Christian Unity

Obedience is not the most popular topic in Christianity today.

We latch onto those scriptures that speak of freedom. We interpret them as broadly as our imaginations will allow. We love the passages that tell us that we are not under law. And again, we want to interpret these passages very broadly. We don’t want rules. But aren’t there rules in Christianity? Hasn’t God given Christians a law to obey?

Let’s look at a few passages.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Here Paul came right out and said we are not under law. But throughout Romans 6 and 7, Paul repeatedly urged Christians not to continue to sin. He explained how law causes us to be tempted to sin. Yet, although being set free from the law, we are still called to obey and not to sin.

But consider a couple of Paul’s other letters:

1Co 9:21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.

Gal 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

In the above two passages, Paul indicates that there is another law, the Law of Christ, which governs Christians. Apparently Romans 6:14 referred to a specific law that is no longer in effect (of course, the Law of Moses). But there remains another law in effect for Christians.

Let’s see what more we can learn about that law.

Gal 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Gal 5:14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Gal 5 tells us that the law is summed up in the command to love our neighbor. This is very much like what Jesus said about the Mosaic Law in Matt 22:37-40. Paul did not mention the need to love God in Galatians 5:13-14. Of course we would not therefore conclude that loving God is no longer important! We should take Gal 5:13-14 in the same manner that a Jew would have taken Jesus’ words in Matthew — not as a substitute for everything else in the inspired scriptures, but as a generalization of the other commands.

Now lets’ look at one of the early teachings of Jesus:

Mat 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
Mat 7:23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Jesus was wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, a sermon in which he had presented many challenging teachings. The theme of this sermon seems to be that God wants us to have pure hearts, not just pure actions. But in verse 23, during final judgment, we learn that Jesus will tell many people to depart from him, because they were “workers of lawlessness.” They had called Jesus Lord, but they had lived as though he had not given them a law to obey. And that failure cost them their souls.

So, there is a law for Christians, a standard of God’s will for us to follow, what Jesus called the “will of my father”. But what makes up that law? Surely, at a minimum, it included the teachings Jesus had been presenting in that sermon. In this early sermon Jesus was laying the foundation for a new law, the Law of Christ. As he said in the parable at the end of the sermon, those who heard this law and did not put it into practice were foolish builders. What they had built would be destroyed, because they did not do the will of the Father. God would tell them to depart, because they practiced lawlessness — they neglected the Law of Christ.

Jeremiah prophesied about this law:

Jer 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
Jer 31:32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.
Jer 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

The new covenant would be a law written on people’s hearts. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was introducing this new law — a law that called on us, not only to refrain from adultery, but also from lust; not only from murder; but from anger. It is a law that addresses the heart, not merely external behavior. The new law sets us free from the external regulations of the first law. But it establishes a higher standard — a law of the heart. Despite the fact that this new law addresses the inner being, obeying that law of the heart will still have visible external effects. And living as though Jesus had not given that law will cost many people their souls.

There is an element in modern Christianity which does not like the Law of Christ. They focus instead on freedom and grace. They love having Jesus as Savior, but not so much as Lord. For them, everything is optional. Their rallying cry is “Freedom in Christ,” but they do not understand that freedom. Christ does indeed bring freedom, but freedom from what? That will be the topic of the next post.

This summer is bringing two opportunities for members of the various streams of the Restoration Movement to come together in the interest of greater unity.

Earlier this month, the eleventh Stone-Campbell Dialogue was held in St Louis.  I have not been able to find a detailed account of the event online, but there is a brief article about it at disciples.org (a web site of the Disciples of Christ).   The same article appears at christianstandard.com (a journal of the independent Christian churches).

And  starting July 30, the World Convention will be held in Nashville, TN.  This will be the seventeenth meeting of this conference, which is held every four years.  Past conferences have been scheduled all over the world, so having it in Nashville this time presents an unusual opportunity for the many churches of Christ in the southeastern US.  I hope that many can advantage of the opportunity.

It is a shame that these conferences are not more prominently advertised. I’m sure there are many people in these churches who are not aware, and will not be aware of the conference.  I suspect that at least part of the reason is an ambivalence (or worse) among some of these churches toward unity efforts with the other Restoration Movement branches.  I would urge any who fall in that category to consider Eph 4:1-4, to rise above the disagreements, and to make every effort to promote unity.   Nobody is asking any of us to abandon our convictions on the topics where there is disagreement.  But surely we can come together with clear consciences to discuss areas of agreement.

I’ve finally obtained a domain name for this blog:

http://atomic-temporary-11885566.wpcomstaging.com/

The old URL should still work:

http://rouses.net/blog/

but I’m sure all of you will want to use the super-cool shiny new one! 😉

Please let me know if you notice anything that is broken as a result of this change!

