The Roman Road to Righteousness

This recent series of postings began by looking at Mary of Bethany, sitting at the feet of Jesus, feasting on each of the Words of Life spoken by Him. From there the postings went on to look at the community of believers of Jesus Christ, aka the church or "the called out" ones. But I think we need to know more about the faith that bound together in such great unity the community of believers, of which Mary of Bethany was one, along with her sister Martha, her brother Lazarus, and all of the New Testament believers who became the community of Christ.

The Book of Romans, actually titled "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans" (epistle meaning letter), is one of the most important books in the New Testament. In this letter to the Romans, Paul, the apostle "called out" by Jesus Christ to take the Good News of the Gospel to the Gentiles, very thoroughly lays out for us all that we will experience on the walk of faith that we have been "called out" to walk. It is one of the most encouraging books of the New Testament to me and I turn to it often. On this road laid out in the letter to the Romans, we find the sinful condition of man in the eyes of a holy God (condemnation), the gift of God to the sinful world in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ (justification), the blessing of the Holy Spirit who transforms our lives and causes us to walk obediently before God (sanctification), and the hope of life everlasting in the presence of God (glorification). All that the Christian life is about is encapsulated in this one letter.

So, for the next several postings, we will hear again some of what Mary of Bethany heard at the feet of Jesus. For those of us that are confessing Christians (not confessing as in "going to confession"; but confessing as in proclaiming by both our words and actions that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord) this will just be an overview of what it is we believe and why. If there are any non-confessors reading this blog, it will help you to understand what true Christians are all about (as opposed to those "pretenders of the faith"), but my hope would be of course, that after seeing what it is all about, you would want to receive for yourself this amazing grace of God's gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, into your own life. He has transformed my life; I am not at all the person I once was because of His grace and mercy and love towards me. That transformation is still taking place day by day. And He will do the same for you, if you will trust in Him.

Because this is a long holiday weekend, it will be Tuesday, Lord willing, that we will begin walking down this "Roman Road to Righteousness."

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 15:4-6)

 

For the Lord is a Great God

Sometimes I just feel the need to worship the Lord and nothing else can satisfy but to worship Him.

"For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." (Psalm 95:3-7)

He IS a great God. There is none like Him; never has been any like Him and never will be any like Him. For only the true living God can be the true living God. And He is OUR God.

And I say "OUR" deliberately, for He is God over us all. We might not all worship and adore Him (and some will face the wrath of our mighty God because they have not loved Him); but He is God over us all nevertheless for one day every knee will bow before Him. But to those who set their love upon Him, as did David, the shepherd boy that God anointed as King of Israel, here is the promise of God for us:

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall be no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." (Psalm 91:1-10)

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." (Isaiah 54:17)

"Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him" says our Lord to us "because he hath known My Name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble." (Psalm 91:14-16)

This mighty God – keeper of the deep, maintainer of mountains, owner of the seas, creator of the very ground that we stand upon – says He will be with me in trouble and will deliver me no matter what comes my way and that because of Him I will have nothing to fear….all because I have set my love upon Him, because I call upon Him, because I know His Name.

What is His Name?

To those of us who love Him and walk in obedience to His Word, it's "Abba, Father."

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6)

"Abba" is the Greek equivalent of "Dad" or "Daddy". That's how intimate a relationship He desires with us. Some, who don't know God as their Father, would call that shocking or irreverent; and yet the Word of God tells us that this is a relationship He not only desires but has set in place for those of us who believe and trust in His Son, Jesus:

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him [Jesus] not. (I John 3:1)

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15)

His Name is Abba, Father. And for His own purposes and for only a season, He has placed one name higher than His own: and that name is Jesus Christ.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

"But as many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them gave He [God] power to become the sons of God [even] to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12)

If only everyone knew Jesus Christ, they would then know our Abba, Father, the way we do who love Him so; for He, our Lord, is a very Great God and Father! And with our Father by our side, we can face anything that comes our way!

How great is our God!

Church of the Walking Dead

I have heard of a book titled "Toxic Religion" (I have not read it, nor will I). I have also heard on Christian radio some talk of how harmful "religion" can be. I have also spoken with folks who believe that religion is the bane of society; it has turned many against God, they say. I myself have been one of those "walking wounded" – a term used often in churches today, especially those churches who supposedly never wound anyone. I don't like to be wounded. I don't want to wound others. And I don't particularly like institutional religion.

But here are the facts: we will be wounded and we will wound others.

And we can blame religion, throwing out anything and everything of God in the process, while still maintaining that "in our hearts" we are still Christians and still love Jesus (Sadly, I'm fairly certain I have heard those words coming out of my own mouth in the not too distant past.)

