Meaningful Membership

As seminary students are nearing graduation, they begin candidating at churches to see where the Lord is going to take them in ministry. I remember during this time being given the advice that when you are inquiring about the size of a church, don’t ask how many members they have, but instead ask what their normal Sunday attendance is. The thought is that some churches have inflated membership roles of lots of people, but a significant portion of that membership does not actually attend the church. I always thought this was a local piece of advice from a professor who had seen this a few times.

            However, I read the same exact piece of advice in a nationally published book I was reading on small church ministry. The author states that there are many churches that have a membership list that is not reflective of their actual Sunday attendance. Some on the list have moved away, switched to other churches, or just walked away from the faith. But for some reason, they are still on the membership role of the church. This is how you can have a church with 300 members, but a consistent Sunday attendance of 100.

            With this in mind, I have written this month’s Voice article on what I call ‘Meaningful Membership.’ I do believe that if you find the right church, the place you want to stay, you should officially join that church and become a member. I’ve written about the necessity of membership elsewhere. But this month, I want to focus on what it means to be a member of a church. What are you committing to when you become a member of a church? Because it is a commitment. It is far more than just having your name on a list or gaining the right to vote on church matters. Let’s consider the definition of Meaningful Membership.

            First, meaningful membership means a commitment to your edifying presence. We know that the Scripture calls on God’s people to be at the Sunday services (Heb 10:25) for the purpose of worshiping God and growing in the faith. However, there is also another purpose of your presence and that is to have an edifying impact on the other members. 1 Thess 5:11 tells us to “encourage one another.” Ephesians 5:19 says, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” Part of the encouragement towards one another is singing. That as God’s people hear the saints all praising the Lord, their hearts are encouraged. This edifying presence at the church services and functions also can be just godly conversations. The Hebrews passage about attending services actually tells us to encourage one another as part of our presence. So, not being present at the church services is one problem, but a further problem is being there without having an impact on the others. We are to be present to have an edifying and encouraging influence on the other members.

            Second, meaningful membership means a commitment to selfless service. Believers are called on to build up the other members in the Body of Christ (Eph 4:12) and to use their spiritual gift (1 Pet 4:10). Again, this is a step further than merely your presence at services or church functions. Each member is to take an active role in assisting in the accomplishment of the ministries of the church. Every member cannot be involved in every ministry, but when you sign on as a member of a church, you are agreeing to work selflessly towards the vision and purpose of the church. Churches cannot afford to have a portion of their membership sitting on the sideline and watching. This is why it is important to choose a church carefully. Can you jump in and get behind their ministry efforts rather than just adding your name to a roster?

            Third, meaningful membership means a commitment to sacrificial giving. Multiple churches took offerings to assist other churches in the New Testament (see Phil 4:16) but each person in the church is to set aside and save for the purpose of a collection (1 Cor 16:1-2). People don’t like the church asking for money, but we shouldn’t see it as the church asking for money, instead the church calling on its people to do as Scripture instructs…which is the church’s solemn duty. To join a church is to commit to the financial establishment and continuance of that church.

            If you notice, I don’t take membership lightly. I don’t hurry to make people members right away. I want to talk to them and meet with them and make sure they understand the expectations of what their membership at CBC means. At the most basic level, they are committing to having an edifying presence, to selfless service, and to sacrificial giving.

            If you are reading this and you are one of those whose name is just on the church’s role but you aren’t present, aren’t serving, and aren’t giving, I would challenge you to renew your commitment. And if this isn’t the church where you can do that, then find one where you can. But all members of all churches should practice meaningful membership. Your name on the role means you are to have an impact towards the growth of the church.

The Plague of Casual Obedience

I like to take the opportunity in my Voice article to speak on current issues or current concerns I have regarding the church of Jesus Christ. This month I want to discuss what I see is a problem of ‘casual obedience.’ This is a term I use to describe a situation where believers see the commands and instructions of Scripture as suggestions not commands. Casual obedience tries once in a while to obey. Casual obedience just ignores difficult commands. Casual obedience obeys only when it is convenient or opportune. This type of response to God’s Word is completely unacceptable. There are 2 reasons why casual obedience is unacceptable.

            First, because God calls us to careful obedience. Over 20x in the book of Deuteronomy God calls on Israel to ‘careful’ obedience. For example, observe His statutes “carefully” (Deut 5:1); “listen and be careful to do it” (Deut 6:3); “carefully keep all these commandments” (Deut 11:22). There is absolutely no room for altering commandments, ignoring commandments, half-heartedly perusing commandments, or occasional obedience to commandments. God expects precise and continual obedience. 

