture.
Jesus is the Divine means of blessing. You cannot be blessed without Him.
Abram could not be blessed without a son and heir. Abram later decided, along with his wife, to take matters into their own hands and with Hagar's help Ishmael was born. But Ishmael was not the child of promise--he was born the natural way—and there would be no blessing through him.
A son would be born to a barren woman, something only God could do. Isaac, the child of promise, was not born because of the strength and will of man, but was in some sense born of God. But Isaac himself was a type of another child who would be born, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin. The blessing can only be given through the Child of Promise. So Ishmael was rejected and sent away. And so it is with all human efforts to secure the blessing of God. Hagar and Ishmael represent all those who are in bondage to legalistic religion, which is really man's striving after Divine blessing. The blessing is an act of sheer grace. The children of promise, those born of God, obtain the blessing. The natural children are rejected.
The preaching of the Gospel to Abram was really the revelation of the Divine purpose to bless the world through Christ.
2. The Exposition of the Gospel preached to Abraham
The blessing included justification by faith.
Besides the Promise of God itself the most important thing said in Scripture about Abraham was that he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15.6). This is one of the key statements in all of Scripture. This shows us that we must come to God by faith. The only way to be right with God is to believe His Word and trust His promises. Through Abraham God is showing us that He will justify those who believe. God established this principle of justification by faith.
Without trust there can be no fellowship with God. All sin is basically the result of not trusting God. We sin because we don't really believe that God has our best interests in mind, that perhaps He is keeping something good from us, and that He is not telling us the whole truth. Abraham shows us that if we want the blessing of God we must trust God.
Now what was true for Abraham is true of believers in Christ. God will also credit righteousness to those who believe the Gospel of Christ. We have received a Promise from God in the Gospel of Christ. If we believe it then God will declare us righteous. It should be made clear that this faith that justifies is faith in the Gospel of Christ, not simply believing that there is a God. Many people today say they believe in God, yet this can mean almost anything. Of course the person coming to God must believe that He is. But the faith of Abraham is not simply to believe in God, that He exists, but believing what God has said and revealed.
Abraham is the Biblical standard of faith in God. God has chosen to teach us about faith by incarnating this principle in the life of a person. Abraham shows us what it means to believe God and live by faith. Abraham believed even when it seemed illogical, at least according to human reasoning, to believe. God gives us hard things to believe, things that are not possible apart from His power to call them into existence.
Abraham's faith is the kind of faith that saves, including believing Gentiles. He is the Father of all true believers, Jew and Gentile, who become his children by having his kind of faith.
The promise of God is unilateral: God will do everything and there is nothing for Abram to do but believe. This was not the result of an agreement between God and Abram. Abram did not negotiate terms with God, as Abram did later when interceding for Sodom. Abram simply had to accept God's offer. But didn't Abram have to obey? Yes. And he did obey. Abram obeyed God because He believed God. His faith was tested and confirmed when he willingly offered Isaac. Faith is always followed by obedience. Believers will give up anything the Lord asks them to lay down.
This is the nature of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is not an agreement between God and Man.
The New Covenant is like God's promise to Abram. God did not give Abram a law. Jesus did not come to bring us another Law. He came to secure the blessing. We were not involved at all in the securing of that blessing. Christ did it all and we get the benefits. But what is there for us to do?
Our response is that of faith. We trust God to do what we ourselves could never do. And this means that the Believer can enter into Sabbath.
The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abram. Abram himself did not receive the blessing, but saw its fulfillment by faith. God brought about that fulfillment in His own time. We are living in a wonderful time! This also brings a great responsibility because we dare not miss out on what God is doing!
The Old Covenant was not like the Promise. It was based on the condition of the obedience of the people. God promised blessing or cursing to Israel. But the Promise contains no curse, unless you curse Abraham.
The Old Covenant was a covenant of works and had to be kept perfectly. And the blessings were entirely carnal, not spiritual. Those who preach the Health and Wealth Gospel are under the wrong covenant! That Covenant is obsolete.
The Promise to Abraham was God's original purpose, to which the Law was added because of sin.
The purpose of God does not change. God never wavered from His promise made to Abram. The Promise came first which means it is distinct from the Law, which came much later.
The Law was not the original purpose, but was added to the Promise until the time of fulfillment was to come. Then the Law would pass away, having served its purpose.
The Law had to be added to the Promise because of the universal problem of sin, which was not directly addressed in the Promise to Abram. God did not reveal to Abraham how He would handle the problem of sin. The Promise was blessing for the world, but the Law was for the formation and instruction of a single People. To this chosen nation, the descendants of Abraham, God gave His Law to them to teach them what it means to be in covenant with a holy God.
The Law was never given to justify but to educate us about sin. Everyone who comes to the true God must come into contact with God's revelation to Abraham's descendants. Israel was not chosen because they were better than other nations. They were chosen because they came from Abram and the Promise was made to him. By the time Jesus came it seems that the Jews had forgotten the rock from which they were hewn. They tended to think that they were righteous in God's sight simply because they had the Law in their possession and in their knowledge. They forgot about Abram and his faith.
If the Law could have made them righteous then the example of Abraham and his faith is pointless. So why was the Law given?
It could not have been given as a source of righteousness because Abram was justified by faith before the Law, and even before he was circumcised. There had to be another reason for the Law. God had to show that righteousness cannot be established by works. The Law had to be kept perfectly for righteousness to be established that way. But no one keeps it! So everyone was guilty and needing another source of righteousness which God would provide.
The principle of faith seen in Abraham and the principle of law are two different and irreconcilable principles.
A principle is like a law in that it is the way something works, like the laws of nature. Justification by faith works in one way and the Law works in another. These two principles are so different we must choose one way or the other on the path to justification. We cannot apply both ways, such as starting with faith and finishing with Law. Each principle excludes and nullifies the other.
These principles are representative of two different mindsets and approaches to God. Religion is our approach to God. The principle of law places confidence in what the person does. The approach of Law will bring a certain fear and distance, or alienation, from God. This is because with Law there will always be the reminder of failure and falling short. So Law will never bring the worshiper confidence or rest. There is always more to be done. On the other hand, it is possible for those under Law to become self-righteous and proud, thinking that their work is sufficient to commend them to God. This person may regard himself as superior to others who have not done as much as they have, like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable who thanked God he was not like other men. People under Law are constantly keeping a record, measuring themselves, making lists of things to do or accomplishments completed. And they expect to be rewarded or compensated for all their hard work, just as an employee expects to earn a wage from their employer.
People under Law tend to regard God as a harsh and critical taskmaster who will punish every mistake and oversight. Those under law are always in bondage to fear.
Faith has the exact opposite effect on the worshiper.
The principle of faith places confidence in what God has done. The believer trusts in God, not himself. So there is peace and rest. The believer is not keeping score and is not thinking of himself at all, but only about the Lord and His promises. Believers do not view God as a taskmaster, but as Father. And they boast in Him.
Those who approach by Law rather than by faith cannot be justified or blessed as children of Abraham. Law does not bring a blessing but only a curse.
The promise to Abraham included the blessing of justification by faith. This was God's original purpose to which the Law was added because of sin. Law and faith are two different approaches to God, leading to different destinations.
3. The Application of the Gospel preached to Abraham
The blessing of Abraham also includes the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The blessing of God promised to Abraham was something greater than all of the physical blessings promised to Israel under the Law. Any physical blessing, even those that come from the Lord, will pass away. God is interested in blessing us with what is eternal. It is an insult to God for us to be wrapped up in material blessings when there is something greater available. Woe to those who preach a message supposedly from God that emphasizes material wealth!
The blessing God wants to give is the blessing of Life. This is not physical or biological life here in a fallen world. This world will pass away.
God wants to bless us with a Life that will go on even when this World is gone. God wants to bless us with His own, Divine Life. This is a Life that raises us up from spiritual death.
This is the gift of God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. God's purpose is to make us into His children. God does not need more servants. He has angelic hosts. God is making us into Sons, which means we share God's spiritual DNA. Children share the characteristics of the Father, sharing in the Divine Nature. Abraham's children are blessed by becoming children of God. This is why even Gentiles can be Abraham's children. It does not depend on physical descent but on a spiritual rebirth. The blessing of Abraham goes ever further than justification. It also includes becoming a New Creation.
Believers are more than justified sinners. This blessing changes our nature, turning us away from our iniquities to righteousness. The blessing of God enables the believer, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, to put to death the old life of sin and live a new life of sanctification, completely devoted to God. One theologian said that "the Gospel is the work of God FOR US in Christ. The fruit of the Gospel, sanctification, is the work of God IN US by His Spirit" (Graeme Goldsworthy).
Any view of salvation that stops with justification and does not continue on into sanctification is not the blessing promised to Abraham and is not the true Gospel of Christ. I fear that there is a truncated Gospel being preached today that offers people no power for overcoming sin. The true Gospel promises not only forgiveness but a new life, which begins now, and culminates in glory.
Included in this promise is the New Creation, or the World to Come, which belongs to Abraham and his children.
Remember that another aspect of the Promise of God to Abram and his offspring was the Land of Canaan. The Land becomes a significant part of the story of the People of God. It was to be an eternal inheritance. But we know that this promise involved more than just the actual land of Canaan, today called Palestine.
Even Abraham sensed that there was more to this promise than the land of Canaan because he was looking for an Eternal City with foundations. And we also know that the Promise was made to more people than just the physical descendants of Abram.