A lot of words are being written these days claiming that the resurrection of Jesus was not merely to save men from their sins, but also to redeem the whole creation from decay. The idea is that Jesus came to “reverse the curse” that began at the fall from Eden. Part of the story these writers weave is that the new heaven and the new earth described in Rev 21-22 is the present creation in a redeemed state. For them, the resurrection from the dead is a physical resurrection occurring in this present physical world. And the redeeming work of Jesus was intended not only to save men from their sins but to return all of creation to the original state of Eden.

I am not very fond of this point of view, nor of all the attention it is gathering. It certainly is at variance with the traditional view held for nearly 2000 years. Regardless, in my opinion all the attention on these things distracts from the core gospel message of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Focusing on theories about the redemption of the physical world leads to conclusions about environmentalism, conservation, and politics, all heavily influenced by the philosophies of our modern world. These theories are at best questionable inferences from scripture. I believe they distract from the core gospel message. Time spent talking about those things is time not spent dealing with our own sin and repentance and our own relationships with God.

Why did Jesus come into the world? In His own words:

Luk 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The apostle Paul said the same thing:

1Ti 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.

What was the message Jesus called the twelve to preach?

Luk 24:46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
Luk 24:47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And what is the message the apostles preached?

1Co 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
1Co 15:2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
1Co 15:6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
1Co 15:8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
1Co 15:11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

We don’t see the apostles preaching a gospel of environmentalism, nor of conservation, nor of popular political agendas. Their message was to call individual people to be reconciled to God.

There are many things we just don’t know about the second coming, the new heaven, the new earth, and the destruction (or not) of this present world. God has given us only a metaphorical picture of these things. I don’t object to people having theories about the specifics, but we need to admit that we really don’t know. Whatever form that takes, I’m going to go along with it! In the meantime, our focus needs to be on getting ourselves, and those around us, reconciled to God, and growing in the Christian virtues. God has revealed clearly that those are the primary matters we should be concerned about in this life.

Apparently the Gospel Advocate is advocating against Christians coming to Nashville this summer to talk about unity.

I do not subscribe to the GA and I am not aware of a place to read the alleged article online. But I’m concerned enough about the need for unity that I have devoted my blog to the subject. So I am naturally concerned about published efforts to keep people from meeting to make progress toward unity.

I cannot comment directly on the article since I have not seen it. But I will comment on the following quote from Jay’s blog:

[T]he Gospel Advocate does not support or endorse the ecumenical meeting featuring both men and women speakers, instrumental worship, and other forms of apostasy.

It’s well known by long time readers of my blog that I do not believe the opposition to instrumental music is justifiable from scripture. Yet I do believe that the scriptures place limits on the role of women, including that women are prohibited from addressing the church in the general assembly. So someone might wonder what I think of the Nashville assembly, where proceedings will not necessarily always conform to my convictions.

I’ve blogged on this topic before. I believe there are some core issues on which Chrisitans must agree. Those issues involve the basic gospel facts about Jesus, including repentance, forgiveness of sins, and submission to Jesus as Lord. Things like the role of women, instrumental music, and the like are not core gospel issues. We obviously do have different views on those subjects, but those issues must not separate Christians. We should accept one another based on the core gospel.

Although I have strong convictions against women preaching to a mixed audience, I do not believe I would be sinning if I attended an assembly where that occurred. Similarly, I don’t believe someone with convictions against instrumental music would be in sin if they attended an instrumental service. The woman who preaches, or the one playing the instrument, would be the one in sin, if anyone. But for me, attending such a service, I would be obligated by Romans 14:22 to keep my objections to myself. Unity among Christians is a higher principle.

Perhaps the GA is concerned that people sharing their convictions on such subjects might be exposed to an alternate point of view, and might be influenced to change their convictions. Perhaps therefore they seek to prevent that influence by urging people not to meet to talk about unity. Perhaps instead, they should listen to Jesus’ prayer for unity, and to Paul’s admonition to make every effort. Perhaps they need to return to what is most important.

Everyone whom God has adopted as a son is my brother. No man can change that. May God bless every effort to remove the walls that men have built to divide His children.

Sixteen tons, and what do you get?
Another day older, and deeper in debt!
St. Peter, don’t you call me, ’cause I can’t go–
I owe my soul to the company store!

I may be the first person ever to use Joe Versus the Volcano to teach a spiritual principle to the church. Or maybe not.