            Second, because God deserves distinguished respect. God is not a pal, or a chum, or a companion. He is not our buddy that we consider him on equal footing as another person. He is glorious, high and exalted, the sovereign ruler of the universe, unmatched in holiness and purity, all-powerful, and therefore deserving of a high amount of honor and respect.

            In the book of Malachi, God chides Israel for their lack of respect given to Him. “Where is My respect?” He asks (Mal 1:6). The situation at the time was that Israel was obeying His command to sacrifice, but they were sacrificing the blind, the lame, and the sick (v 8) to God. Some were even bringing animals that they had stolen from others (v 13). This is improper for two reasons. First, God is not deserving of this kind of disrespect. As He says, “My name is great among the nations” (v 11) and He also says “I am a great King” (v 13) and deserve to be feared (v 14). This is who God is, He should never be disrespected.

            The second reason Malachi says this is improper is becasue this would not fly in the earthly realm. God makes this point: would this be ok if you gave this to your governor (v 8)? Would your local king or ruler accept this? If the answer is no, then why does God deserve any less? If your boss gave you an assignment, an order, would you do the job halfway? Would you present to your earthly boss or leader an almost completed task? The answer is no. If you did that a few times your boss would fire you and if you did that to your king, he might have you executed. The point is obvious: if this is not ok for your earthly rulers, then why is it ok for your heavenly ruler? God deserves our best efforts and our careful obedience.

            God says He wants us to ‘tremble at His Word’ (Isa 66:2). We tremble at His word because every time we encounter it, there is a change that we are called on to make. We are called to conform our lives to the specific instructions of Scripture. There is no room for glossing over God’s divine Word or picking and choosing what parts you will attempt to follow. If it says to pray, pray. If it says to raise up your kids, raise them. If it says to attend worship, then attend worship. True obedience must be all the time, in all areas, and regardless of the outcome. Read God’s Word, tremble before it, and carefully observe what it says all the time. Do not let casual obedience by a characteristic of your life.

Faithful Obedience

The name Joe Coute probably doesn’t mean anything to you but it means something to me. And, more importantly, it means something to God. You see, Joe was a faithful servant of God in a local church in Vallejo, California. You’ve never heard of him but I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to him and why I chose to write this article.

            I was raised in a nominally Catholic home. My parents took us to church and catechism class every week in the Catholic Church but the Lord meant nothing to us. We never opened a Bible in our home. Jesus was a concept not a person. We did our religious ‘duty’ every week because you were supposed to if you said you were Catholic.

            Joe Coute was a friend in the community. His daughter played softball with my sister so our families crossed paths multiple times per week. We didn’t know anything about the personal life of Joe or the fact that he knew the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior. We just knew him as a fellow softball parent. Until one day when Joe invited us to his church.

            Joe asked us to visit Community Bible Church in Vallejo where he attended. For us, church was church, so we went not expecting anything monumental or different. The service that Sunday was radical for me. The people sang songs, but they sang them passionately as if they cared and it meant something to them. The preacher got up and opened the Bible telling us what it said, what it meant, and what we had to do. It was so authoritative, God was speaking through this man. This was very different than a homily given by the priest. I was hooked, so was my sister, and I had to go back week after week to hear the Word of the Lord.

            Long story short, it was some time later that I came to know Jesus as my Savior and I understood Him the same way Joe did. My sister did the same. She married a godly man and has raised two boys who love the Lord and confess His name. By God’s grace, I married Angela and we have endeavored to bring up our children in the fear of the Lord as well. Who would have thought that the teenager known as Mark Scialabba would actually grow up to become a pastor leading a church? All this happened because of one man’s simple act: inviting people to church.

            You see Joe is not a pastor, he is not an elder, he is not a famous speaker. He is a faithful servant of Christ trying to do what the Lord wants him to do in his local church. He invites people to church because he knows that is the place where they will hear the gospel and hear of the salvation found in Christ. He wants other people to know Christ the way he does. Joe just passed away on January 29th, the day before this writing. Hearing of his passing made me want to write this article.

