On the Third Day

Friends,

What is interesting about the gospels, and in this case -- the Gospel of John, particularly -- is that there would be no chapter 20 if Jesus’ story was a normal biography…the story would end with the death of the individual.  If the story ends in chapter 19, then it is truly the end of the story…for Jesus and for all of humanity.  But, the account of this miracle (John 20:1-18) is proof that Jesus is unlike any other human being ever to live.  The Resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:1-8) and a key doctrine in the Christian faith.  From the very beginning, the enemies of the Lord try to deny the historic fact of the Resurrection.  The Jewish leaders claim that the Lord’s body has been stolen from the tomb.  But, this is absurd…because if the body was stolen, then how on earth would they have done it? The tomb is guarded by Roman soldiers and the tomb sealed with an official Roman seal.  Also, the disciples have not believed that He is to be raised from the dead; it is His enemies who remember His words. (Matthew 27:62-66)  The opponents certainly would not have taken the body.  The last thing they want is anyone believing that Jesus actually has risen from the dead.  As the women approach the tomb, they are worried about who would roll back such a heavy stone (Mark 16:1-3).  And this brings us to Mary Magdalene, the first of the women to arrive at the tomb on the first day of the week. As we consider her experience that Lord’s Day morning, we can see her comprehension of the truth of the Resurrection.

Mary Magdalene and several other women agree to go to the tomb of Jesus following His death on the cross and His burial.  These women, desiring to show their love for Christ, want to complete the burial preparations.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had been forced by the circumstances to prepare the body quickly, but now the ladies are going to finish the task.  What they are not aware of is that an earthquake has taken place and the stone guarding Jesus’ tomb has been rolled back by an angel.  It is apparent that Mary Magdalene goes on ahead of the other women and gets to the tomb first.  When she sees that the stone has been rolled away, she believes that someone has broken into the tomb and stolen the body of her Lord.  Given all that we know, and have already discussed concerning the circumstances surrounding what has happened to Jesus, it is not difficult to believe that Mary thinks this way.  Mary runs to break the news to Peter and John at an unknown location. The other women arrive at the tomb, then leave and carry the angels’ message to the other disciples.

Meanwhile, Peter and John start off for the tomb.  It is John who follows initially, but being fleeter of foot, he gets there first. When he arrives, he cautiously remains outside but looks in.  What does he see? Grave clothes lying on the stone shelf.  Peter also arrives and…true to form…impulsively heads on into the tomb.  There, he also sees the grave clothes.  John then enters the tomb, looks at the evidence and is awestruck!  It is as if the light goes on all of the sudden, because the text says, “He sees and believes” (v.8). Resurrection faith begins to take hold.  It is amazing that Jesus’ followers did not expect Him to come out of the tomb alive…after all, He had told them on numerous occasions that He would be raised from the dead (John 2:19, etc.).  Peter and John experience faith that is based on the evidence.  They see grave clothes…they know that Jesus’ body is not there.  After the resurrection, Jesus does not reveal Himself to everyone, but only to select witnesses who share the Good News with others (Acts 10:39-43).  Peter and John see and believe – soon the Holy Spirit will confirm their faith.

Peter and John have returned home by the time Mary Magdalene decides to come back to the tomb. She has stayed in the garden, such is her love and devotion to her Lord.  Mary has not reached the same conclusion as have Peter and John, for she believes that Jesus is still dead. Her weeping is the loud lament associated with how her people, the Jews, express sorrow.  When she comes to the tomb and looks inside, she sees two men dressed in white. Their positions at either end of the shelf where Jesus had been lying, makes us think of the cherubim on the mercy seat. (Exodus 25:17-19)  It is as though God is saying, “There is now a new mercy seat – my Son has paid the price for sin, and a new way is opened up to the presence of God.”  Mary does not seem to be disturbed at seeing these two men, and there is no evidence that she knows that they are angels. But, her conversation with them does nothing to calm her, or dry up her tears. 