You have to begin to read the Prophets to get this perspective right. God's promise was to restore the people to the Land after a period of exile. But you notice that when the Prophets speak of the people being restored to the Land the vision includes a cosmic regeneration (See Isa. 65.17-25). We know that the present heavens and earth, in their state of corruption, will pass away. But God is not done with creation. It will also be redeemed and liberated from its bondage to death. And this liberation of Creation is directly linked to the full redemption and glorification of the Sons of God, who are also known as the children of Abraham.
God's ultimate purpose, which began with His promise to Abram, is to create a People for Himself with whom He can dwell forever. He is preparing all of Abraham's children for that Time to come. Like Abraham we have not yet received the Land.
Remember Abraham had the Promise, but he never owned a foot of ground, except what he bought to bury his dead wife. Like him we are also living by faith as strangers and pilgrims here, not yet taking possession of the Land. Believing the Promise of God makes us aliens in the World.
The ultimate blessing of God is a whole New World, a New Creation. The blessing God is preparing for His people is a world without evil, sin, pain, sickness, or death.
God is preparing us for glory, the completion of redemption, which is a new body to match a new spirit and to live in a new world. The whole point of redemption is to get us ready to inhabit the New Creation. That's the ultimate blessing of Abraham declared in the Gospel, which also gets us ready for that glorious Time!
Conclusion
We begin to realize that this Promise made to Abraham, which was actually the Gospel in embryo, was much larger than it first appeared to be. As time went along God began to unfold His purpose with progressive revelations, but never moving away from that original Promise to Abraham. It is doubtful that you can be a
Christian without knowing something about what God said to Abraham, which has been fulfilled, and will also be consummated, in Jesus Christ. The Promise included the blessing of justification by faith, apart from the works of the Law, which could never justify. And this blessing includes the New Life of the indwelling Spirit and the hope of glory.
All of these blessings were promised to Abraham and are realized in the Gospel of Christ. The main thing in life is to get this blessing from God that is promised in the Gospel. Nothing else really matters. It is worth any sacrifice and any amount of suffering we might have to endure. There is truly a greater weight of glory for Abraham's children!
The Gospel is not a matter of opinion or just someone's personal perspective. The Gospel is a revelation from God. We cannot afford to be wrong or ignorant about the Gospel. Accepting a false Gospel will wreck churches and cost people their souls. Now that the light of the Gospel is shining there is no excuse for those who reject it and turn to lesser things. We know that there are teachers today who have infiltrated the ranks of the Church with another Gospel. There are still those who are attempting to justify themselves through a principle of law, earning their justification through their works. There is the Health and Wealth Gospel which teaches that the primary blessing of God is not justification and eternal life but a wonderful, rich life here in this world.
Paul wrote to the Galatians because they had heard and accepted another Gospel. They were trying to be justified by a principle of Law. There was a group of teachers called The Circumcision which said that the Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved. In other words, the Gentile converts had to become Jews first in order to then become Christians. Faith in Christ was not enough. Paul refers to this group of teachers as false brethren and their message as another Gospel. The leaders of the Church had met at Jerusalem about this very issue and the determination was that the Gentiles were saved only through faith in Christ, the same as the Jews.
So Paul, when he writes to the churches in the region of Galatia, has to expound again the doctrine of justification by faith. The Galatians had been turned from the Gospel of justification by faith to the principle of Law that could not justify.
Paul writes with a sense of alarm and urgency. This was not a trivial matter, but was at the very core of the Christian faith and of salvation. We see in Galatians how serious it is to turn away from the Gospel.
When Paul expounds the doctrine of justification by faith, which was the central issue in Galatia, he bases his argument on Abraham. This is also his case in Romans. On this foundation Paul builds an impregnable theological superstructure. Any legitimate message that is preached today must also be built on this solid foundation. The core of the Gospel was preached to Abraham. All redemptive history in Scripture is the gradual unveiling and fulfilling of this original message to Abraham. We will consider this subject of the Gospel preached to Abraham as: 1. the revelation of the Gospel, 2. the exposition of the Gospel, and 3. the application of the Gospel.
1. The Revelation of the Gospel to Abraham
God revealed His purpose to Abram.
The promise of God stated in Genesis 12 should be viewed as a kind of preview for the rest of redemptive history. A similar statement is found in Genesis 3.15, which is the same purpose from a different perspective. Very early in the history of the human race and at the very dawn of redemptive history we have some very explicit statements from God about what He is going to do. God intends to defeat the Devil and bless the entire World.
Everything that follows these statements is a progressive unveiling of God's work to accomplish His stated objectives. God never forgets or deviates from His original purpose. There is no alternate plan because God is not simply reacting to what humanity does or doesn't do. There seems to be this idea out there that God is kind of like a heavenly janitor, just waiting to clean up the messes we make with our free will. But this is not the picture the Bible paints at all.
The Bible shows us a God who has an eternal purpose, something that was already in the Divine will from the very foundations of the Earth. Nothing catches God unprepared or causes Him to shift His plans.
God wants men to know His plans. The whole point of the Biblical record is to reveal God's plan and show how God Himself has carefully prepared the stage for the drama of redemption. God has not hidden himself or His plans from humanity. Now there were times in history when precious few people seemed to know God and what He was doing. The point is that God was working. He had not deserted His creation, in spite of their sin and rebellion against Him.
Salvation is such an enormous enterprise that God took what to us seems like long periods of time to develop His purpose. While the spotlight is on Abram it seems like the purpose of God is just crawling along. God is only speaking to one man and his wife. For a time He let the nations go their own way. And yet after years of careful preparation the result would be that the whole world would know God. This reveals to us the sovereignty and wisdom of God.
The effects of sin have been profound and far-reaching. The world has been so alienated from God that God could not have just revealed everything He was doing to the whole world all at once.
God is using Abraham to teach us something, so that when the seed that was planted begins to bloom we will recognize God's handiwork. God wants to be known as the God of Abraham. He wants us to remember what He said to Abraham.
This revelation of God's purpose comes right after the record of the tower of Babel. The focus shifts from the scattering of the nations to the call of Abram. The book of Genesis often follows how God chooses to work with certain men and their descendants while rejecting other men and their offspring as well. After Babel the focus shifts to Shem's line and his descendant Abram. The thing to learn here is God's sovereign choice in election. God chooses who He wants to work with and it is not up to men.
The initiative and the purpose is God's, from start to finish. This point is illustrated graphically for all to see in the Tower of Babel.
An excellent summary of what happened at Babel is captured in the aphorism that "man proposes but God disposes." Babel was not the purpose of God it was the rebellious project of a united humanity. The City of Man will never be successful but the City of God will be established, beginning with the call of Abram.
Abram himself was called out of the pagan city of Ur. It is believed that the city of Ur was located in the same area where the Tower of Babel had been built and abandoned. Scholars say that in Ur there was a center for pagan worship, perhaps a smaller version of the Great Tower that was never finished.
Abram and his family were pagans like everyone else in Ur, perhaps giving worship to the heavenly bodies and other aspects of nature. Almost all pagan societies were polytheistic and they worshiped aspects of nature that they either feared or depended upon for life and sustenance. Abram was called to leave Ur. There had to be a calling out of the Old life and into a newness of life – one that did not depend on the Creation and the cycles of heavenly bodies and seasons but a life of faith and dependence on the Creator of those things. Abram's call represents a radical new kind of vision for life in the world.
Abram and his call to leave Ur is the beginning of God's plan to in some way reverse the curse of Babel. Abram represents a kind of person who is the very opposite of what happened at Babel. Babel ignored God. They had their own agenda and were seeking their own glory. Abram's faith and obedience will give glory to God. In the same way the Gospel calls us out of the World, the continuing spirit of Babel, to repent of idolatry, and to believe in the living God.
The promise of God was blessing for the World, all the nations previously scattered at Babel, which would come through Abram's "seed".
The Apostle Paul is giving a lesson on Biblical interpretation.
The blessing was not going to come to the world by the many descendants of Abram, even though he was promised a multitude of descendants. Rather, the blessing for the world promised to Abram would come through a single, particular descendant.
In other words, Christ is the fulfillment of the promise God gave to Abram just as Christ is ultimately the fulfillment of all of God's promises. Paul is interpreting Scripture with Christ and the Gospel at the center of it all. Any reading of the Bible that puts something other than Christ and the Gospel at the center is inherently flawed. This is why so many people today misunderstand and misuse Scripture.
Jesus is the Divine means of blessing. You cannot be blessed without Him.
Abram could not be blessed without a son and heir. Abram later decided, along with his wife, to take matters into their own hands and with Hagar's help Ishmael was born. But Ishmael was not the child of promise--he was born the natural way—and there would be no blessing through him.
A son would be born to a barren woman, something only God could do. Isaac, the child of promise, was not born because of the strength and will of man, but was in some sense born of God. But Isaac himself was a type of another child who would be born, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin. The blessing can only be given through the Child of Promise. So Ishmael was rejected and sent away. And so it is with all human efforts to secure the blessing of God. Hagar and Ishmael represent all those who are in bondage to legalistic religion, which is really man's striving after Divine blessing. The blessing is an act of sheer grace. The children of promise, those born of God, obtain the blessing. The natural children are rejected.
The preaching of the Gospel to Abram was really the revelation of the Divine purpose to bless the world through Christ.
2. The Exposition of the Gospel preached to Abraham
The blessing included justification by faith.