            Joe entered the joy of his Master with a resounding ‘well done’ spoken by the Lord. Why? Because he was faithful. He was faithful to obey Christ and follow the Great Commission mandate given to us in the simplest way he knew possible: just inviting people to church. And that one act of obedient faithfulness sent ripples through the ages that has had many glorious repercussions. My sister came to know Christ, her home was a Christ-centered home, and now her boys will lead Christ-centered homes. I’m grateful to be able to say the same thing. And then think of all the individuals the Lord has used me to impact throughout my years of pastoral ministry. All of that generational advance of the kingdom of Christ began with an invite to church. It makes me wonder, ‘how many other people did Joe invite to church?’ And what were the effects of that?

            Jesus didn’t call us to conquer the world or do the biggest things possible. He called us to be faithful. And one simple act of obedient faithfulness like inviting people to church has had profound effects on the kingdom of God. Do you wonder, how could the Lord use your faithfulness if you were to just invite someone to church? What would be the ripples in the kingdom of God of that one simple act? Are you excited to find out? You don’t have to be a ‘famous’ Christian to be great in the kingdom of God, you just have to be faithful. To the world, Joe Coute was a nobody, to the kingdom of God he was indispensable for his faithful obedience to the Great Commission. May the same be said of us as well. Maybe we can start with inviting someone to church.

Walking with God

We usually don’t look into the genealogies of Scripture to find significant spiritual truth, but every now and then an interesting detail is given about an individual that causes us to sit up and take notice. There is probably none more interesting than the person known as Enoch found in the genealogy of Adam in Genesis 5.

            Even though Enoch is not a major character in the Old Testament, most people have a knowledge of him because he is one of two people who did not die, but was raptured up to heaven by God, the other being Elijah. It says very simply of Enoch, “he was not for God took him” (Gen 5:24). That is affirmed also in Hebrews 11:5 saying that Enoch did not see death. While that is an interesting detail in and of itself, the other detail about Enoch is maybe more significant to us. It says very plainly that Enoch ‘walked with God.’ This piques my curiosity more than his rapture. What does it mean to walk with God and how can we apply this in the upcoming new year?

            First, walking with God involves closeness. The verse says he walked ‘with’ God. He didn’t walk towards God or walk apart from God, he walked with God. The idea here is that there is a familiarity with God that the believer has. When you hear about God or Jesus, is He a distant figure that you don’t really know? Or is He the one you know well? A Christian who is walking with God is in close fellowship with Him. This can be seen in the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life: mainly praying and Scripture reading. We commune with God through prayer and we hear from God in the Bible. As we regularly engage in those disciplines we are cultivating a closeness with God that helps in our walk.

            Second, walking with God involves progress. To walk with God means you are moving from one location to another. It is not ‘standing’ with God or ‘sitting’ with God, it is walking with God. The concept of sanctification in the New Testament is about growth and progress, not perfection. We are being transformed from one level of glory into another level of glory (2 Cor 3:18). That requires a continual progression towards the image of Christ in us. Even when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he admitted they were doing some things well, but he exhorted them to ‘excel still more’ (1 Thess 4:1). You can tell you are walking with God if you see spiritual progress over the past weeks, months, or years.

            Third, walking with God involves direction. The correct direction. Obviously God knows the destination and therefore the correct heading to get there. Only by walking with God can we know we are on the right track and headed on the right course. When we are not walking with God we are on our own, susceptible to all kinds of routes that are headed to locations we don’t want to go (Eph 4:14). Jesus said the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it (Matt 7:14). We can be sure we are on this narrow road if we are walking with God.

            As we enter into a new year and we make certain goals and have certain ambitions, make sure that at the top of your list is walking with God. Do everything you can to make sure your walk with Him is close and that you are progressing in your spiritual life as you walk with Him. You can know for certain that you are headed in the right direction if you are walking with God. Hebrews 11:5 also tells us this about Enoch: he was pleasing to God. A close walk with God is pleasing to Him, yet another reason to make this a priority in the new year.

Legalism

This month I’ve chosen to write about a serious issue in the lives of many Christians that maybe they are unaware of: the issue of legalism. The term is a familiar one in Christianity but many do not have an accurate understanding of what it is. Legalism is the attempt to gain favor with God by the keeping of external rules created by the individual. It is an attempt to define sanctification and holiness by a list of do’s and don’ts. Don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t watch that show, do support Christian businesses only, etc. Now, some of those things are good to have rules against, but where the legalist missteps is thinking that by adhering to that list they’ve accomplished true holiness and sanctification. In this article, I want to share with you 3 fatal flaws of legalism that should lead us to reject it as a process of sanctification.