Mary is determined to find Jesus, and at once, she turns around and sees Jesus, although she does not know that it is Him.  It is interesting that she does not recognize Him…perhaps it is too early to see well, or her tears are blinding her somewhat, or perhaps Jesus is concealing His true identity from her for the moment, as He did with the Emmaus disciples.  Jesus asks her why she is weeping…and who is it that she is seeking. Jesus recognizes her broken heart and tenderly reveals Himself to her, simply calling out her name – Mary.  When He does this, she immediately recognizes Him. All she can say is “Rabboni!” (Which means “my Teacher”). She not only speaks to Him, but grabs onto His feet, and holds onto Him…sort of like we did when we were little kids and we didn’t want a parent to leave the house.  Jesus tells her not to hold on to Him…which is curious.  One reason is that she will see Him again, as He will be on the earth another forty days before ascending to the Father. Mary does not need to panic…as if this is her last opportunity to be with Jesus.  A second reason is that she has a job to do – go tell people that Jesus is indeed alive.  She does, indeed, get up from there and share the Good News, “I have seen the Lord!”

Every year, thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the "stations of the cross" to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket and, to his surprise, came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as the cross, but there they stopped.  Far too many have gotten to the cross and have known the despair and the heart break. Far too few have moved beyond the cross to find the real message of Easter. That is the message of the empty tomb. (Lavonn Brown, "The Other Half of the Rainbow," submitted by Michael Adams, First Baptist Church, Union City, TN.)

This has long been one of my struggles with how people view the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  Some have put so much emphasis on the cross that they nearly miss the most important event, and this is the Resurrection.  We must not only recognize the power of the cross, but we have to live in the power of the resurrection of Jesus!  The kicker with all of this, going back to the beginning of the message today -- as good as the evidence is to convince the mind, it cannot change the life.  What do I mean?  Those of us who live centuries later cannot examine that evidence, for it is no longer there for us to inspect.  But, we do have the record of the evidence in God’s Word as it has stood the tests of time.  It is faith in the message found in the Word that Jesus wants to cultivate in us through His Holy Spirit.  And that message…the undeniable message of the Resurrection…is that – Jesus is alive!  He is alive in order that you and I may be able to be alive forever…and this is Good News!

Blessings, Don

Come to the Table

Friends

Well, I have not spent a whole lot of time blogging or reading blogs this summer, as I have allowed myself to be distracted with too many other things -- for shame, I know. This is not necessarily a new subject, but it is an important subject.  Hopefully, there will be some ideas here to stir your thinking. For my friends who will be reading this, I hope that this message will be a blessing!

One of the things that I love about John's gospel is that it is not so much a chronology of many of the events in Jesus life, as related in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels. Rather, it is more like picture frames of Jesus’ life…critical events that take place…some of them corresponding with the other gospels, while others that do not. For example, John gives us the wedding at Cana in Galilee (2:1-11), where Jesus changes the water into wine. He did this, ultimately, in order to reveal that He would shed the wine of His most precious blood on the cross. Also, Jesus took some time to feed 5000 men and likely women and children, as well (John 6:1-14)…a story found in all four gospels. However, only John expands upon Jesus message concerning the fact that He is the Bread of Life (6:26-40). What we come to understand when we consider what John is trying tell us is in relationship to fruit of the vine and bread…it is the foundation for what Jesus shares with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion – the Last Supper, which is seen in some form in all four gospels. It is also is the background for what Paul teaches the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 11:23-34) concerning the Lord’s Supper which we partake of every Lord’s Day.

When we come to the table, it is an important time. Often, in our churches, it seems that the Lord’s Supper is something that we do as a part of our worship, but which has no more significance than anything else that we do…perhaps, even less. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul seeks to teach concerning this very misconception that affects even them. He wants them, and us, to understand the importance of the Lord’s Supper…and that it is not something that we should treat passively or frivolously in any way. For the Corinthians, the Supper was a source of disunity, rather than unity, as some were coming in and taking it early and not waiting for their brethren, while others were coming to the table having had too much to drink, and yet others were dressing in a way that was causing others to stumble…wrong, wrong, wrong. They were treating the Lord’s Supper with a lack of intent and seriousness…some of them simply were not taking it in a worthy manner. They may have had a certain commitment, but it was not sincere and secure in any respect, as their lack of focus revealed.

The Lord’s Supper is not a casual commitment, but is a participation in what Jesus has done in having His body broken and His blood shed on the cross. When Jesus, Himself, takes bread and the fruit of the vine, a common meal, He presents them in a way that is a meaningful spiritual experience for believers. As we often speak about it, the broken bread symbolizes and reminds us of the body of Jesus Christ broken for us; the cup of juice symbolizes and reminds us of His blood shed for us. This is a commitment of our hearts, souls and minds. We choose to do this as often as we come together, following the example of the early Christians (Acts 2:42, 20:7). The Lord’s Supper allows us an opportunity for spiritual growth and blessing...if we approach it with the correct mindset.