Or we can stop being hypocrites (people who find fault with everyone else around them, but find very little or no fault in themselves) and take responsibility for the fact that we want Jesus and all that He offers us, but we don't want to suffer as He did.

The previous posting quoted Charles Spurgeon and John Bunyan, examples of Christians willing to suffer all sorts of hardship, rebuke, hurts (whether justified or unjustified), and in the case of John Bunyan, imprisonment several times during his lifetime, spending close to 25 years of his life in the Bedford jail in England; all because he refused to stop preaching and he would not obey the law which forced folks to attend Anglican church services on Sunday (John was a Reformed Baptist born of Puritan stock). His jailers did not necessarily wish to imprison him, but his continued statement of "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow" left them no choice. He identified greatly with Paul, the apostle, especially the part about being the "chief of sinners" and it was during these prison years that he wrote the allegorical novel: The Pilgrim's Progress. He wove shoelaces while in prison to help support his wife and four children, and he preached to fellow prisoners.

Wikipedia says this about John Bunyan's later years: "He was released [from Bedford jail] in January 1672, when Charles II issued the Declaration of Religious Indulgence. In that month he became pastor of St Paul's Church. On 9 May 1672, Bunyan was the recipient of one of the first licenses to preach under the new law. He built a new meeting-house and formed a nonconformist sect from his surviving parishioners and increased his congregation to as many as four thousand Christians in Bedfordshire. He established over thirty new congregations and was given the affectionate title of "Bishop Bunyan" by his parishioners .

Besides all of this, there is one more thing I want you to know about John Bunyan. He fiercely disagreed with and attacked Quaker beliefs. He entered into written debates for a couple of years with one of the Quakers' prominent leaders. He accused them of relying too much on their "inner light" and not enough on the literal Word of God. (Sound familiar?) He might even have "wounded" a few of those Quakers, who were seriously trying to serve God, but were apparently missing it scripturally in a few areas. It was the Quakers, nevertheless, who eventually were able to have him released from prison.

John Bunyan wasn't afraid of being "toxic". He wasn't afraid of who he "wounded" with the truth. He just spoke the truth and he did it with passion. There was nothing "lukewarm" about him. God tells us He prefers cold or hot, but never lukewarm. (Revelation 3:15-16)

As for me, whatever wounds were laid upon me during the years I have been a Christian, have only served to bring spiritual growth to me. I believe that's what the Lord intended for us to experience. I don't believe He thought we would live in community with one another and not suffer wounds from one another. But I think He also expected us to learn in the process how not to hurt others as much, and especially how to forgive as He first forgave us who were so undeserving.

But the most important lessons that John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, and so many others, including all the New Testament saints, teach us is to be passionate, bold, convicted of our beliefs even to the point of perhaps wounding others who prefer the truth of the Word of God to be less sharp and cutting. The church is to be so full of life and living and action, and in the process, mistakes will be made, people will be hurt, people will forgive and be forgiven….if we are the church of Jesus Christ that is.

Or we can be very innocuous, very politically correct, very reserved and keep our beliefs to ourselves, speaking only "positive" things; and become, as Spurgeon described, the church of the walking dead.

For the dead feel no pain. At least…..not here.

Striving with Holy Violence

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12

I often find that I have days when I just feel as though I am making no progress forward, only going backwards spiritually. It usually takes me a day or two to realize that this is because my fingers have loosened their grip of that "measure of faith" that has been handed to me, and as my grip begins to fail, so does my faith. Then, by the grace and mercy of our precious Lord and Saviour, I realize it with a start! And take hold once more of "the shield of faith wherewith" I "shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" that so often come against me. (Ephesians 6:16)

The picture we are given in Ephesians 6 of armor is much more than a metaphor to us. It is life and death. For the opening scripture in Matthew is true and of vital importance for us to understand. There is violence on so many levels necessary for one to both have on one's own and also to endure while fighting against it, in order to enter into the kingdom. It is not the free ride that so many mistakenly think it is. The kingdom of God is not for the faint of heart. It is not for those who want the smooth and easy way. The gate through which we would enter to arrive inside the kingdom of God is strait and narrow: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

Those who take the kingdom by force are those who KNOW they are sinners, and not just sinners in their minds, but the vilest of the vile. They KNOW that they are lost and without hope….except for Jesus Christ. They KNOW that He is their only hope. They have done all that they know how to do and they see that it is all for nothing, for they are still lost. They feel the flames of hell licking at their heels and there is nothing that they can do about it within their own power, for they have tried and failed over and over again. They are desperate! They are violent in their cries for help. They are amongst the noisy multitudes of people who thronged around Jesus and they are crying out with loud voices : Jesus, save me! They are pressing in to touch even just the hem of His garment for they know who He is and they need GOD or they will die!