            First, legalism exaggerates personal righteousness. When people implement rules of behavior that are not found in scripture, they imply that their level of righteousness is so high, they must add to what Scripture says. It is as if they are saying ‘I’m doing so well at obeying the Bible, I’ve added more to it!’ I want to ask the legalist: are you rejoicing always, are you praying without ceasing, are you giving thanks in everything (1 Thess 5:16-18)? Are you loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? If not, then maybe you need to work on those instead of manufacturing other commands to follow. We can learn a lot by looking at the apostle Paul. Just look at his self-description in Romans 7. He is arguably the greatest Christian of all time and he calls himself a ‘wretched man’ (v 24) and a person in which ‘no good dwells’ (v 18). And this is his self-assessment after he has come to Christ. Instead of congratulating himself on how he hasn’t touched a piece of meat from the idol’s temple, he weeps at his own putrid attempts at righteousness. The legalist can learn a lot from Paul.

            Second, legalism underestimates the seriousness of sin. The legalist would define sin as breaking one of the commands he/she has installed into their own life. Don’t curse, uh oh, I cursed therefore I sinned. I shouldn’t watch movies with witchcraft and I did, another sin. However, this reveals a view of sin that falls significantly short of how the Bible describes sin. 1 John 3:4 says that sin is ‘lawlessness.’ Sin is a heartfelt rebellion against a holy God. It is not a mistake or an accident, it is an act of defiance. Jesus said that sin comes from the heart (Matt 15:19) and the prophet Jeremiah says that the heart is ‘desperately sick’ (Jer 17:9). So, sin is rooted so much deeper than just a lapse in judgment here and there. Sin comes from a polluted heart that wants to disobey God and will find ways to. Imagine you had a nasty weed in the middle of your garden and once a week you came out and trimmed it with a clipper. Every week it is going to come back unless you root out the real problem and take care of it from the source. Sin is a state of the heart that manifests itself in behavior and the legalist underestimates this serious understanding of sin.

            Third, legalism depreciates true Biblical sanctification. The legalist is all about rules and regulations that must be kept rigidly. And, no doubt, there are strict rules and commands that the Bible orders us to obey. But do not be deceived, true Biblical sanctification is so much more than simplistic external rules like ‘don’t say the F-word’ and ‘don’t wear a hat in church.’ Is that the extent of what Biblical sanctification really is? I would submit to you that it is not. Biblical sanctification has a much higher and loftier goal. It is the conforming and transforming of the believer into the image of Christ. You find this explained in Romans 8:29 and 2 Corinthians 3:18. Biblical sanctification is supposed to be you becoming an entirely new person; a person that looks like Jesus Christ. Biblical sanctification is not satisfied with a grumpy, impatient, unloving Christian who doesn’t watch rated R movies. That is not holiness. I have known too many Christians who have got the rule keeping or the ban on certain things locked down, but they fall woefully short of being transformed into the image of Christ. Do not depreciate Biblical sanctification by making it simply a list of do’s and don’ts.

            A life of fighting the sin in the heart and pursuing righteousness in all things is so much more than a checklist. Sometimes making rules can be helpful in installing boundaries in our lives, but make no mistake, Biblical sanctification is so much more. If you want to be truly holy be honest of your failures and keep correcting them, be aware of the sin in your heart and not just the sin in your actions, and evaluate yourself not on whether or not you’ve kept the rules but whether or not you look more like Christ today.

Sound Doctrine

One of the perceptions people have about pastors is that they sit around and study theology all day. That they are immersed in doctrine from 9-5. To some extent that is not a wrong perception as we are seeking to understand the theology and doctrine found in the passage we are teaching on that week. It is almost like pastors alone should care about doctrine. However, the church congregation should also see the importance of doctrine for both the church and their lives.

            There was an older professor who taught at a seminary and every week the professors would listen to young pastors preach sermons. This older professor was notorious for falling asleep midway through the sermons. Eventually, someone asked him about his constant dozing off. He rather humorously said, “I listen long enough to make sure he is sound and then I fall asleep.” What does he mean by ‘sound?’ It is a term used to describe Christian doctrine or theology that means stable, intact, thorough, and orthodox. We don’t want our doctrine incomplete, fluctuating, or wrong, we want our doctrine sound. Here are some reasons why sound doctrine is critical for the church and its members.