No worship assembly should be a time where we take a few minutes out of our service in order to fulfill our obligation to partake of the Supper. It should be the focal point and climax of our time together…whether we are partaking of it at the beginning, middle or end of our time together…although the end would seem to be most appropriate. The Supper should be what we are continually focusing upon as we worship in our praying, singing, hearing the message, contributing…and whatever else we choose to do in our worship time. I thank the Lord that He gives us the opportunity to come together on a weekly basis and “look around,” not to judge what others are doing, but in order to participate with the church family in our Lord’s Supper, building up the unity of the body. And not only this, but to look back…“to remember Jesus’ death burial and resurrection”, to look ahead…“to anticipate our Lord’s coming again”, and to look inside…“to consider your own situation as to whether or not you are in a right relationship with the Lord.” It is my hope that we will consider all of these things as we come to the Table. Blessings friends!

Don

Cultural Relevance

Friends,

The following is an article written by Ed Stetzer a few years.  It is an article regarding cultural relevance with regard to the church...that is still culturally relevant. It is a bit lengthy, but hang with it -- it is worth it.  :-)

Blessings, Don

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The scriptures are relevant to this and every culture. They do not need updating, correcting, or revisioning. On the contrary, what needs revisioning is our understanding and obedience to God’s word as we live out His mission in context. When we live a humble orthodoxy and humble missiology, we will be salt and light in contemporary culture—a biblically-faithful, culturally-relevant, counter culture. 

On the one hand, the church can be so focused on cultural relevance that it loses its distinctive message. Don’t think it won’t happen—it has happened to countless churches and denominations. On the other hand, it can decide that culture does not matter. That leads to a church whose message is indiscernible and obscure to those who are “outside.” Let me propose an alternative: our churches need to be biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter-culture communities.  Not everyone buys into what I’ve just said. Whole ministries exist just to tell you not to pay attention to culture. To them, a virtuous church is one that is culturally irrelevant. In their view, a mark of holiness is not just being disconnected from sin but also being disconnected from sinners and the culture they share with us every day.

Preaching against culture is like preaching against someone’s house—it is just where they live. The house has good in it and bad in it. Overall, culture can be a mess—but (to mix metaphors) it is the water in which we swim and the lens through which we see the world. And the gospel needs to come, inhabit, and change that and every culture (or house).  Preaching against culture is not the pattern of the New Testament church (see Dean Fleming’s Contextualization in the New Testament), the historic church (see Ruth Tucker’s From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya), or today’s church (see Breaking the Missional Code).

Culture clearly does matter! For 2000 years, missionaries have courageously sought to take the message and make it understandable. Through these two millennia, changing cultures have impacted the church and its missional strategies. Conversely, in many cases, the church has also impacted culture. The reason ministry models have to change is because they have an unchanging message that must be conveyed in a changing world. That message is Christ, the gospel, and the Scriptures. Jude 3 says that we are to “contend for the faith once delivered for the saints.” That’s essential.

But, the Bible also clearly gives us a mandate to make the message understandable. We do more than just translate it into a language. We also have to translate it into a culture. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, “I have become all things to all men.” Why? Because the message needs to be contextualized. The “how” of ministry is, in many ways, determined by the “who, when, and where” of culture. That’s also essential.  We have to both contend and contextualize. This brings a balanced focus in our proclamation and practice. When we contend for the gospel, we remain biblically faithful. When we contextualize, we communicate the message effectively. When we contend and contextualize, our churches are biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter culture communities.

Those who preach against culture are often unaware that they live in one. But the dynamic culture around them is often not the culture of their church. What they yearn for is typically not a scriptural culture, but rather a nostalgic religious culture of days past. The irony of this is that every church is culturally relevant. It is simply a matter of whether the culture of the church is in any way similar to the culture of its community or only meaningful to itself.