Besides the Promise of God itself the most important thing said in Scripture about Abraham was that he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15.6). This is one of the key statements in all of Scripture. This shows us that we must come to God by faith. The only way to be right with God is to believe His Word and trust His promises. Through Abraham God is showing us that He will justify those who believe. God established this principle of justification by faith.
Without trust there can be no fellowship with God. All sin is basically the result of not trusting God. We sin because we don't really believe that God has our best interests in mind, that perhaps He is keeping something good from us, and that He is not telling us the whole truth. Abraham shows us that if we want the blessing of God we must trust God.
Now what was true for Abraham is true of believers in Christ. God will also credit righteousness to those who believe the Gospel of Christ. We have received a Promise from God in the Gospel of Christ. If we believe it then God will declare us righteous. It should be made clear that this faith that justifies is faith in the Gospel of Christ, not simply believing that there is a God. Many people today say they believe in God, yet this can mean almost anything. Of course the person coming to God must believe that He is. But the faith of Abraham is not simply to believe in God, that He exists, but believing what God has said and revealed.
Abraham is the Biblical standard of faith in God. God has chosen to teach us about faith by incarnating this principle in the life of a person. Abraham shows us what it means to believe God and live by faith. Abraham believed even when it seemed illogical, at least according to human reasoning, to believe. God gives us hard things to believe, things that are not possible apart from His power to call them into existence.
Abraham's faith is the kind of faith that saves, including believing Gentiles. He is the Father of all true believers, Jew and Gentile, who become his children by having his kind of faith.
The promise of God is unilateral: God will do everything and there is nothing for Abram to do but believe. This was not the result of an agreement between God and Abram. Abram did not negotiate terms with God, as Abram did later when interceding for Sodom. Abram simply had to accept God's offer. But didn't Abram have to obey? Yes. And he did obey. Abram obeyed God because He believed God. His faith was tested and confirmed when he willingly offered Isaac. Faith is always followed by obedience. Believers will give up anything the Lord asks them to lay down.
This is the nature of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is not an agreement between God and Man.
The New Covenant is like God's promise to Abram. God did not give Abram a law. Jesus did not come to bring us another Law. He came to secure the blessing. We were not involved at all in the securing of that blessing. Christ did it all and we get the benefits. But what is there for us to do?
Our response is that of faith. We trust God to do what we ourselves could never do. And this means that the Believer can enter into Sabbath.
The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abram. Abram himself did not receive the blessing, but saw its fulfillment by faith. God brought about that fulfillment in His own time. We are living in a wonderful time! This also brings a great responsibility because we dare not miss out on what God is doing!
The Old Covenant was not like the Promise. It was based on the condition of the obedience of the people. God promised blessing or cursing to Israel. But the Promise contains no curse, unless you curse Abraham.
The Old Covenant was a covenant of works and had to be kept perfectly. And the blessings were entirely carnal, not spiritual. Those who preach the Health and Wealth Gospel are under the wrong covenant! That Covenant is obsolete.
The Promise to Abraham was God's original purpose, to which the Law was added because of sin.
The purpose of God does not change. God never wavered from His promise made to Abram. The Promise came first which means it is distinct from the Law, which came much later.
The Law was not the original purpose, but was added to the Promise until the time of fulfillment was to come. Then the Law would pass away, having served its purpose.
The Law had to be added to the Promise because of the universal problem of sin, which was not directly addressed in the Promise to Abram. God did not reveal to Abraham how He would handle the problem of sin. The Promise was blessing for the world, but the Law was for the formation and instruction of a single People. To this chosen nation, the descendants of Abraham, God gave His Law to them to teach them what it means to be in covenant with a holy God.
The Law was never given to justify but to educate us about sin. Everyone who comes to the true God must come into contact with God's revelation to Abraham's descendants. Israel was not chosen because they were better than other nations. They were chosen because they came from Abram and the Promise was made to him. By the time Jesus came it seems that the Jews had forgotten the rock from which they were hewn. They tended to think that they were righteous in God's sight simply because they had the Law in their possession and in their knowledge. They forgot about Abram and his faith.
If the Law could have made them righteous then the example of Abraham and his faith is pointless. So why was the Law given?
It could not have been given as a source of righteousness because Abram was justified by faith before the Law, and even before he was circumcised. There had to be another reason for the Law. God had to show that righteousness cannot be established by works. The Law had to be kept perfectly for righteousness to be established that way. But no one keeps it! So everyone was guilty and needing another source of righteousness which God would provide.
The principle of faith seen in Abraham and the principle of law are two different and irreconcilable principles.
A principle is like a law in that it is the way something works, like the laws of nature. Justification by faith works in one way and the Law works in another. These two principles are so different we must choose one way or the other on the path to justification. We cannot apply both ways, such as starting with faith and finishing with Law. Each principle excludes and nullifies the other.
These principles are representative of two different mindsets and approaches to God. Religion is our approach to God. The principle of law places confidence in what the person does. The approach of Law will bring a certain fear and distance, or alienation, from God. This is because with Law there will always be the reminder of failure and falling short. So Law will never bring the worshiper confidence or rest. There is always more to be done. On the other hand, it is possible for those under Law to become self-righteous and proud, thinking that their work is sufficient to commend them to God. This person may regard himself as superior to others who have not done as much as they have, like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable who thanked God he was not like other men. People under Law are constantly keeping a record, measuring themselves, making lists of things to do or accomplishments completed. And they expect to be rewarded or compensated for all their hard work, just as an employee expects to earn a wage from their employer.
People under Law tend to regard God as a harsh and critical taskmaster who will punish every mistake and oversight. Those under law are always in bondage to fear.
Faith has the exact opposite effect on the worshiper.
The principle of faith places confidence in what God has done. The believer trusts in God, not himself. So there is peace and rest. The believer is not keeping score and is not thinking of himself at all, but only about the Lord and His promises. Believers do not view God as a taskmaster, but as Father. And they boast in Him.
Those who approach by Law rather than by faith cannot be justified or blessed as children of Abraham. Law does not bring a blessing but only a curse.
The promise to Abraham included the blessing of justification by faith. This was God's original purpose to which the Law was added because of sin. Law and faith are two different approaches to God, leading to different destinations.
3. The Application of the Gospel preached to Abraham
The blessing of Abraham also includes the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The blessing of God promised to Abraham was something greater than all of the physical blessings promised to Israel under the Law. Any physical blessing, even those that come from the Lord, will pass away. God is interested in blessing us with what is eternal. It is an insult to God for us to be wrapped up in material blessings when there is something greater available. Woe to those who preach a message supposedly from God that emphasizes material wealth!
The blessing God wants to give is the blessing of Life. This is not physical or biological life here in a fallen world. This world will pass away.
God wants to bless us with a Life that will go on even when this World is gone. God wants to bless us with His own, Divine Life. This is a Life that raises us up from spiritual death.
This is the gift of God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. God's purpose is to make us into His children. God does not need more servants. He has angelic hosts. God is making us into Sons, which means we share God's spiritual DNA. Children share the characteristics of the Father, sharing in the Divine Nature. Abraham's children are blessed by becoming children of God. This is why even Gentiles can be Abraham's children. It does not depend on physical descent but on a spiritual rebirth. The blessing of Abraham goes ever further than justification. It also includes becoming a New Creation.
Believers are more than justified sinners. This blessing changes our nature, turning us away from our iniquities to righteousness. The blessing of God enables the believer, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, to put to death the old life of sin and live a new life of sanctification, completely devoted to God. One theologian said that "the Gospel is the work of God FOR US in Christ. The fruit of the Gospel, sanctification, is the work of God IN US by His Spirit" (Graeme Goldsworthy).
Any view of salvation that stops with justification and does not continue on into sanctification is not the blessing promised to Abraham and is not the true Gospel of Christ. I fear that there is a truncated Gospel being preached today that offers people no power for overcoming sin. The true Gospel promises not only forgiveness but a new life, which begins now, and culminates in glory.
Included in this promise is the New Creation, or the World to Come, which belongs to Abraham and his children.
Remember that another aspect of the Promise of God to Abram and his offspring was the Land of Canaan. The Land becomes a significant part of the story of the People of God. It was to be an eternal inheritance. But we know that this promise involved more than just the actual land of Canaan, today called Palestine.
Even Abraham sensed that there was more to this promise than the land of Canaan because he was looking for an Eternal City with foundations. And we also know that the Promise was made to more people than just the physical descendants of Abram.
You have to begin to read the Prophets to get this perspective right. God's promise was to restore the people to the Land after a period of exile. But you notice that when the Prophets speak of the people being restored to the Land the vision includes a cosmic regeneration (See Isa. 65.17-25). We know that the present heavens and earth, in their state of corruption, will pass away. But God is not done with creation. It will also be redeemed and liberated from its bondage to death. And this liberation of Creation is directly linked to the full redemption and glorification of the Sons of God, who are also known as the children of Abraham.
God's ultimate purpose, which began with His promise to Abram, is to create a People for Himself with whom He can dwell forever. He is preparing all of Abraham's children for that Time to come. Like Abraham we have not yet received the Land.
Remember Abraham had the Promise, but he never owned a foot of ground, except what he bought to bury his dead wife. Like him we are also living by faith as strangers and pilgrims here, not yet taking possession of the Land. Believing the Promise of God makes us aliens in the World.