Recently our congregation held a “family meeting” on a Saturday morning to discuss a laundry list of topics about how the church is doing and what each of us can do to help us improve. My part in that presentation was to talk about the financial health of the church. Since the church is comprised of all the individual members combined together, a discussion of our financial health necessarily involved a discussion of the financial health of our members.

We live in a nation that is addicted to debt. And our members are representative of that community. We are a congregation of a couple hundred members, still renting facilities for Sunday and midweek services. And we are not close to being able to buy or build a facility of our own — in large part because of our personal indebtedness. I just can’t see borrowing $30,000 per household to buy a building. Many of our members already have more debt than is healthy. As the Proverb says,

Which brings me to the introduction to Joe Versus the Volcano, and the “16 Tons” song. Like the singer, many Americans are over their heads in debt. Like Joe (Tom Hanks), they work day in and day out without hope of escaping from the prison they have built for themselves. They feel like victims and they feel helpless.

In truth, they are neither. It is within each family’s power to make a decision to change their lifestyles so they can get out of debt.

Our congregation is working to encourage and to enable our members to break the addiction to debt. Until our members are free from their servitude to their multiple lenders, that will be a weight that pulls down the church from its full potential. It is a spiritual problem and it must be addressed.  (We are looking into using Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University program to help our members get out of debt.)

Sure, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and he can provide us whatever we need whenever he pleases. But if we are not being good managers of what he has already given us, why would he give us more?

The movie clip was a light-hearted way of getting across a point: There is no joy in being enslaved by debt. Even the smallest joys that spring up (like the little white flower in the movie) get crushed by the relentlessness of the debt. While the congregation laughed at the song and the comic visual image of the movie, they got the point. A lot of them could relate to Joe.

Using movie clips like that can be an effective way of drawing people into the message and helping them to connect. To do so legally, a church has to buy a license. Prices are quite reasonable. Our congregation has purchased such a license, and we intend to make good use of it over the next year. If your church is using videos such as this, or plans to do so, please take the time to get legal first!

The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the appellate court, refusing to overturn the decision that removal of over 400 children from their homes was not justified under Texas law.

I am glad to hear that a child’s rights, and parents’ rights, are protected in Texas even if the parents practice a highly unpopular religion. I previously posted my concerns at the lack of due process in the original abduction of these children by the state.

It seems to me that the driving force in this action was religious prejudice. I strongly disagree with the religious beliefs of this group on many levels. But if the government could get away with seizing children without due process, because the parents’ religion is unpopular, our first amendment rights are not safe. It is good for us all that the Texas courts have ruled against the seizure of these children.

Mat 9:14-15 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Fasting is supposed to be a part of Christian life. Jesus said in the above passage that after he would be taken away, his disciples would fast. There is no indication that the purpose, nor the manner, nor the frequency of fasting would change from what Jews had practiced for centuries. Yet fasting seems to be largely a forgotten practice in today’s church.

We read of the Christians fasting in Acts 13:2-3 and Acts 14:23. Beyond that, there is little or no mention in the scriptures of fasting after Jesus departed (depending in part on which Greek texts you prefer). But it is still evident from Jesus’ statement that he expected the practice of fasting to continue into the Christian era. And it is doubtful that the two instances we read about in Acts are all he was talking about.

The Hebrew word translated “fast” in the Old Testament literally meant “cover the mouth” and was used to refer to abstaining from food (and sometimes also water). The Greek word used in the New Testament, according to Thayer’s lexicon, meant

1) to abstain as a religious exercise from food and drink: either entirely, if the fast lasted but a single day, or from customary and choice nourishment, if it continued several days.

Sometimes, people today speak of fasting from television, or from some other recreational activity. But it appears that fasting in the scriptures was always abstaining from food. If for a single day, it seems to also have included abstaining from drink.

Much more could be said about the examples of fasting we have from the scriptures. We could talk about the kind of fasting that God desires and the kind that he does not. We could talk about the situations in which people fasted in scriptures, or about how God responded to their various fasts. But the larger question is, will we fast? Are we too addicted to comfort to do such a thing? Do we have enough faith to fast?

Fasting makes absolutely no sense unless one has faith in God — that is, that he believes that God exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. Fasting is an act of faith. In fasting, we diligently seek God’s blessing and favor.

Maybe we should turn to God in prayer and fasting in order to obtain his guidance. Maybe that is the answer to many problems in the church, and in our lives.

Here is a sermon that may rock your world.

The speaker is Paul Washer, a Southern Baptist missionary. The topic is Matt 7:13-29, as applied to the modern American Christian. Paul did not hesitate to say some things about the worldly condition of American churches that are quite shocking, but unmistakably true. He presents a dramatically compelling call for repentance. This is the kind of call that we need as much as anyone does. The message is absolutely worth the time to watch the video!