And once they have touched His garment and are healed, they press on still. For they know that what they have received now must be guarded and held onto, and that there are many who would violently fight against them to take this hope from them. And there is now much to be lost. They cannot risk it. They must fight!

It is called "holy violence" by one very famous preacher: Charles Haddon Spurgeon. His entire sermon is too long to post here, but I have included three excerpts from his sermon titled "Holy Violence" preached on May 15, 1859; the middle excerpt is his quoting of John Bunyan's book "Pilgrim's Progress."

1. Spurgeon: "But this violence does not end when a man finds Christ; it then begins to exercise itself in another way. The man who is pardoned, and who knows it, then becomes violently in love with Christ. He does not love him just a little, but he loves him with all his soul and all his might. He feels as if he could wish to die for Christ, and his heart pants to be able to live alone with his Redeemer, and serve him without interruption. Mark such a man who is a true Christian, mark his prayers, and you will see there is violence in all his supplications when he pleads for the souls of men. Mark his outward actions, and they are violently sincere, violently earnest. Mark him when he preaches: there is no dull droning out of a monotonous discourse, he speaks like a man who means what he says, and who must speak it, or else woe would be unto him if he preached not the gospel. As I look around on many of the churches, yea, on many members of my own church, I am apt to fear that they are not God's children at all, because they have nothing of this holy violence. Have ye ever read Coleridge's Ancient Mariner? I dare say you have thought it one of the strongest imaginations ever put together, especially that part where the old mariner represents the corpses of all the dead men rising up,—all of them dead, yet rising up to manage the ship; dead men pulling the ropes, dead men steering, dead men spreading the sails. I thought what a strange idea that was. But do you know I have lived to see that true: I have seen it done. I have gone into churches and I have seen a dead man in the pulpit, and a dead man as a deacon, and a dead man holding the plate at the door, and dead men sitting to hear. You say "Strange!" but I have. I have gone into societies, and I have seen it all going on so regularly. These dead men, you know, never overstep the bounds of prudence,—not they: they have not life enough to do that. They always pull the rope orderly, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen."
   
2. Bunyon: "I saw also, that the Interpreter took him by the hand, and led him into a pleasant place, where was built a stately palace, beautiful to behold; at the sight of which Christian was greatly delighted. He saw also upon the top thereof certain persons walking, who were clothed all in gold. Then said Christian, 'May we go in thither?' Then the Interpreter took him and led him up toward the door of the palace; and behold, at the door stood a great company of men, as desirous to go in, but durst not. There also sat a man at a little distance from the door, at a table-side, with a book and his ink-horn before him, to take the name of him that should enter therein; he saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armour to keep it, being resolved to do to the men that would enter what hurt and mischief they could. Now was Christian somewhat in amaze. At last, when every man started back for fear of the armed men, Christian saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write, saying, Set down my name, sir;' the which when he had done, he saw the man draw his sword, and put a helmet upon his head, and rush toward the door upon the armed men, who laid upon him with deadly force; but the man, not at all discouraged, fell to cutting and hacking most fiercely. So after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempted to keep him out, (Matt. xi. 12. Acts xiv. 22.) he cut his way through them all, and pressed forward into the palace; at which there was a pleasant voice heard from those that were within, even of those that walked upon the top of the palace, saying, 'Come in, come in, eternal glory thou shalt win.' So he went in, and was clothed with such garments as they." And surely the dreamer saw the truth in his dream. It is even so. If we would win eternal glory we must fight."
   
3. Spurgeon again: "There is one man here who says, "I don't know that I have done much amiss in my life: I am about as regular a man as there is living. Don't I attend a place of worship regularly? I believe that l shall most certainly be saved. But I don't take much trouble about it, it never disquiets me particularly. I don't like"—says this man "—that intrusive kind of religion that always seems to be thrusting itself in everybody's way. I think it is quite right that people should go to their place of worship, but why take any further trouble? I just believe that I shall fare as other people fare: I am a steady unpretending sort of man, and I have no reason to doubt that I shall be saved." Ah, friend, you have never seen the gate of heaven? It is obvious that you have never seen it, or else you would know better; for at the gate of heaven multitudes are struggling, the gates of heaven are thronged, and he that would enter there must press, and elbow, and push, or he may go away certain that he can never enter. No! your easy religion will just bring you in too late. It may carry you nine miles out of ten; but what is the good of that to a man who must perish unless he is carried the whole way?"
   

More tomorrow.