The ultimate blessing of God is a whole New World, a New Creation. The blessing God is preparing for His people is a world without evil, sin, pain, sickness, or death.
God is preparing us for glory, the completion of redemption, which is a new body to match a new spirit and to live in a new world. The whole point of redemption is to get us ready to inhabit the New Creation. That's the ultimate blessing of Abraham declared in the Gospel, which also gets us ready for that glorious Time!
Conclusion
We begin to realize that this Promise made to Abraham, which was actually the Gospel in embryo, was much larger than it first appeared to be. As time went along God began to unfold His purpose with progressive revelations, but never moving away from that original Promise to Abraham. It is doubtful that you can be a
Christian without knowing something about what God said to Abraham, which has been fulfilled, and will also be consummated, in Jesus Christ. The Promise included the blessing of justification by faith, apart from the works of the Law, which could never justify. And this blessing includes the New Life of the indwelling Spirit and the hope of glory.
All of these blessings were promised to Abraham and are realized in the Gospel of Christ. The main thing in life is to get this blessing from God that is promised in the Gospel. Nothing else really matters. It is worth any sacrifice and any amount of suffering we might have to endure. There is truly a greater weight of glory for Abraham's children!
Friday, January 10, 2014
Living in the Ruins of Athens (Acts 17.16-34)
"To three ancient nations the men of the twentieth century owe an incalculable debt. To the Jews we owe most of our notions of religion; to the Romans we owe traditions and examples in law, administration, and the general management of human affairs which still keep their influence and value; and finally, to the Greeks we owe nearly all our ideas as to the fundamentals of art, literature, and philosophy, in fact, of almost the whole of our intellectual life" (A Day in Old Athens by William Stearns Davis).
The city of Athens represented the great culture and intellectual history of Greece, a culture Alexander the Great spread throughout the ancient world. The ideas that came from Athens shaped Western Civilization. “In its Agora Socrates had taught, here was the Academy of Plato, the Lyceum of Aristotle, the Porch of Zeno, and the Garden of Epicurus. Here men still talked about philosophy, poetry, politics, religion, anything and everything. It was the art center of the world. The Parthenon, the most beautiful of temples, crowned the Acropolis." (Robertson's Word Pictures)
Athens represents the City of Man! "What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?" asked the Church Father Tertullian. Athens represents man's wisdom and culture apart from God and the intellectual pursuit of truth. Paul's preaching in Athens is going to show the conflict between human wisdom and revealed truth.
Paul did not mean to go to Athens. He was there waiting for his companions after the persecution from the Jews forced him out of Thessalonica and Berea. We have to rely on the sovereignty of God and be ready to preach wherever we find ourselves with opportunity.
In the past God let the nations go (Acts 14.16). He overlooked their sin (Rom 3.25). But God never completely deserted the nations. They had both conscience and natural revelation. But the nations had mostly ignored these messages (See Rom. 1.18-23). God did not send judgment but he did not send preachers either, until Paul came as the Apostle to the Gentiles. This was God's sovereign plan for world history. "Times of ignorance" corresponds to the mystery of Christ being revealed to Paul (Eph 3.4-6). The mystery was Gentile inclusion! This comes only through the Gospel. Now the resurrection of Christ must be preached.
What is the meaning of the days in which we live? This is a time for preaching, a time for repentance and a time for salvation! Cities like Athens represent people, societies, cultures, which are all subject to corruption and judgment. But God has care for the City of Man, as seen in the book of Jonah also.
Our culture looks a lot like Athens! We are pagan once more. And the institutional Church is failing to reach this culture. We should avoid running from paganism or compromising with it. What we need that is lacking today is a message for our pagan culture! America looks a lot like Athens. How should we respond?
In the Apostle Paul we see an example of how a believer in Christ responds to a pagan culture. We can learn how to respond to our own pagan culture by noticing what Paul saw, how he felt, where he went, and what he said.
SEE: the Idols underneath the Sins of Society.
The New King James translation says "the city was given over to idols." Young's Literal also says that Paul was "beholding the city wholly given to idolatry." And the New Jerusalem Bible captures this as well: Paul saw in Athens "the sight of a city given over to idolatry."
Xenophon calls the city "all altar, all sacrifice and offering to the gods.” Pausanias said that Athens had more images than all the rest of Greece put together. Pliny states that, in the time of Nero, Athens had more than 30,000 public statues besides countless private ones in the homes. Petronius said that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens.
There is a story about a plague in Athens. To stop it they sacrificed to every known god, and when they had done that they even made an altar to the Unknown God.
In spite of the great intellectual history of Athens, God never even mentions the great thinkers in Scripture. Their idolatry was unacceptable to Him and their wisdom was foolishness (1 Cor. 1.18-25). Their minds and hearts were darkened (Eph 4.17-19). Moral degeneration was the result of this spiritual darkness. This is why we "cannot separate the wisdom of Athens from the idols of Athens" (Phillip Kayser).
Matthew Henry said, "It is observable that there, where human learning most flourished, idolatry most abounded, and the most absurd and ridiculous idolatry, which confirms that of the apostle, that when they professed themselves to be wise they became fools (Rom. 1:22), and, in the business of religion, were of all other the most vain in their imaginations. The world by wisdom knew not God (1Cor. 1:21). They might have reasoned against polytheism and idolatry; but, it seems, the greatest pretenders to reason were the greatest slaves to idols."
Greece is famous for its pantheon of gods. But all ancient cultures were polytheistic. They worshiped deified personifications of their lusts or aspects of nature that they either feared or relied upon. The Greeks worshiped Ares, the god of strength. They worshiped Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. They worshiped Dionysus, the god of drunkenness. They worshiped Hermes, the god of athletics. They worshiped Apollo, the god of music. Do we worship these gods today in America? YES!
All human cultures tend to become idolatrous. At the root of all sin is idolatry. Idolatry is not just a sin. Idolatry IS sin: the breaking of the first and primary commandments. "Man's mind is an idol factory" (Calvin). Idolatry is man making his own God, worshiping creation rather than the Creator, and replacing God with other things. How do you know you worship an idol? Whatever gives you meaning and worth, those things to which you attach your affections (1 John 2.15-17), and what gives you comfort and security. Idolatry is the sin beneath the sins.
Cultural idols include money, family, romance, beauty, youth, strength, pleasures, fame, power, position, career, education, patriotism, religion, philosophy, relationships, institutions, and possessions. Understand that "culture is religion externalized" (Henry van Til). Americans are very religious, just like Athens. These idols are not necessarily evil in themselves, in fact, they may be good things. They become evil apart from God – when they are made the ultimate things in life.
And there is also a moral issue beneath all idolatry and man's rejection of God: mankind wants to be free from all restraint and accountability. God reveals who He is through his word and we must accept that revelation. Israel saw no form, but heard the voice of the Lord (Deut. 4.12).
By making his own gods, man misrepresents and distorts the glory of the true God. When men worship false gods they are actually worshiping demons (1 Cor. 10.20). This is why it is crucial that we turn from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9-10). God has promised to judge all idolatry.
FEEL: a Godly Jealousy for those in Error.
The word Luke uses to describe Paul's emotional response to Athens is hard to translate. It could literally mean that Paul had a seizure or he had a fit. But it does not simply mean he got angry, it is more complex than that. The translations say that he was deeply distressed (NRS), his spirit was provoked within him (NKJ), his spirit was troubled (BBE), that his spirit was stirred in him (YLT), and that he grew exasperated (NAB), he was deeply troubled (NLT), and that his whole soul was revolted (NJB). Note that none say Paul got mad!
Paul's feeling is not without Scriptural precedent. This is similar to what is said of Phinehas – that he was zealous for the Lord (Num 25.6-11), of Elijah who was very jealous for the Lord (1 Kings 19.10), of David who was grieved that the heathen did not obey the Law of God (Ps 119.158), and of righteous Lot whose soul was vexed by the people of Sodom (2 Pet 2.7). It is said of the righteous that "they sigh and cry for all the abominations which are done in the midst of the land" (Ezek. 9:4). And when our Lord came to Jerusalem for the last time "He beheld the city and wept over it" (Luke 19: 41).
I believe what Paul was feeling was the Lord's jealousy, which is what God feels when He sees people worshiping idols! "For I the LORD your God am a jealous God." Now jealousy is not just a negative emotion, but can actually be an expression of love. Love is not just sweet and tender it is also full of thunderous, passionate emotions too! God has a right to feel jealous for us because He made us for Himself. When he sees people worshiping idols, God feels both indignation and compassion. The opposite of love is indifference, not indignation.
This is the key to understanding God and it is also the key to understanding what it means to serve God. Jesus was Truth AND tears. Most of us can't do both. But if we don't we are ineffective in the ministry.
The Gospel changes how we feel about and relate to the world around us. The Gospel is personal, but not private. But people today want an inward peace for themselves which is more like psychology than Gospel. God wants us to learn to hate the things that He hates and to love the things that He loves. He wants our passions or our desires to be conformed to those of Christ. Do you look with sorrow and compassion at the lost who, as the Athenians, are worshiping worthless idols? Until we are transformed by the Gospel there is no amount of guilt or institutional enthusiasm that can propel us into real ministry for Christ.
How can we become this kind of person? How can we get this godly jealousy? GO TO THE CROSS! That is where righteous indignation at sin and merciful compassion for sinners meet! Understand the Gospel. Those who have ONLY indignation or ONLY compassion don't understand the Gospel. We won't be able to speak like Paul until we feel like Paul, and we can't feel like Paul until we understand the Gospel like Paul.