Contextualizing does not mean that your church needs to look like Northpoint (Atlanta) or Mosaic (LA). It may mean something very different, and a culturally relevant church in your community may look very different from culturally relevant churches in other communities. Yet, many of us miss that. Why? Because too many leaders pastor their churches in their heads and not in their communities. But the truth is, if you can’t pastor the people God has given you (not the ones He’s given Andy Stanley or Erwin McManus), then you don’t love them. John Knox said, “Give me Scotland or I die.” He had a passion for the people of Scotland. We need to have the same passion for the people where we are, and to love them and their culture (though parts of every culture should make you uneasy and call for a biblical critique—see Acts 17 and my message from The Resurgence conference).  The alternative to this kind of passion is “community lust” and “demographic envy.” Lots of pastors are lusting for someone else’s community. They want a church that is culturally relevant to Los Angeles, Seattle, or New York even though they live in Des Moines, Iowa. But that’s not the answer.

Biblically Faithful
Before anything else, the church and its ministry must be biblically faithful. A lot of great conferences on creativity and ministry are helpful. But, we need to remember that our purpose is to apply that creativity in biblically and culturally relevant ways. The reason we engage culture is not to be cool, trendy, contemporary, or cutting edge—words that have become idols to us—but so that those who live in culture can hear the message of Jesus. That message is more than just “come to Christ,” it involves how we live and structure our lives, and it matters deeply. Our churches should share the gospel message wherever they are and whatever their cultural context. They should be known as people who love God’s Word and seek to live differently because of it.

Culturally Relevant
Churches that are biblically faithful to God’s mission will work to relate to people in culture. We who are Christians should look similar to, but not be identical to, our culture. If we don’t, people will assume that being a Christian simply means being different—dressing differently, listening to different music styles, and voting the same way. They’ll confuse Christianity with a change of clothes, music, and political party registration. That means that Christians should use language, dress, and live life in the “house” of culture, while living differently because they are in the family of God.

Counter Culture
Jesus said that we should be “in” the world but not “of” the world. Many churches today do just the opposite. They are “of” the world but not “in” it. We must teach people to look similar to the world, but live differently. Most churches in the U.S. today do just the opposite.  For example, born—again Christians divorce at a higher rate than the unchurched, while many of their church services feel like a trip to a museum. It’s like going back to a time when culture was more “holy” and divorce was unheard of. Today, we’ve kept the museum culture but jettisoned the biblical morality—the wrong choice. Rather, Christians should be counter culture—in family life, values, finances, and every other aspect of their lives. They should reflect their culture while living in contrast to that culture.

Why, if we have the timeless truth of the gospel, do we need to concern ourselves with culturally relevant ministry? Because if we don’t, the message of the gospel gets confused with the cultures of old. The unchurched think that Christianity is a retrograde culture rather than a living faith. Our job is to remove the “extra” stumbling blocks of culture without removing the essential stumbling block of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:23). Unfortunately, the stumbling block of the cross has too often been replaced by the stumbling block of the church. Most people aren’t being recruited by other religions; they are being confused by the practice of ours.

The easy route is to go to a conference, read a book, and create a great church “in your head”—a cutting edge, cool, trendy, and contemporary church. But the biblical route is found in Paul’s activities in Acts 17. Wander through your Athens. Look at the cultural idols. Let this break your heart and burden your mind. Let godly passion drive you to say “Give me Athens or I die.” Then confidently take the gospel to those who’ll see its uncluttered message, trust its validity, and receive its Savior—Jesus Christ.

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Ed Stetzer serves as the Missiologist and Senior Director of the Center for Missional Research at the North American Mission Board in Alpharetta, GA and co-pastor of Lake Ridge Church in suburban Atlanta. His most recent books are Breaking the Missional Code (w/ David Putman, 2006) and Planting Missional Churches (2006).  

A Genuine Bible Code

Friends,

A little over thirteen years ago, the calendar was about to turn over to the year 2000.  Of course, there were some “doomsayers” then, just as there were a few weeks ago.  One of the fellows I knew back then was trying to convince me that the Bible spoke about the destruction of the world that was going to take place in the year 2000.  He spent some trying to convince me that a Bible Code from Genesis and other places was predicting such an event.  Of course me…being the reasonable guy that I am…didn’t believe a word of it.  This doesn’t mean I didn’t listen to what he was sharing, because I was willing to do so. There are still some proponents of the Bible Code.  What is it, exactly?  Though Bible codes have been postulated and studied for centuries, the subject was popularized by Michael Drosnin's book the Bible Code a couple of decades ago.  The code, as reenergized by Drosnin, stipulates that there is a set of secret messages encoded within the Hebrew text of the Torah, Genesis through Deuteronomy.  This hidden code has been described as a method by which specific letters from the text can be selected to reveal an otherwise obscured message.  One cited example is that by taking every 50th letter of the Book of Genesis, starting with the first “taw,” the Hebrew word “torah” is spelled out. The same happens in Exodus and so on.  Modern computers have been used to search for similar patterns and more complex variants.  My opinion?  Baloney.  Stick to crossword puzzles…they make more sense.  However, Paul does reveal to us a code, or a mystery, in the third chapter of Ephesians…and this code makes a lot of sense…it is a message we can trust.