A Fork in the Road

"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3)

"There came then His brethren and His mother, and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. And the multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And He answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother." (Mark 3:31-35)

During early church times, the natural family members that the new community of believers once had, now became strangers to them in the sense that they could not share in the joy of revelation love until they had themselves experienced it. It was as though they had arrived at a fork in the road that they had all once traveled together, but now some would take one direction that the fork led them on, and the others would take the opposite direction. They could not walk together any further, at least not in the sense of deepest companionship and utmost safety that being "family" should provide.

Jesus Himself experienced this loss of natural family.

Here He is sitting in the center of a multitude of people who continue to follow Him wherever He goes, while on the outer fringes, asking Him to come out to them, is His natural family. For three decades He was surrounded by these family members and was one of them, working in the carpentry trade of his natural step-father, Joseph, most likely right alongside His brothers. Now suddenly, He has left them and is surrounded by a throng of people following Him and calling Him the Messiah. His family tried to extricate Him, for His own good they thought, but He would not be moved from the place that His Father had called Him to. Even childhood friends who had grown up with HIm tried to do an intervention, believing Him to be suffering from some sort of mental breakdown. (Mark 3:21)

The bible tells us that eventually some of His natural family came to understand that He was indeed the Messiah. Mary, His mother, was one who believed. His brother, James, was another. But we don't know if all of his family members came to believe this. What we do know, is that until they did come to believe it, they remained on the outside of the circle, instead of inside it where they once had been. He had veered away from the direction they were walking together when they reached the fork in the road called "Faith"

At this moment in the gospel of Mark, He proclaimed who His family truly was, and it was not the natural members, but the members born of God, doing the will of the Father, who He claimed as family.

This separation from the natural family happened not only to Jesus, but to all of His followers. And it is because they are doing the will of the Father that the separation comes, like a sword dividing them (Matthew 10:34). The ways of God are not the ways of man, and natural man doesn't understand doing things God's way. So, when the new Christians began changing how they had always done things, folks thought them odd, fanatic, heretical, and ceased to associate with what they could not comprehend, even becoming fearful of it.

So, it also will happen to us. At the fork in the road there is a decision to make: to follow Jesus on a rather lonely road, or to stay with family and friends, companions of a past life. The thing is we arrive at that same fork day after day. Each day we choose again which direction we will take. Will we "do the will of the Father"? Or will we walk in agreement for that day with those who walk in unbelief and are therefore disobedient to God and subject to His wrath? The decision is about choosing between flesh and spirit.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…." That's the part we remember easily. Here's the part I sometimes forget:

"…who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit…..for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:1-6)

But the early church did not forget. Once they arrived at the fork, they took the road that led them away from natural family and friends, following it even through suffering and death, even the loss of the closeness of natural family, in order to do the will of God…and all with joy.

Because whatever they gave up to follow Him, He restored a hundredfold...not in the natural, but in the spiritual.

A Texas Detour

Many of you may have heard of Chuck Swindoll, pastor of an extremely large (and still growing) non-denominational evangelical church in Frisco, Texas. His sermons are broadcast on the radio under the program name of "Insight for Living". He's also authored several Christian books.

As I am visiting a family member in Frisco at the moment, I decided yesterday to visit his church, Stonebriar Community Church, attending the earlier of two church services held on Sunday. Even though I arrived close to 30 minutes early, there were folks standing at open doors on the outside of the church, greeting me with "Good Morning." Inside, there were more folks at open doors leading into the sanctuary, one of which also said "Good Morning" to me as she handed me a bulletin that contained an outline of what the service would include. There were many musical pieces, three corporate hymns, a violin soloist, and more; and, of course, Chuck Swindoll preaching, for which I was thankful (he had been out of town the earlier weekend, I was glad he was here this particular weekend.)

I have been in extremely large churches before, the ones that hold thousands of people, rather than only hundreds. This was similar to many others I have seen, with one exception: dominating the entire wall behind a huge stage area, was an immense pipe organ with a simple wooden cross in the center of it. Fifteen minutes before the service was to start, an organist began playing those pipes. It was majestic. And when the 100-person choir and the 50 piece symphony orchestra joined in, I decided this might just about be what it sounds like to hear multitudes of angels worshiping God.

All of that was just an opening to the service. The pastor walked up to the pulpit, gave a few words, asked everyone to greet each other. I turned to the lady next to me, extended my hand, said good morning, and told her my name. She told me hers as well, but then I realized as this continued on for another moment or two, that no one was really doing that. It was just shake the hand and say good morning. Names not necessary.