Paul was certainly not impressed with Athens, as many people today would be. Paul was not appreciative of culture, if that culture despised God.
GO: into the marketplace with your faith.
Paul knew he could not procrastinate when God's Spirit was stirring up his spirit like this. Procrastination is one of the surest ways to quench the Holy Spirit. When he stirs you to action and you repeatedly delay, you will eventually quench His fire in your heart.
Paul never worried about success or failure. That was in God's sovereign hands. His job was simply to act and to do something. Every one of us can do something to oppose idolatry and advance God's kingdom on earth.
But don't be afraid to stand alone, if you have to! Don't run away from paganism! Where would we be in Paul had been too afraid to go to the Gentiles with the Gospel? Where would we be today if Luther had not stood alone against the Catholic Church for justification by faith? Where would we be if Tyndale had not stood against the King of England and translated the Bible into English? Don't become overwhelmed by idolatry, evil and unbelief. Overcome evil with good! It is appropriate to be troubled in spirit. But don't be overwhelmed and just give up.
You can be faithful in our modern Athens. Paul did not succumb to the paganism around him and admit defeat. He did not give up his witness. We can also be faithful in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation.
Paul not only went to the synagogue as was his custom, where there were at least some worshipers of the true God, he also went into the Marketplace there in Athens. The Greek marketplace was the place where ALL the business of that society was conducted. There is really no modern context like it, except perhaps the virtual marketplace on the internet. The Agora was the place you shopped for everything! Paul is saying, "shoppers! Listen to me! Here is the Way!"
Paul spoke so effectively in the Marketplace he was actually invited to speak in another important place in Athens, the Areopagus: another public forum where legal cases were decided, the city fathers met to discuss political issues of the local government, and ideas were discussed and debated by the philosophers. There really is no perfect modern equivalent, except perhaps for the university setting.
What Paul did by taking his faith into the public square is in direct opposition to two basic principles of paganism still with us today in America: everyone has their own truth and no one can claim to have THE truth. (This is the logical outcome of polytheism, which is really the basis of our modern relativism.) And therefore religion is a private matter of personal choice never to be brought out and debated in the public sphere. So it's all right to have a private faith as long as you don't bring it with you into public life and try to get other people to accept it. So we see that our culture is pagan once again.
But what does the Bible say? Is the truth just a private matter never to be discussed openly? "Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice" (Proverbs 1:20). This is why Paul said "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16)! If the modern Church is not taking the Gospel into the Marketplace of today it is either because it has succumbed to pressure from the pagan culture, and is ashamed of the Gospel, or because it does not believe that the Gospel will be effective in the Marketplace.
Now if you are going to go public with your faith, taking the Gospel into the Marketplace of our pagan culture, you will meet pagans there! Paul did. "He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, "This babbler has picked up some strange ideas." Others said, "He's pushing some foreign religion" (Acts 17.18 NLT). Another translation says "Even a few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some said, 'What can this parrot mean?' And, because he was preaching about Jesus and Resurrection, others said, 'He seems to be a propagandist for some outlandish gods'" (NJB).
Notice how they misunderstood and mocked Paul, which will always happen to preachers. But Paul must have spoken effectively, because he got an audience. I don't think there are many Christians today, even Church leaders, who can speak effectively for Christ in the Marketplace. But this is not just for Apostles or even just for preachers. You are called to go into your marketplace, wherever that happens to be. How you do take your faith into your marketplace will be up to your own judgment, following the leading of the Spirit. There is no prepackaged way to be a witness in every situation and with every audience.
Paul had the ears of these Athenian philosophers, at least for the moment. "Then they took him to the Council of Philosophers. ‘Come and tell us more about this new religion'" (Acts 17.19 NLT). "Some of the things you say seemed startling to us and we would like to find out what they mean" (Acts 17.20 NJB). If you have not said something startling to your hearers then there is a good chance you have not preached the Gospel! The Gospel is strange to ears accustomed to the world's wisdom.
The Gospel Paul preached was in direct opposition to the two schools of philosophical thought represented in Athens. Epicureans believed that pleasure was the highest goal of life. "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." Stoics believed in morality and the rule of law. Stoics appeared more dignified and righteous. But neither school had any concrete hope for life after death and completely rejected the idea of a physical resurrection.
These two opposing philosophies are still with us. They are represented in the Liberal versus Conservative culture wars. But neither side is in agreement with the Gospel. It is important that Christians do not get caught up in these philosophies because our message is the Gospel which cannot be compared to any other philosophy or world view. Unfortunately, people hear Christian speech and they put it in their established categories and believe it's the same thing, but it's not.
The problem with the Athenian philosophers and all their modern descendants is that they have only a shallow, novel interest in truth. These are people who are described in the Scriptures who are "always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7).
It is sad that the modern Church also has a preoccupation with the latest cultural trends rather than eternal, unchanging truth, which should be our only pursuit. We should pursue the old paths, not novelty. "Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date" (C.S. Lewis).
DECLARE: the glory of God and the resurrection of Christ.
Paul compares the power of God and the resurrection to the emptiness of their speculative philosophies and religious idolatry. Paul wasn't trying to build a bridge so that they could be friends. He was showing the difference between the religion and philosophy of the Greeks and the Gospel of Christ.
We've got to restore Paul's method. There is so much softening of the message of Christ today in order to not offend that people don’t really see the uniqueness of the Gospel. Many Churches are trying to show that they are like everyone else when we should be showing that we are different because the Gospel is different from every other religion and philosophy.
"It has been said that Paul left the simple gospel in this address to the council of the Areopagus for philosophy. But did he? He skillfully caught their attention by reference to an altar to an Unknown God whom he interprets to be the Creator of all things and all men who overrules the whole world and who now commands repentance of all and has revealed his will about a day of reckoning when Jesus Christ will be Judge. He has preached the unity of God, the one and only God, has proclaimed repentance, a judgment day, Jesus as the Judge as shown by his Resurrection, great fundamental doctrines, and doubtless had much more to say when they interrupted his address. There is no room here for such a charge against Paul. He rose to a great occasion and made a masterful exposition of God's place and power in human history." (Robertson's Word Pictures)
The Glory of God
I think that the heart of Paul's sermon is about the glory of God. Paul reasons against idolatry by declaring the glory of the Biblical God!
1. God is the Creator. This is the foundation of all Biblical theology. It is a logical conclusion that it is ignorant to treat God as though He were made with our hands, when we in fact have been made by His. Idolatry is inherently foolish!
2. God is sovereign. His hand of providence appears in the history of all men. Nations rise and fall, but it is not chance or fate. God has never abandoned His creation but has a purpose for the world. The purpose of life is to seek God. God governs the nations so that they would seek for the meaning of life. Do not turn away from him as the nations have done in the past (Rom. 1:18-32).
3. God is the judge. He will ultimately hold man accountable. The implication here is that God will hold man responsible for NOT SEEKING HIM as they should. The sad fact of history is that men have NOT been seeking God.
If it is true that knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3), then to be ignorant of God is our greatest liability. And yet we find ourselves in a time and place where millions are ignorant about God, even though they might be religious just like the Athenians.
The Resurrection of Christ
Paul preached Jesus and the resurrection in Athens. Why did Paul preach the resurrection? He is emphasizing the objectivity of Christianity. The resurrection is a fact. This Paul knew to be a fact because he himself had seen the Risen Christ. Here is the proof of all the claims of Christianity: SOMEONE HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD! Here is a fact that all men must receive, or die eternally!
But notice it says Paul preached JESUS. He preached a PERSONAL Savior we can know and love. The Truth became a Person! So there are only two kinds of people: those who are trying to save themselves through worshiping idols and those who are trusting Jesus to save them.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
“The Care of all the Churches” 2 Cor. 11.28
During the last decade or so we have witnessed several examples of corporate scandals. When these corporations fail, it is never the secretary or the receptionist at the front door who is blamed and fired. The leaders are always blamed.
Likewise, the poor condition of the Church today can often be traced back to its leadership. In our assessments of the failures of the Church today, we should particularly look at those who are leading it. This is exactly what Jesus did, saving his most scathing remarks for the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus did not blast the prostitutes and tax collectors. He did not lash out at the woman at the well in Samaria. But to the so-called leaders of Israel our Lord said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in” (Matt. 23.13).
The Church suffers from leaders who are selfish and using the Church to make a living or establish a career and reputation rather than caring for the Body. But all true leaders are those who care for the Church and sacrifice their own lives for her, following after the example of the Good Shepherd Himself. Unfortunately there are still many hirelings who care nothing for the flock because they are nothing like the Chief Shepherd (John 10.12-13; 1 Pet. 5.1-4).
Some would say that the solution is not to have leaders at all, but that is not supported by the New Testament. Clearly there are leaders who are gifted for the ministry and should be recognized by the Body as such. The answer is not to do away with leadership, but to have the right leaders.
The Church does not make its own leaders. The Holy Spirit makes leaders and the Church, if following the Spirit, recognizes the leaders it has been given by the Lord (See Eph 4.11). And to recognize the right leaders we must have the right model or standard for leadership in the Body of Christ.
A Model for Church Leadership
Paul the Apostle provides such a model, particularly in his letters to the Corinthians.