Paul speaks about being a prisoner of the Lord.  He was the Lord’s bond-servant, commissioned to take the message of the gospel to all mankind.  As he shares in Ephesians 3:1ff, Paul believes in God’s new program of uniting believing Jews, Gentiles into one body…the church.  There is one small problem – the Jews don’t like the Gentiles.  They want nothing to do with them (or the Samaritans for that matter).  Paul courageously defends the grace of God and the unity of the church in Acts 15, Galatians 2:1-10 (and the message in those places is that…the Gentiles did not have to become Jewish in order to become Christians).  Paul follows his calling by taking the gospel to the Gentiles, even though he is accused of prejudice by the Jews.  Paul is no longer a prisoner of the law…he has been released.  He wants to free both Jews and Gentiles from bondage to law and bring them to genuine life in Christ.  For Paul, it isn’t enough simply to win Gentiles to Christ and form them into local assemblies.  He is also able to teach them about the wonderful position that they have in the body of Christ…one that is equal to the Jews.  Paul ministers this critically important mystery that had not been revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures. It is revealed in the New Testament to the apostles by the Holy Spirit.  The Gentiles, even though they were outside of the covenant just a few years before, are to experience this new relationship with God through Jesus Christ that they were never able to experience before.  The mystery shows that new power is available to them through the Holy Spirit.  They can witness and minister concerning this message concerning Christ and this new power that is available to them and to others. 

Paul continues to describe the new riches that the Gentiles have available to them.  Paul describes them as being so vast that their end cannot be discovered.  Paul understands all of this and it humbles him.  Some of the Jews might think that they are God’s gift to mankind, but Paul considers himself, “the least of all of the saints.”  Understanding the great mystery of unity that is revealed does not “puff up” people so that they have “a big head”…rather it “humbles” them and brings “a broken and contrite heart.”  When God saved Paul, He gave him the treasures of the gospel truth.  Paul in turn, invests his life in bringing these truths to others.  In doing this, he exhorts them to commit the truths to other people (2 Timothy 2:2).  This is our responsibility.  We cannot simply own this message ourselves, but we must live it, share it with others.  The great truth concerning the church was not some divine afterthought, as if God was piecing together some puzzle haphazardly.  It was all a part of God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus.  To understand this truth gives us great hope, confidence in the faith.  And if there is one thing that people in this broken, fallen world need, it is a message of hope, confidence.  The final gift that comes for believers is courage in difficult circumstances.  We know that we can and will be victorious if we persevere.  Any suffering we experience…including that for the cause of Christ…will bring about blessings, glory.

Rodney Buchanan shares concerning the book, “Mystery on the Desert,” in which Maria Reiche describes a series of strange lines made by the ancient Nazea people in the plains of Peru, perhaps as early as 200 years before the time of Christ. The area where the lines are covers over 37 miles. It is impossible to make out what these line drawings are from the ground, and people at one time assumed they were irrigation ditches. No one really knew what they were until 1939 when Dr. Paul Kosok of Long Island University studied them by flying over them in an airplane. There is an assortment of perfectly straight lines, many running parallel, others intersecting, forming a grand geometric form. In and around the lines there are also strange symbols, and pictures of 70 animal and plant figures that include a spider, hummingbird, monkey and a 1,000-foot-long pelican.  One geometric figure goes in a straight line for nine miles across the plain. All of them are etched on a giant scale that can only be appreciated from the sky. When viewed from high in the air, these seemingly random lines form enormous drawings of art. They have meaning. People often assume that since they cannot see the purpose of something from their perspective that there is no purpose — no reason or rhyme to what they are facing…that it is a mystery.  But from God’s perspective it makes perfect sense. There is not only order and design to what he is doing…it is a work of art.  It doesn’t matter if you are too small to see the whole masterpiece, it is still there. And one day, looking from heaven, the mystery of what God has been doing will be clear to us. What looked like a ditch to us will be seen as a part of God’s design that has been stretched out over his universe.