After the pastor's greeting and the handshaking, there was reading from the scripture during which time everyone stood. Then the congregation sat again to enjoy a few more musical numbers involving the choir and the orchestra…no guitars here…brass, several violins, timpani drums, etc. After which, the congregation rose once more to sing three hymns (from hymnals), before being seated again for the remainder of the service. There was a final violin solo, and then the choir and the orchestra began to silently file out through the side doors of the now darkened stage, as the pastor began to speak.

One of the things that Chuck Swindoll is known for is his sense of humor. I have never found any fault in his sermons: they are all very scriptural, very much about the Lord Jesus Christ at every turn. I enjoy listening to them. And you can tell this man loves to laugh. His laugh lets you know that it's ok to enjoy the Lord; to be joyful at all that we have to be thankful about because Jesus died to save us, to give us life everlasting. There is some humor in every sermon, I think. Very appropriate humor, but always there. In fact, the church's stated mission is "to encourage all people to pursue a lifelong, joyous relationship with Jesus Christ."

After his sermon, which was 30 minutes in length, and a brief prayer, everyone stood to leave. No fellowship, no final greetings one to another, people poured from the church. I was at the earlier service, and a second one was to follow shortly, so I would imagine that lingering was not really to be encouraged anyway. Outside the parking lot, on the exits to the main road, were four City of Frisco policemen directing traffic.

When I got back to the house, I looked online and found these facts about the church:

-founded in 1998 by a group of individuals, including Senior Pastor Chuck Swindoll;

-within six months of its founding, 1500 people were attending Sunday worship services in their temporary location at the Preston Ridge campus of Collin College;

-in 2001, the church opened the doors of a new 100,000 square foot building;

-by 2005, Sunday attendance was averaging 4,000 adults and 1,200 children, prompting the church to begin planning another building expansion (resulting in the huge church I visited which was just recently completed…I can't say how large it is, could find no facts on that yet);

-in 2002, Stonebriar Community church identified Chhattisgarh, a state in central India, as its strategic missions focus;

- the church's goal at that time, was (and still is, I imagine) to train 1,000 national pastors, build 1,000 churches, and see 500,000 people become Christians in 10 years;

-by 2006, 280 men and women had earned theology diplomas, and 230 national pastors were leading 750 churches and home groups with an estimated total of 20,000 members.

I am not presenting all this to you with any judgment of any kind, good, bad or indifferent. I just felt like sharing my experience of this church with you, and what little I know about it from one visit. That's why I titled this posting: "A Texas Detour."

But if anyone wants to comment on this, please do. Meanwhile, I'll try to get back on track at the next posting.

Revelation Love

What does community mean to us really? We can picture community as a group of people gathering together from time to time to discuss some common interest: a club or a society, a chat room or forum, a political party or special interest group, even a church.

But we could also picture a "commune", such as the hippies had during their days of revolution against the establishment ("the establishment" meaning pretty much anything that had rules and regulations). In that case, the commune was where people lived out their philosophy of life, the common attitude that bound them all together. The common attitude amongst the hippies was to "make love, not war." It was a "love revolution;" just one more of man's attempt to bring "peace, baby, peace."

All of these communities, including a church, can be formed by man, driven by man, glorifying man – and have nothing at all to do with God.

But a community founded by God, led by God, and glorifying God is unique. There is nothing else like it. Man cannot build it, drive it or take credit for it; for the doing of any of those things by man only proves that it is not of God.

The early church was a community founded by God. The common interest of the people who became part of that community was the divine revelation from God of His love for mankind (Romans 5:8). It was love unlike anything man had ever experienced before. The revelation of God's perfect love to a man or a woman, translated them instantly from the land of the dying and dead to the land of the living and alive (Romans 6:4). Overnight their citizenship changed from the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of God (John 18:36). They spoke a new language, and the only ones who could understand what they were speaking were the ones who belonged to that same kingdom of God (John 3:5). They no longer spoke the language of the world around them. They spoke the language of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1). They no longer had the same interests of the world around them. Suddenly they had nothing in common with the world around them (John 17:16)). Nothing! Everything was changed! Everything was new! (2 Corinthians 5:17) They had a passion and joy for this new life that only those who were of the same kingdom could understand (Acts 28:26-27).

Under those circumstances, how could they NOT form a community? The alternative? Well, how would you feel if you had just met GOD and found that you were completely unable to tell ANYONE about it because you couldn't communicate in the common language? How would you feel if you had to remain completely silent about the most incredible thing that had ever happened to you….all because there was no way to communicate it to others?

So God blessed them with community….one that was marked as being "different" because it no longer had any similarity to the world around it. They were foreigners in a strange land, for the citizenry around them couldn't comprehend what they were talking about, at least not until they themselves also received the same divine revelation. And so to their neighbors they were indeed strange! But eventually those who were on the outskirts of this new community, observing all that went on within the community, began to see that revelation love in action. And it was something marvelous to see! So marvelous that they had to inquire about the source of that love, for they wanted to experience it for themselves!