There were serious problems in the Corinthian Church. Yet Paul does not write them off, he writes to them! He does not say they are not a real Church, just because of their shortcomings. Every fellowship has flaws because every fellowship has people. And people are flawed. But Paul still addressed Corinth as if they are a Church. The Church at Corinth was still a Church, though not a very good one.
The churches must be held accountable for their sins. (Remember as we assess other churches we must also assess ourselves!) But only the Lord can remove a Candlestick from its place, or take out a dead Branch from the Vine, in final and absolute judgment.
The second epistle to Corinth gives us an inside view of the mind of the greatest Christian leader, and perhaps the greatest Christian, to ever live. Paul speaks very personally about his approach to the ministry in the Church.
Leaders must be both gentle and bold.
Though Paul had brought the Corinthians to Christ and founded the Church, he still had to defend his ministry there in Corinth. (This shows the consequences of being in the Flesh: that it would even cause the Corinthians to reject Paul!)
He did not want to have to speak this way, but the Corinthians forced him to. Paul preferred being gentle with them, but he could also be bold and forceful, as he had written them in his first epistle.
We see in Paul this rare combination of gentleness and boldness. This is actually a Divine characteristic that we see in the Lord Jesus. Jesus could be gentle with the Samaritan woman and yet thunder at the Pharisees.
This balance of gentleness and boldness is a quality that can only be expressed in a person who has humility before God. Humility cures the fear of man and sets a person free to really care for the souls of people.
Paul does not deny his authority as an Apostle, but he wants to use that authority to build up the Corinthians instead of having to criticize and correct them.
Leaders must view the ministry as warfare, but renounce carnal tactics.
Paul compares the ministry to warfare, but he himself refuses to use carnal tactics. He chooses to rely on the power of God to make his ministry effectual.
Unlike many leaders today, Paul was not constantly comparing himself and his ministry to that of other men, which is a carnal standard of measurement. He was content doing what God had given him to do and he did not go beyond that, placing his confidence in the Lord for the performance of that ministry to which God had called him. This calling included his ministry to the Corinthians (See Acts 18.1-17). Paul was only interested in pleasing the Lord and fulfilling the calling that he had received from the Lord. Paul was not a people-pleaser, including pleasing himself. He did not have his own, private agenda for which he was using the Corinthian church.
But some other men had come into the Church there and were also claiming to themselves be Apostles of Christ like Paul. In fact, they were claiming superiority over Paul. But Paul likens them to Satan, who also likes to wear disguises. One of Satan’s tactics is to send his servants to infiltrate the Church. So Paul felt a godly jealousy for this Church. He was not willing to just allow the people to be stolen away by false teachers. These teachers had attacked Paul, attempting to turn the Corinthians against him. And they were apparently winning an audience!
How could Paul get the Corinthians back? Well, he wasn’t going to go down to the carnal level of these false apostles!
Paul wants to show the difference between his ministry and the ministry of these carnal infiltrators. He reminds the Corinthians that he had preached to them without considering his own personal needs. He gave to the Church and did not take from them. One of the marks of a false teacher is that he is in it for financial gain rather than caring for the people of God. The mark of a true minister, however, is a giving and unselfish spirit. This is the spirit of Christ, who gave Himself for the Church.
Leaders must embrace suffering for Jesus.
It is interesting that Paul says that he wants to “boast” but his boasts are not typical things that worldly men take pride in and talk about to others! For example, part of Paul's boasting is in his sufferings for Christ. In other words, Paul is proud that he has suffered for Jesus’ sake!
Other men would boast in their intellect, education, or number of converts and accomplishments. But Paul’s resume is filled with suffering! What minister today would put suffering on his resume and what Church today would accept this as proof of ministerial credentials? Paul himself would never get hired as a pastor today!
But Paul is “proud” of his suffering and “boasts” in it. This is his proof that he is from Christ. And this makes sense because Paul has been sent as an Apostle of a Crucified Lord! An association with Jesus will bring the same kinds of suffering, persecution, and rejection by man. Most young men who want to go into the ministry as a career do not sign up for suffering. But it cannot be avoided if you want to really serve God. If you have suffered for serving Jesus, you should not be ashamed. You should be boasting! You are like Paul and the other Apostles, all the Prophets, and the Lord Jesus Himself.
These sufferings showed Paul's weakness and that his ministry was not based on his ability. There is no way Paul could perform this ministry on his own. There has to be a greater power at work in Paul. Where does this willingness to suffering come from if not from Jesus? True servants are willing to suffer. A normal man operating in his own strength for his own gain would not be willing or able to suffer like Paul did for the sake of the Churches. This reflects the life and power of Christ at work in Paul's life and ministry. The false apostles at Corinth did not have this kind of resume! And neither do the spurious leaders today.
Leaders must manifest sacrificial love for the Body of Christ.
It is vital to see that all of Paul’s suffering and weakness were for the sake of the Churches, including the messed-up Corinthians. And so Paul really cared for the Churches and was not passive when he found them in disarray. He still mourned for those who had not repented of sins. And he was still concerned that he would come back to Corinth only to find disorder and disunity in the assembly of the Church there.
Unlike the false teachers at Corinth, Paul loved them as a Father loved his children and he wanted them to love him back. He wanted to give to them, not take from them. He wanted them, not just their earthly goods.
Paul had become their father through the Gospel and now he reflects the very heart of the heavenly Father in his care and concern for them. One cannot be close to God without having the same concerns the Father has!
Paul was glad to give of himself for the sake of this Church, just like Jesus gave himself for His Church. Paul owed them nothing, but they were debtors to him! Such is our relationship to the Lord and it is illustrated and lived out for all to see in the great Apostle Paul. True Christian leaders who care for the Church will reflect this same attitude that we see in Paul and his dealings with the difficult Corinthians.
The Care of all the Churches
So we see that in the midst of all of Paul’s recounting of his sufferings for the Gospel, and in all of his concern for the Corinthians, Paul also had to bear the burden of his care for ALL the Churches. Not just of Corinth, but all of them! These were no doubt many of the Churches he himself had established.
What is this care?
Whoever is concerned about the Church must bear a heavy burden, which presses upon his shoulders like a heavy weight. Most men have enough trouble with one Church, but Paul was bearing the weight of ALL the Churches! What a picture we have here of a minister. And this care caused Paul to DO SOMETHING! So he instructs, encourages, and corrects.
From Paul’s words we may gather that no one can have a heartfelt concern for the Churches without being harassed by many difficulties. The care of the Church is no pleasant hobby, but is hard warfare, as Paul has previously mentioned (2 Cor. 10:4). Satan gives us as much trouble as he can.
How many there are that see all the troubles of the Church and go on their own way without any concern, like the priest and the Levite who walked around the man waylaid by robbers in Jesus’ parable. And then there are those who despise the infirmities of believers or harshly trample them underfoot in wrath and criticism, but never actually help them. This comes from having no care for the Churches!
Paul cared for the CHURCHES, not just for the Church. Until the Lord comes to gather His Church, what we have on earth are churches – real, local congregations of people. These are people who have not yet been perfected, many of whom have just barely escaped from the World and from sin, gathering together in the name of Christ. Many people say they love the Church, but they do not necessarily love churches. (Some even speak of the “invisible Church.”)
How much easier it is to love the invisible Church than to love visible churches. Some love the idea of the Church, which makes no demands on them personally, but they do not love the churches. How much easier it is to love an idea than to actually love real churches!
Do we have this same care?
Do you have the care of all the churches? How do you know if you do or if you don’t? If we don’t, then how can we develop this care for the churches? (Understand that you don’t have to be a leader in the Body to share in the care of all the churches!)
1. You must be in fellowship with Christ.
The care of all the churches is not something that can be taught, but it has to be caught.
You can’t simply have a class or a lecture on the care of the churches and expect that alone to cause people to start caring, really caring, about the churches. We can make it clear what it means to have the care of the churches and we can all agree that we ought to care, but that alone does not make us care. We could all very easily agree with this intellectually, as a very necessary and biblical idea, but not really care at all about the churches.
Actually there are many things like this in Christianity. There are things that require some kind of inner transformation and cannot be accomplished with a commandment or a feeling of obligation.
In his vision on the isle of Patmos, John saw the exalted Christ standing in the midst of seven candlesticks, which represented the seven churches of Asia. And the Lord personally addressed those churches. There we see the Chief Shepherd Himself caring for His Church, which is His Body. And the Lord was also interested in CHURCHES – specific, local congregations of people. Many of these congregations addressed in Revelation had serious errors and were going to be disciplined severely or even judged by the Lord. It is impossible to see Jesus correctly and not see His care for the churches.
If we ourselves get close to Jesus we will also begin to feel this same care because our hearts will be beating in synch with the heart of Jesus. This kind of private spirituality that exists today, saying “I love Jesus but not the Church” is spurious. This is an example of another Jesus, one who caters to the personal goals of people, rather than the Christ of Patmos who walks in the midst of the candlesticks.
2. You must have a burden to see saints perfected.
By perfected I mean complete or mature. I do not mean this as without a flaw or faultless. We cannot expect the Church to be without spot or wrinkle until all the hindrances of the Flesh are removed in Glory. Until that time the churches are filled with people who are in the midst of a process of change.
Now if we share the heart of the apostle Paul and the Lord Himself, we want to see this transformation of sinners into saints continue unhindered. The burden comes from knowing that this process is not automatic, as some believe, and it can be obstructed.