A preacher (not me) was driving to a preaching engagement, trying to follow a map that he had in his car.  He couldn’t locate the highway he needed, so he stopped at a nearby convenience store.  The attendant said, “You’ve got an ancient map there, mister!”  Here is the latest map.  Follow it and you will get to where you are going.  And the attendant was right…the preacher arrived in plenty of time for the meeting.  People who do not understand “God’s mystery” in His church are trying to make progress with the wrong map.  There are no such things as social, race, age or even “religious” distinctions in the family of God.  The church is not ever to be shackled by the physical, by the reasoning of men…because it has been set free by the spiritual, through the blood of Jesus Christ.  God had a “secret”, but it is not a secret any longer.  If you and I understand the wonderful position that we have in Christ, it is going to knock down any barriers to progress.  And, we will be a blessing to and for the kingdom of God.

Blessings, Don

This is the Gospel

Friends,

The Old Testament Scriptures attest to Jesus’ coming life and death (Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12).  These elements are seen in many places in the New Testament, perhaps no more concisely that in 1 Corinthians 15:1ff.  Paul lays out the truth of the gospel in four points:  Point number one – Jesus came, lived and died for our sins.  He was able to do this because He was the perfect man – God become man in the flesh.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah, King) who came to atone for and forgive their sins forever, and that He is not simply some martyr who willingly laid down His life.  Point number two -- Jesus’ burial shows the finality of His death, which leads to the empty tomb.  There is no way that Jesus would have been buried while He was still alive, so the fact that He was buried eliminates all of the skeptics’ arguments…and has stood the test of time for 2000 years.   Point number three -- the central aspect of the gospel is…the Resurrection.  This is where all people are able to claim new life.  If Jesus was raised, which we who are in Christ believe, then all of those who have been baptized, converted to Him, likewise, will be raised from the dead (Romans 6:4-5).  This is an issue for some of the Corinthians, because they deny the Resurrection of Jesus, claiming that they have been already reigning with Christ.  I do not have any idea as to how they would come up with such a concept, but it clearly is not the gospel.  In effect, what they were claiming is that “they were not really Christians,” because the Resurrection is critical to what Christians believe.  Point number four – Jesus’ appearances to others following His resurrection bear witness to His resurrection.  This was (and is) a great testimony to the world.  Everything that Jesus did and stood for was in order that people might believe in Him and have eternal life. 

It is important to understand that Paul often felt unworthy of the gospel because of his life before he was in the Lord -- he persecuted the church.  Paul makes the all-important, profound statement that he was able to have life…only by the grace of God.  The gospel is good and sufficient even for the vilest of people, and Paul considered himself in this category.  And like Paul, we were all dead in our sins, because we were ignorant of the gospel. Yet, like Paul, we are also saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).  After Paul was converted to Christ, the importance of his life was in what he did – he preached the truth of the gospel to which he was called.  It was Paul who first revealed to the Corinthian believers the gospel of Christ.  God Himself told them through Paul that it is in the gospel itself that they are saved.  The Corinthians must persevere in the gospel in order to have that promise of eternal life…because questioning circumstances, other matters, is one thing, but questioning the resurrection is another (much more serious concern).  It seems as if many people today life like many the Corinthians...only half-way committed to the cause of Christ.  Tony Campolo in the Seven Deadly Sins (p.21.) shares this -- “Joy in Christ requires a commitment to working at the Christian lifestyle. Salvation comes as a gif, but the joy of salvation demands disciplined action. Most Christians I know have just enough of the Gospel to make them miserable, but not enough to make them joyful. They know enough about the biblical message to keep them from doing the things which the world tempts them to do; but they do not have enough of a commitment to God to do those things through which they might experience the fullness of his joy.”  Like Paul, we who believe in Christ are made alive so that we may have life and have abundantly!  We can have this life, if we are faithful to the Lord (John 10:10).