And "God so loved the world" that those who honestly and truly sought Him were able to find Him; He did not hide Himself from them. And they then became part of that community (Acts 2:47); citizens of the kingdom of God, no longer fearing death in the world of the dead and dying, but looking forward to that hope of everlasting life that Jesus Christ, the love of God, provided to each and every one of them that had received that revelation love and believed (John 6:40), no not just believed, but KNEW, that GOD IS GOOD! (Romans 2:4)

And thus was God glorified in the community that HE built on revelation love (John 17:23).

“But whom say ye that I am?”

"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hat not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:16-18)

Thus was the foundation laid for the community of brethren that came to be known as the "church." Some have mistaken this scripture to believe that it meant Peter was the foundation of the church, and they have gone on to name Peter their first bishop or pope, attempting to prove their spiritual authority by claiming relationship to Peter; but this is far from what the Lord intended.

The Greek word Petros (translated in the KJV as Peter) means a rock, or more specifically a large fragment of a rock. The Greek word petra (translated in this KJV scripture as "rock") means a massive rock such as a ledge or a cliff, something that is said to be 'living' in that it is not fragmented and broken away from its source.

The fragmented rock was Peter in the flesh; the massive living rock was the revelation of Jesus Christ to man; revelation that became the foundation for the church. Revelation that united all the fragmented Peters of the world (men who sought God with everything within themselves, men who loved God fervently, men who failed God at times, men who cried bitterly at their failure before God, men who recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed One who had come to save them) joining all the "rocks" into ONE LIVING MASSIVE ROCK, reuniting them into close fellowship once more with God.

The foundation was not Peter, and it was not what Peter had done or said that was the foundation. The foundation was the "revelation" of who Jesus Christ was to man; and revelation such as this comes not from man, but from God alone. Jesus told Peter that this knowledge didn't originate with anything relating to or made of flesh and blood; in other words, nothing human, thus pointing once more to the Father from whom all blessings flow.

And the content of the 'revelation' was important; it couldn't just be any revelation claimed by man, for many of these have been later proven to be false. No, this revelation had to come from God and be witnessed by God Himself, Jesus Christ, to be of God alone and not of man.

This revelation was the "with one accord" that describes the community mentality of the early church in at least ten passages of scripture. There is one Greek word that is translated into the three English words "with one accord" and that word is "homothumadon." Strong's concordance tells us that homothumadon is a compounding of two words meaning "to rush along" and "in unison" that can be best understood by picturing a variety of musical instruments, each unique in itself, yet being directed by the concert master to produce a glorious harmonic symphony; "so does the Holy Spirit blend together the lives of members of Christ's community of believers known as the church."

And it all begins with, or has as its foundational basis, this revelation, the confessing with one's mouth what has been recognized and received in one's heart, that:

"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16)

The "glad" recipients of this revelation, in the early church were identified by these characteristics and actions:

-they were together;

-they had all things common;

-they sold their possessions to meet each other's needs;

-they met daily in the temple (this was even before the Gentiles were being preached to, saved, and added to the fold);

-they ate their meals in each others' homes daily;

-whenever they ate together it was with gladness and singleness of heart;

-they praised God;

-they had favour with all the people;

-and the Lord kept adding daily to their community others that He wanted saved.

All because they had received revelation from God and were united with one accord in that revelation!

Without that revelation, there is darkness instead of light, and fear instead of joy. The Word says that "he that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:18-21)

So, we can safely say that this revelation is requirement number 1 for community among the brethren; without it, there would be no "with one accord."

Without that "with one accord" what do we really have? I guess we have an orchestra with a lot of instruments, out of tune with one another, paying no attention to the orchestra leader, resulting in an out-of-harmony symphony that NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR.

Community of the Brethren

"And all that believed were together and had all things common." Acts 2:44

I recently viewed a Ken Burns documentary on the Shakers. Most of us, perhaps us older folks at least, have heard of Shaker furniture, meaning it was handmade by the Shakers. But perhaps few of us know that the Shakers were a community of believers in Jesus Christ who early on were noted to be praising the Lord with such enthusiasm that it appeared to outsiders that they were shaking the very building in which they were worshiping God. Unfortunately, they toned their worship down a bit, but retained the name Shakers.

What I found interesting about this documentary was that the early founders, one of which was a woman, believed what God's Word said about the community of the early church and set about to create a community of brothers and sisters with one common belief in Jesus Christ and having all things common amongst them. This community lasted for well over a hundred years and spread to include other like communities of Shakers throughout America. Today, unfortunately, there are only 4 Shakers remaining (not 4 Shaker communities, just 4 shakers still in their one remaining community.)