This is why Paul spent so much time writing to churches and urging believers to put off the Old Man and put on the New Man, to walk in the Spirit and to mortify the deeds of the Flesh, and to be transformed by the renewing of the mind rather than conforming to the pattern of the World.
When it comes to our sanctification, we must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” But many churches do not “perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord.” Many churches remain infantile, ignorant, carnal, and worldly. This condition is not acceptable and it should be the business of leaders to make this clear so that people can repent, pick up their crosses, and get back on the narrow way which leads to life. This seems to be a part of the care of all the churches that is missing in the ministries of church leaders today. Many church leaders today are not maturing the people or challenging them to be holy. Church leaders claim to follow the so-called Great Commission, but they have actually made a Great Omission! They are not in the business of making disciples and teaching them so that they grow up in Christ.
3. You must have a desire to reach lost people.
Now this seems to contradict what I have just said, but it doesn’t. Much of the trouble we have in the churches today comes from going to extremes. There are churches that claim to be all about winning people to Christ. But there are other churches who say that teaching and Biblical knowledge is the main thing. It should be clear from Scripture that the salvation of lost people AND the edification of saints are both vital for the churches. What most people, including leaders, do not see is how these two activities work together, each fueling the other, and are in fact just aspects of a single purpose and mission.
A proper balance can be realized when we ask a simple question: which people are bringing lost people to Jesus? The answer is that believers are the people who bring the Gospel to lost people. This means that everything must be done to make sure believers are strong, spiritually healthy, and holy so that they can effectively do the work of the ministry. In other words, the best way to reach lost people is to have healthy churches filled with mature and maturing disciples. Therefore, the care of all the churches includes caring also about lost people coming to Jesus. If we do not see large numbers of people coming to Jesus, and if most Christians never share their faith and are not equipped to do so, that means that the churches are in a state of decline. A living church has never had trouble making converts.
One of the problems facing the churches is the clergy/laity model when professional pastors and evangelists do all the work of the ministry while everyone else is a spectator. This is completely antithetical to Paul’s model of equipping the Body (Eph. 4.11-16).
In Paul’s model the Church has been given leaders with various functions so that the Body can be built up and equipped to do the work of the ministry. Evangelists are given to the Body, not to the unbelieving World, so that they can equip believers to do the work of evangelism effectively. So caring for churches is the best way to care for lost people. All efforts to evangelize the lost apart from also caring for the churches are not balanced or Biblical.
4. You must be aware of spiritual warfare.
The care of the churches begins to come upon you when you consider the opposition that is arrayed against God’s people in the world. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, men are not the real enemy, but we wrestle with the spiritual forces of darkness (Eph. 6.12). The Forces in opposition to the Church, if we could actually see them, would probably freeze the blood in our veins! These enemies are much too high and powerful for us to combat on our own.
The Church is in a real danger zone while still in the World. There are doctrines that would make believers think that this is not so, that once you are saved you are always saved, no matter what you might do. But the enemy is real and the danger is real. There is security for believers, but ONLY if we appropriate the spiritual resources and weaponry that God has supplied. We must PUT ON the full armor of God. It is an intentional process. And it seems that many churches are not doing this. We must be alert for our enemy, who is on the prowl like a hungry lion, and we must be aware of his schemes. If we are not suited up with the armor of God and if we are not alert the Devil can overcome us. I am not saying the Devil is all-powerful. But in his realm he does have power. The closer believers live to the world, which is the Devil’s domain, and the more we walk after the Flesh, the more exposed we are to Satan’s devices.
The care of the churches comes upon us when we realize how vulnerable some believers really are. The churches today, like a city without walls, have made themselves open to Satan’s attacks!
Jesus taught us that this world will contain a mixture of wheat and tares: God’s people and the children of the Devil occupying the same world until the End comes and a final separation is made. The trouble is that before maturity is reached wheat and tares look alike. And removing the tares may also accidentally lead to removing the wheat as well. They must be allowed to grow together until the End! This situation causes the care of the churches to come upon us, because we know that every church is a field where wheat and tares may be growing. Until the final separation, we feel coming upon us the care of all the churches.
Likewise, the poor condition of the Church today can often be traced back to its leadership. In our assessments of the failures of the Church today, we should particularly look at those who are leading it. This is exactly what Jesus did, saving his most scathing remarks for the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus did not blast the prostitutes and tax collectors. He did not lash out at the woman at the well in Samaria. But to the so-called leaders of Israel our Lord said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in” (Matt. 23.13).
The Church suffers from leaders who are selfish and using the Church to make a living or establish a career and reputation rather than caring for the Body. But all true leaders are those who care for the Church and sacrifice their own lives for her, following after the example of the Good Shepherd Himself. Unfortunately there are still many hirelings who care nothing for the flock because they are nothing like the Chief Shepherd (John 10.12-13; 1 Pet. 5.1-4).
Some would say that the solution is not to have leaders at all, but that is not supported by the New Testament. Clearly there are leaders who are gifted for the ministry and should be recognized by the Body as such. The answer is not to do away with leadership, but to have the right leaders.
The Church does not make its own leaders. The Holy Spirit makes leaders and the Church, if following the Spirit, recognizes the leaders it has been given by the Lord (See Eph 4.11). And to recognize the right leaders we must have the right model or standard for leadership in the Body of Christ.
A Model for Church Leadership
Paul the Apostle provides such a model, particularly in his letters to the Corinthians.
There were serious problems in the Corinthian Church. Yet Paul does not write them off, he writes to them! He does not say they are not a real Church, just because of their shortcomings. Every fellowship has flaws because every fellowship has people. And people are flawed. But Paul still addressed Corinth as if they are a Church. The Church at Corinth was still a Church, though not a very good one.
The churches must be held accountable for their sins. (Remember as we assess other churches we must also assess ourselves!) But only the Lord can remove a Candlestick from its place, or take out a dead Branch from the Vine, in final and absolute judgment.
The second epistle to Corinth gives us an inside view of the mind of the greatest Christian leader, and perhaps the greatest Christian, to ever live. Paul speaks very personally about his approach to the ministry in the Church.
Leaders must be both gentle and bold.
Though Paul had brought the Corinthians to Christ and founded the Church, he still had to defend his ministry there in Corinth. (This shows the consequences of being in the Flesh: that it would even cause the Corinthians to reject Paul!)
He did not want to have to speak this way, but the Corinthians forced him to. Paul preferred being gentle with them, but he could also be bold and forceful, as he had written them in his first epistle.
We see in Paul this rare combination of gentleness and boldness. This is actually a Divine characteristic that we see in the Lord Jesus. Jesus could be gentle with the Samaritan woman and yet thunder at the Pharisees.
This balance of gentleness and boldness is a quality that can only be expressed in a person who has humility before God. Humility cures the fear of man and sets a person free to really care for the souls of people.
Paul does not deny his authority as an Apostle, but he wants to use that authority to build up the Corinthians instead of having to criticize and correct them.
Leaders must view the ministry as warfare, but renounce carnal tactics.
Paul compares the ministry to warfare, but he himself refuses to use carnal tactics. He chooses to rely on the power of God to make his ministry effectual.
Unlike many leaders today, Paul was not constantly comparing himself and his ministry to that of other men, which is a carnal standard of measurement. He was content doing what God had given him to do and he did not go beyond that, placing his confidence in the Lord for the performance of that ministry to which God had called him. This calling included his ministry to the Corinthians (See Acts 18.1-17). Paul was only interested in pleasing the Lord and fulfilling the calling that he had received from the Lord. Paul was not a people-pleaser, including pleasing himself. He did not have his own, private agenda for which he was using the Corinthian church.
But some other men had come into the Church there and were also claiming to themselves be Apostles of Christ like Paul. In fact, they were claiming superiority over Paul. But Paul likens them to Satan, who also likes to wear disguises. One of Satan’s tactics is to send his servants to infiltrate the Church. So Paul felt a godly jealousy for this Church. He was not willing to just allow the people to be stolen away by false teachers. These teachers had attacked Paul, attempting to turn the Corinthians against him. And they were apparently winning an audience!
How could Paul get the Corinthians back? Well, he wasn’t going to go down to the carnal level of these false apostles!
Paul wants to show the difference between his ministry and the ministry of these carnal infiltrators. He reminds the Corinthians that he had preached to them without considering his own personal needs. He gave to the Church and did not take from them. One of the marks of a false teacher is that he is in it for financial gain rather than caring for the people of God. The mark of a true minister, however, is a giving and unselfish spirit. This is the spirit of Christ, who gave Himself for the Church.
Leaders must embrace suffering for Jesus.
It is interesting that Paul says that he wants to “boast” but his boasts are not typical things that worldly men take pride in and talk about to others! For example, part of Paul's boasting is in his sufferings for Christ. In other words, Paul is proud that he has suffered for Jesus’ sake!
Other men would boast in their intellect, education, or number of converts and accomplishments. But Paul’s resume is filled with suffering! What minister today would put suffering on his resume and what Church today would accept this as proof of ministerial credentials? Paul himself would never get hired as a pastor today!
But Paul is “proud” of his suffering and “boasts” in it. This is his proof that he is from Christ. And this makes sense because Paul has been sent as an Apostle of a Crucified Lord! An association with Jesus will bring the same kinds of suffering, persecution, and rejection by man. Most young men who want to go into the ministry as a career do not sign up for suffering. But it cannot be avoided if you want to really serve God. If you have suffered for serving Jesus, you should not be ashamed. You should be boasting! You are like Paul and the other Apostles, all the Prophets, and the Lord Jesus Himself.