There was a business owner who had employed many Christians in his company, even though he himself was not a genuine believer in the Lord. He watched them like a hawk. "You know, I was naturally drawn to God by observing Christian workers who were conscientious and kind and thorough and aggressive on the job," he said. "But I’ll tell you what really impressed me. One day a guy who I knew to be a fresh convert asked if he could see me after work. I agreed to meet with him, but later in the day I started to worry that this young religious zealot might be coming to try to convert me, too.  I was surprised when he came in my office with his head hanging low and said to me, ’Sir, I’ll only take a few minutes, but I’m here to ask your forgiveness. Over the years I’ve worked for you I’ve done what a lot of other employees do, like borrowing a few company products here and there. And I’ve taken some extra supplies; I’ve abused telephone privileges; and I’ve cheated the time clock now and then.  But I became a Christian a few months ago and it’s real - not the smoke and mirror stuff. In gratitude for what Christ has done for me and in obedience to Him, I want to make amends to you and the company for the wrongs I’ve done. So could we figure out a way to do that? If you have to fire me for what I’ve done, I’ll understand. I deserve it. Or, if you want to dock my pay, dock it whatever figure you think is appropriate. If you want to give me some extra work to do on my own time, that would be okay, too, I just want to make things right with God and between us.’"  Well they worked things out, and the business owner said that this conversation made a deeper spiritual impact on him than anything else ever had. It was the single most impressive demonstration of true Christianity he had ever witnessed.  What was it that made this new believer so contagious? Was it a clever new gospel presentation? Was it a well-rehearsed testimony? Obviously not. It was merely a genuine and humble admission of wrongdoing along with a willingness to make it right. It was consistent Christianity.

We need to live with the attitude in Christ, Jesus…just as Paul shares with the Philippian Christians (Philippians 2:5-8).  There are many matters in the Word of God that are important, but we must always keep things in perspective.  As one person said, “it is one thing to know the doctrine…it is a whole other matter to know the doctrine maker.”  We who are in Christ remember Jesus Christ and what He has done for us on a regular basis…it should never be far from us.  In fact, we do this as a church, weekly, as we partake of the Lord’s Supper together.  We need the blood of Jesus in our lives, which comes through baptism and living faithfully. In the book, "Speechless," Christian singer, Steven Curtis Chapman, and his minister, Scotty Smith, say this: “In the Gospel we discover we are far worse off than we thought and far more loved than we ever dreamed."  Yet, we could never be so bad, so vile that the Lord cannot rescue us through the gospel.  Satan tries to get us to belive that we are hopeless...that we do not have a prayer...but it is not true -- it is a lie.  If Paul could be rescued...all people can be saved.  Jesus tells the believers at Smyrna – “Be faithful until death and I will give you a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10).  Now, these are words to life by…forever!  As Paul encouraged the Corinthians, we must also continue in the gospel...continue to live the Good News that has been proclaimed to us in order that we may have eternal life.  We remember the elements of the gospel…that He lived, died, was buried, was raised again to eternal life, and appeared to many witnesses.  And we look forward to His promised return to take us all home to be with Him forever!

Blessings, Don

Walking with the Spirit (Considering Galatians), Pt. 1.

Friends,

Ther first chapter of this letter sorts out like many of Paul's letters...there is an introduction, generally followed by encouragements and other information.  While Paul starts off introducing himself, his first order of business is to admonish those in the Galatian churches.  The third section of the first chapter supports his statement in verse 1...that he was "sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father."  As I shared in the introduction, Paul and other missionaries are "being followed" by Judiazers who for their own reasons, religious and otherwise, are coming into the churches established by Paul in the Galatian area and teaching a "different gospel."   The Judaizers are vying for the allegiance of the Galatian Christians, and they are seeking to discredit Paul as a valid witness for Christ in order to do so.  This is why Paul shares what he does in verse one.  He is not going to back down from these "false believers."  Why?  There is simply too much at stake in relationship to the gospel of Christ and for the churches themselves.  The Judaizers are interested in making certain that the Gentile Christians will become like them in keeping the regulations of the Jewish religious system, particularly circumcision, but also including many of the other traditions, feasts, etc.  (Much of the central portion of the book of Acts...chapters 13-15, particularly...deals with this problem in the early church.  Ultimately, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the decision is made that all people, regardless of background...Jew or Gentile...are able to come to Jesus as they are, culturally, and religiously...whatever that may be).  Paul defends himself and his ministry in the latter part of chapter 1 (vv. 11-24).  I am not going to focus on this portion of the chapter so much as I am the mid-section, because of what I believe is its importance to those living for Christ, not only then, but for those who are believers today.