But while it lasted, they trusted God to bring into their community those who believed and they trusted God also to remove from their community those who did not believe. For example, in hard winter months, they suddenly had many "converts" who wanted to join their community, obviously thinking only of putting a warm roof over their heads. And the Shakers accepted this graciously and calmly, all the while knowing that these newcomers would not last long, and that God would weed them out from their midst before long. The Shakers were extremely industrious, believing that all that they did must be done with excellence for the glory of God. Most unbelieving newcomers quickly left for an "easier" life elsewhere.

While one has to admire the Shakers' attempt to live in community as they felt the Word was leading them to do, still their communities have all but come to an end, and we are left to ask "what went wrong"? Much as I ask today when looking at our modern-day churches and the lack of community therein.

Is it possible to have community, real community, in the church today? Do we understand what that even means really?

Because I want to look at this more closely from the biblical standpoint, I'm going to try to spend a little time on this subject for the next posting or two. It might be very beneficial to us to dig into the Word here and try to discover the full meaning of the scripture that opened this posting. This much I am sure of: we Christians were never meant to be islands unto ourselves, we were meant to live in close fellowship with one another, even as the Godhead lives in close fellowship.

Help us, Lord, to understand!

Community of Three

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He [the Father] doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." John 5:19

Many times I believe we read scripture too quickly to absorb what is being said. If the scripture says, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" then I think EVERY WORD that comes out of God's mouth is critical to us and needs to be meditated on a bit, rather than rushed through. For example, in the scripture that opens this posting – John 5:19 – the words "The Son can do nothing of Himself." Now, what does that mean to us exactly? What is it the Holy Spirit would like for us to glean from these words for our benefit – and for the glory of God?

Let's break it down a bit.

"The Son". Clearly, that is Jesus. The Word tells us that He was conceived of God and born of a virgin; meaning one half of his parents was GOD, the other half of his parents was a virgin woman whom we know to be Mary (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:14). Therefore, Jesus IS the Son of God.

"Can do nothing of Himself" – well, Jesus did a LOT, so this doesn't mean He can't (or didn't) DO anything. But it means He can't do "of Himself". What does that mean exactly?

That's a little tougher to figure out. It could mean "on his own," in other words, as He would be inclined to do if He were the one making the decisions. But Jesus did "nothing of Himself" meaning He did NOT what He (His flesh) was inclined to do (obviously His flesh did not want to suffer), but instead He did what the Father wanted Him to do.

In fact, when you read the next part of the scripture "but what He seeth the Father do," now we see that what is meant is that Jesus is "duplicating" the Father. He isn't doing His own thing. In fact, He is doing "nothing" of His own thing. NOTHING. Not even a little bit? No, the Word says "nothing".

"For what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." That speaks to me of such a close relationship, a truly close Father-Son relationship. It brings to mind little boys and how they emulate their Dads. They don't look to Mom to emulate her; they look to Dad. They watch their Dads, how they walk, how they talk, the things that they say and do. And they follow the instructions their Dads give them, as He trains them to grow up to be "just like Dad." So also did Jesus watch and listen and do exactly as He was told by His Father. And as the Father is holy, so then was the Son holy.

But the son did NOTHING of Himself. Yet, He displayed all the holiness of God Himself for the whole world to see.

So, again what does that tell us? Well, it depends on whether or not we also want to display the holiness of God through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. If we do, then this tells us that we, as followers of the Way (Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life"), should do NOTHING unless, as followers of Him, it is done HIS way. Should we then, as Jesus did with His Father, be doing only what we see Jesus doing in His Word? Should we be paying attention to the Words that Jesus spoke? So that all that is done is NOT of us, does not originate in us at all, but is of JESUS?

If that is so, then how do we do that? If Jesus was the example for us that I believe He was, then it would appear the first thing we must do is to SURRENDER all of OUR own desires and take up only HIS. It appears that Jesus did not follow His own desires. He followed the desires of the Father. Completely.

But how do we SURRENDER ourselves to Jesus?

I can't tell you. To me it seems an impossible thing. But the Holy Spirit, the third member of the community that contains the Father and the Son, reminds me that "All things are possible with God." The Holy Spirit was visibly present at the baptism of Jesus "descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him" (Matthew chapter 3:16-17). And His appearance was immediately followed by "a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Spirit, the Comforter that Jesus sent to be with us when He left this earth and went to sit by the right hand of the Father til it is time for Him to return for the second time (the Second Coming), comforts each and every one of us by making possible within us what it not possible "on our own." We might want to look to Him for the answer.