These sufferings showed Paul's weakness and that his ministry was not based on his ability. There is no way Paul could perform this ministry on his own. There has to be a greater power at work in Paul. Where does this willingness to suffering come from if not from Jesus? True servants are willing to suffer. A normal man operating in his own strength for his own gain would not be willing or able to suffer like Paul did for the sake of the Churches. This reflects the life and power of Christ at work in Paul's life and ministry. The false apostles at Corinth did not have this kind of resume! And neither do the spurious leaders today.
Leaders must manifest sacrificial love for the Body of Christ.
It is vital to see that all of Paul’s suffering and weakness were for the sake of the Churches, including the messed-up Corinthians. And so Paul really cared for the Churches and was not passive when he found them in disarray. He still mourned for those who had not repented of sins. And he was still concerned that he would come back to Corinth only to find disorder and disunity in the assembly of the Church there.
Unlike the false teachers at Corinth, Paul loved them as a Father loved his children and he wanted them to love him back. He wanted to give to them, not take from them. He wanted them, not just their earthly goods.
Paul had become their father through the Gospel and now he reflects the very heart of the heavenly Father in his care and concern for them. One cannot be close to God without having the same concerns the Father has!
Paul was glad to give of himself for the sake of this Church, just like Jesus gave himself for His Church. Paul owed them nothing, but they were debtors to him! Such is our relationship to the Lord and it is illustrated and lived out for all to see in the great Apostle Paul. True Christian leaders who care for the Church will reflect this same attitude that we see in Paul and his dealings with the difficult Corinthians.
The Care of all the Churches
So we see that in the midst of all of Paul’s recounting of his sufferings for the Gospel, and in all of his concern for the Corinthians, Paul also had to bear the burden of his care for ALL the Churches. Not just of Corinth, but all of them! These were no doubt many of the Churches he himself had established.
What is this care?
Whoever is concerned about the Church must bear a heavy burden, which presses upon his shoulders like a heavy weight. Most men have enough trouble with one Church, but Paul was bearing the weight of ALL the Churches! What a picture we have here of a minister. And this care caused Paul to DO SOMETHING! So he instructs, encourages, and corrects.
From Paul’s words we may gather that no one can have a heartfelt concern for the Churches without being harassed by many difficulties. The care of the Church is no pleasant hobby, but is hard warfare, as Paul has previously mentioned (2 Cor. 10:4). Satan gives us as much trouble as he can.
How many there are that see all the troubles of the Church and go on their own way without any concern, like the priest and the Levite who walked around the man waylaid by robbers in Jesus’ parable. And then there are those who despise the infirmities of believers or harshly trample them underfoot in wrath and criticism, but never actually help them. This comes from having no care for the Churches!
Paul cared for the CHURCHES, not just for the Church. Until the Lord comes to gather His Church, what we have on earth are churches – real, local congregations of people. These are people who have not yet been perfected, many of whom have just barely escaped from the World and from sin, gathering together in the name of Christ. Many people say they love the Church, but they do not necessarily love churches. (Some even speak of the “invisible Church.”)
How much easier it is to love the invisible Church than to love visible churches. Some love the idea of the Church, which makes no demands on them personally, but they do not love the churches. How much easier it is to love an idea than to actually love real churches!
Do we have this same care?
Do you have the care of all the churches? How do you know if you do or if you don’t? If we don’t, then how can we develop this care for the churches? (Understand that you don’t have to be a leader in the Body to share in the care of all the churches!)
1. You must be in fellowship with Christ.
The care of all the churches is not something that can be taught, but it has to be caught.
You can’t simply have a class or a lecture on the care of the churches and expect that alone to cause people to start caring, really caring, about the churches. We can make it clear what it means to have the care of the churches and we can all agree that we ought to care, but that alone does not make us care. We could all very easily agree with this intellectually, as a very necessary and biblical idea, but not really care at all about the churches.
Actually there are many things like this in Christianity. There are things that require some kind of inner transformation and cannot be accomplished with a commandment or a feeling of obligation.
In his vision on the isle of Patmos, John saw the exalted Christ standing in the midst of seven candlesticks, which represented the seven churches of Asia. And the Lord personally addressed those churches. There we see the Chief Shepherd Himself caring for His Church, which is His Body. And the Lord was also interested in CHURCHES – specific, local congregations of people. Many of these congregations addressed in Revelation had serious errors and were going to be disciplined severely or even judged by the Lord. It is impossible to see Jesus correctly and not see His care for the churches.
If we ourselves get close to Jesus we will also begin to feel this same care because our hearts will be beating in synch with the heart of Jesus. This kind of private spirituality that exists today, saying “I love Jesus but not the Church” is spurious. This is an example of another Jesus, one who caters to the personal goals of people, rather than the Christ of Patmos who walks in the midst of the candlesticks.
2. You must have a burden to see saints perfected.
By perfected I mean complete or mature. I do not mean this as without a flaw or faultless. We cannot expect the Church to be without spot or wrinkle until all the hindrances of the Flesh are removed in Glory. Until that time the churches are filled with people who are in the midst of a process of change.
Now if we share the heart of the apostle Paul and the Lord Himself, we want to see this transformation of sinners into saints continue unhindered. The burden comes from knowing that this process is not automatic, as some believe, and it can be obstructed.
This is why Paul spent so much time writing to churches and urging believers to put off the Old Man and put on the New Man, to walk in the Spirit and to mortify the deeds of the Flesh, and to be transformed by the renewing of the mind rather than conforming to the pattern of the World.
When it comes to our sanctification, we must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” But many churches do not “perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord.” Many churches remain infantile, ignorant, carnal, and worldly. This condition is not acceptable and it should be the business of leaders to make this clear so that people can repent, pick up their crosses, and get back on the narrow way which leads to life. This seems to be a part of the care of all the churches that is missing in the ministries of church leaders today. Many church leaders today are not maturing the people or challenging them to be holy. Church leaders claim to follow the so-called Great Commission, but they have actually made a Great Omission! They are not in the business of making disciples and teaching them so that they grow up in Christ.
3. You must have a desire to reach lost people.
Now this seems to contradict what I have just said, but it doesn’t. Much of the trouble we have in the churches today comes from going to extremes. There are churches that claim to be all about winning people to Christ. But there are other churches who say that teaching and Biblical knowledge is the main thing. It should be clear from Scripture that the salvation of lost people AND the edification of saints are both vital for the churches. What most people, including leaders, do not see is how these two activities work together, each fueling the other, and are in fact just aspects of a single purpose and mission.
A proper balance can be realized when we ask a simple question: which people are bringing lost people to Jesus? The answer is that believers are the people who bring the Gospel to lost people. This means that everything must be done to make sure believers are strong, spiritually healthy, and holy so that they can effectively do the work of the ministry. In other words, the best way to reach lost people is to have healthy churches filled with mature and maturing disciples. Therefore, the care of all the churches includes caring also about lost people coming to Jesus. If we do not see large numbers of people coming to Jesus, and if most Christians never share their faith and are not equipped to do so, that means that the churches are in a state of decline. A living church has never had trouble making converts.
One of the problems facing the churches is the clergy/laity model when professional pastors and evangelists do all the work of the ministry while everyone else is a spectator. This is completely antithetical to Paul’s model of equipping the Body (Eph. 4.11-16).
In Paul’s model the Church has been given leaders with various functions so that the Body can be built up and equipped to do the work of the ministry. Evangelists are given to the Body, not to the unbelieving World, so that they can equip believers to do the work of evangelism effectively. So caring for churches is the best way to care for lost people. All efforts to evangelize the lost apart from also caring for the churches are not balanced or Biblical.
4. You must be aware of spiritual warfare.
The care of the churches begins to come upon you when you consider the opposition that is arrayed against God’s people in the world. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, men are not the real enemy, but we wrestle with the spiritual forces of darkness (Eph. 6.12). The Forces in opposition to the Church, if we could actually see them, would probably freeze the blood in our veins! These enemies are much too high and powerful for us to combat on our own.
The Church is in a real danger zone while still in the World. There are doctrines that would make believers think that this is not so, that once you are saved you are always saved, no matter what you might do. But the enemy is real and the danger is real. There is security for believers, but ONLY if we appropriate the spiritual resources and weaponry that God has supplied. We must PUT ON the full armor of God. It is an intentional process. And it seems that many churches are not doing this. We must be alert for our enemy, who is on the prowl like a hungry lion, and we must be aware of his schemes. If we are not suited up with the armor of God and if we are not alert the Devil can overcome us. I am not saying the Devil is all-powerful. But in his realm he does have power. The closer believers live to the world, which is the Devil’s domain, and the more we walk after the Flesh, the more exposed we are to Satan’s devices.
The care of the churches comes upon us when we realize how vulnerable some believers really are. The churches today, like a city without walls, have made themselves open to Satan’s attacks!
Jesus taught us that this world will contain a mixture of wheat and tares: God’s people and the children of the Devil occupying the same world until the End comes and a final separation is made. The trouble is that before maturity is reached wheat and tares look alike. And removing the tares may also accidentally lead to removing the wheat as well. They must be allowed to grow together until the End! This situation causes the care of the churches to come upon us, because we know that every church is a field where wheat and tares may be growing. Until the final separation, we feel coming upon us the care of all the churches.
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