Paul tells the Galatian Christians that he is amazed that they are "deserting the one who called them" and "turning to a different gospel" (v.6). This is a striking statement in many respects, because the Judaizers are "believers in Jesus Christ."  They have given their lives to Christ and have been baptized, converted to Him.  They may indeed have their salvation in Him, but they have added regulations to it, therefore, they have demeaned it.  They would say, "we can have Jesus, but we must also have the law, the regulations."  Paul says, "no, Jesus is sufficient."  But, this still isn't enough for me to understand that they have a belief system in something that is "no gospel at all" (v.6).  There has to be something more...and there is.  It has more to do with the heart of the matter, which is usually the matter that has Paul's focus.  Jesus tells the Ephesian Christians in the Revelation to John that "they have lost their first love." (Revelation 2:4).  The believers there had "cast out love" for one another for the sake of their traditions, opinions, arguments.  They had violated principle number one of Jesus' life and ministry, "love God, love one another."  This is the same thing that Paul shares with the Corinthian church, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1).  So, it is not just the addition of the regulations that has Paul hopping mad, it is the lack of love that these Judaizers display toward their fellow-believers that has him so troubled.  The attitude of the Judaizers couldn't very well be loving if they are behaving in an arrogant, condescending manner. They would say concerning the Gentile believers, "you are second-rate Christians, but if you want to be first-rate, then you must keep the laws and traditions."  This attitude of heart violates Jesus' rule number one.  This is why the decision at Jerusalem in Acts 15 had to go the way that it did.  We can't live in a loving relationship with other believers if we believe that we are superior (or inferior) to them. We are then exercising pity or resentment, depending upon the situation, rather than the love of God.  It is this fleshly and destructive mindset that could easily destroy the churches in the Galatian area.  If Paul isn't able to win the battle for the minds and hearts of the believers, the cause of Christ is going to suffer a serious setback in that area.

So, what could this possibly mean for us today?  We are much like the Galatians today in that there are believers in Christ today who come from various cultural and philosophical backgrounds.  Some are like "Gentiles" when they come to Christ, not only ignorant of the teachings of Christ, but innocent as it relates to understanding traditions, regulations, etc. involved with religion. Others have been "raised in churches" and often have been immersed in the traditions, regulations of those churches.  As Paul points out in his first letter to Corinth (chapters 10-14) and in his letter to the Romans (the whole work, really, but particularly chapter 14 as it relates to this discussion), we are able to be free in Christ, free from regulations of law which bind us and keep us from loving one another.  As I first heard Romans 14 shared with me, it was those who "kept the regulations" that were the "strong brethren."  Yet, upon further review and deeper study, I found just the opposite to be true...those who have few regulations are the "strong."  I have heard the same thought a number of times in relationship to this text from Galatians...that the "false teachers" were those who would not be "doctrinally sound" or "correct," which in most cases meant, those "who did not hold to the regulations or traditions of the church."  Once again, such a correlation couldn't be further from the truth.  Indeed, it was those who were insisting upon adding regulations, binding traditions that Paul is speaking against here. 

The bottom line is this:  What has happened with Christians over the past century is that those who have been steeped in regulations, traditions in their churches often display the same attitude toward other, particularly younger, believers as that seen in the Judaizers in the early church.  They behave in a condescending, or even disdainful, manner toward those who do not agree with "their' or "their church's" or what they perceive is "the brotherhood's" view of any number of subjects.  In short, they choose to regulate these matters in the places where they reside, work...often to the detriment of the church. This is not to say that we cannot have or keep certain traditions, principles that guide concerning how we go about our business collectively, but they cannot be held in such high esteem that they violate the gospel of Christ, as was happening in the early church in the places mentioned.  As I shared in relationship to a message on the Lord's Supper recently, people can become so bound as to "what form" the Supper is supposed to take, or even "who can take it," that they truly miss the intended meaning for the Lord's Supper itself.  I believe Paul would be just as angry today with the "lack of love" or "loss of love" on the part of many believers who claim Jesus Christ, but whose attitude of heart is so very different from what He displayed and in relationship to His calling in general.  We may be able to discern all of the mysteries of the Bible, know all of the stories, have great contributions, potlucks, activities, etc, and yet, if principle number one is not present, then it is all for nought.  It is a critical message for the Galatians...and it also is for us.

Blessings, Don