Perhaps when the Holy Spirit has "lighted" upon us, we also will be called "beloved" by the Father.

 

 

The Community of the Word

Recently, I did a series of postings about the church, what it has become, versus what it was meant to be. What it was meant to be was "community." A community that was exemplified to us by Jesus and the 12 disciples. A community that was exemplified to us by the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A community that pre-existed creation.

Here in America, we often have a skewed sense of community. This is perhaps because we have the luxury of being mobile. We do not stay put in one place for very long. In countries where that luxury is not afforded, where people stay in one place all of their lives, the meaning of community is better understood. But even then, the community as God has designed it is far better than any community man has designed.

We call the church "a family" in order to help ourselves grasp the concept of community that God intends. But dysfunction is rampant in families today, due to prevailing humanism, a turning away from God and trusting in man instead. So that when we try to build a church here in America based on the "family" concept, the church often displays some of the same dysfunctions that many families have. The biggest hindrance to the "family" concept is that the church family lives apart from each other, in the sense that they meet once a week, maybe even twice a week, but are not involved in each others lives other than those brief meetings. How difficult is it for you to get deeply involved in the goings-on in the personal lives of the folks in your church, your brethren? Well, perhaps if you are the pastor or his wife, or an elder or deacon, maybe then you get to be a part of all that goes on in the lives of the brethren. But what about brethren to brethren when neither are leaders in the church? Do they all know what is happening, really happening, in each other's lives? And, if not, is there time enough on Sundays to find out? No, of course not. It's not that we don't want to get involved with each other, it's just that we lead such separate lives. Isn't it? Or is it? Maybe we're afraid of too much involvement; maybe we're afraid that involvement means commitment, one to another. Maybe we're afraid it will all just take up too much of our time. Time is a very precious commodity to us these days, what with husbands and wives both working for the survival of the family. Or in the case of single parents who have even less time to spare.

But do you recall how the first believers functioned as a community? They "lived" in each others' lives. They were together, almost all the time. There was no opportunity to miss out on what was happening in each other's lives. They knew what was happening at all times because they were there to see it happening. That is possible only in close community.

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." (Acts 2:44-46)

I don't see that they were together only on Sunday for an hour or two or three and then went their separate ways, not to join together again until the following Sunday. Every day they were together "in the temple" ("with one accord" which I believe must have been for the purpose of speaking the Word of God to those who had not received it. Remember that in the synagogues people were free to talk, there was not one leader.) And in the same sentence, probably also daily, "they broke bread from house to house." Every day they were together eating their meals as well in each other's homes. They were able to do this because they were joined together as one in community (even though they apparently maintained individual homes), evidenced by the selling of their possessions, and sharing everything with the brethren. [Please note: I don't believe when they "parted them to all men" this meant they gave to anyone who was in need regardless of their beliefs. I believe it meant they gave to the brethren only, those with whom they were one in Spirit. But amongst the brethren none were excluded.] But we don't really do that. It is as though we are each waiting for someone else to "jump into the water" before we do when it comes to selling possessions and giving it ALL to the brethren. Community God's way doesn't mean the occasional giving that we do; it means a lifestyle of "having all things in common."

Why are we unable to do that, when they did so immediately? What's different? I believe there are two things to consider: 1) this "community" appeared after the 120 disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. But the church today doesn't seem to want that filling as much as those 120 did. Many in the church don't understand the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit, and therefore shy away from too much of that! How many in the church today are willing to submit to the power of God that caused the disciples to appear to be drunk? I'm not talking about a "fake" show of being filled, I mean the real thing. How many of us really want that today? But imagine if we were all filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit rather than in the flesh! What would happen then? 2) Jesus set the example with the disciples; a pattern of relationship, if you will, that had existed amongst the members of the Godhead eternally and therefore one with which Jesus was more than able to properly teach. And the 12, having experienced it, could now display it and teach it to the remainder of the 120.

I spent a recent morning with several women from my church. Many of those women I've known for over a year, only one or two of them for much longer. I believe that I love them all without exception, and that's easy to do because they are all such loving gentlewomen themselves. There is something so wonderful and comforting about being in their presence. I love those moments of close community, of sisterhood, but they are so infrequent. And when one is constantly in the thick of spiritual warfare, that camaraderie is uplifting and strengthening, ending all too soon when everyone leaves to go home, not to meet again until church on Sunday. I don't want to have to wait for disastrous situations for that closeness to be an everyday event; not if it's possible to have it now. So how can we have it now?

In the next couple of postings, we'll look at the community that Jesus exemplified, as well as the community exemplified by the Godhead, as we try to learn the answer to that question.