            First, sound doctrine defines what the church is. There are all kinds of organizations and clubs that are out there that a person can join, but the church is unique. The church is not like a gym where anyone who pays the monthly membership can join. The church is not like a social club where a group of citizens improve a community. The church is a gathering of God’s people, an assembly of born-again believers in Jesus Christ who have been called out of the world and given new life by God’s gracious salvation who gather to worship the Lord. It is this fundamental definition of the church that is a doctrinal/theological belief. We glean this from Scripture; this is our theology of the church. Those who want to join the church we ask to hear their testimony of this salvation and affirm their agreement with our doctrinal standards before we welcome them into fellowship. Sound doctrine keeps the church being the church.

            Second, sound doctrine defines what the church does. Ok, so we have this assembly of God’s people gathering together…so what should we be doing? Well, it is our doctrine that informs us of what kinds of actions the church should be doing. We learn from Scripture that the early church met on the Lord’s day (Sunday). In that meeting there was preaching, praying, worship, serving, fellowship, offerings, and the administering of the Lord’s Supper and baptism (see Acts 2:42-47). The church was known also for its ministry to the needy, for its evangelism of unbelievers, and its care for one another outside of the Sunday meeting. You see, sound doctrine is like the guardrails of the church, clarifying what the church should actually be doing.

            Third, sound doctrine defines how the church behaves. Or to put it another way, sound doctrine tells us how we should be living. Some people dismiss doctrine as unimportant to their Christian life, when in actuality, it is our doctrine that informs our behavior. It is our theology of holiness, theology of sin, and theology of love for one another that governs what our lives should look like. When the apostle Paul wrote letters he frequently explained the theology first before he got to the behaviors (see Romans, Colossians, Ephesians as examples of this). To attempt to live for Christ before knowing the theology behind it is like getting into a car and driving off fast with no destination in sight. We must know doctrine first before we can truly begin living for the Lord.

            Now, I know not everyone reading this will immediately jump into a 700 page theological volume. But I do hope there is some interest in doctrine considering how important it is for the church and for our lives. Without sound doctrine we don’t know what the church is, what the church should be doing, and how the church should be living.

The Importance of our Testimony

No doubt one of the greatest conversions in all of Christianity was the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, better known to us as the Apostle Paul. Saul was a blasphemer and a fierce persecutor of the church of Jesus Christ before his conversion. Once the Lord got a hold of him and brought him to salvation on the Damascus Road, Saul was a new man. In fact, he was such a new man that the Lord gave him a new name to emphasize how new he was.

            Paul’s conversion was such a dramatic moment in his life that he talks about it on multiple occasions in Scripture. Six different times in the New Testament we hear Paul giving the account of his conversion on the Damascus Road. One of those times is just a quick mention of the Lord appearing to him (1 Cor 15:8), so really there are five retellings of his salvation. Three are found in the book of Acts (9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:4-20), including the account of the salvation itself, one is found in Galatians (1:13-16) and one in Philippians (3:4-11). A retelling of your salvation story is called your testimony, and Paul was not shy to share his testimony.

            We find a similar pattern in the texts that detail Paul’s testimony. First, there is an account of his prior life to salvation. He was breathing threats and murders against the church (Acts 9:1-2), he put men and women in prison (Acts 22:4), he forced them to blaspheme (Acts 26:11), he wanted to destroy the church (Gal 1:13), and he had much confidence in his flesh (Phil 3:4). Truly, the salvation of this man was remarkable.

            The second part of his testimony is the salvation experience itself. The Damascus Road experience was a pretty dramatic conversion. The Lord appeared to him on the road in a bright light where he was temporarily blinded (Acts 9:4-9) and there the Lord confronted him about his sin. Then he was led to a man named Ananias where, I believe, Ananias helped lead him to the Lord in repentance and faith.

            The third part of his testimony was his life after salvation. We find that after meeting with Ananias he was baptized in response to his faith in Christ (Acts 9:18; 22:16). The Lord communicated to him through Ananias that he would become a witness and a servant for Christ and Paul immediately began obeying that commission by proclaiming Jesus (Acts 9:20), calling on people to repent (Acts 26:20), and reflecting on his former life as being all rubbish (Phil 3:8).

            From this we learn how to give a testimony and what it is for. A testimony is your personal account of how you came to salvation. It essentially needs to have these three parts to it: a description of your life before salvation, how you came to know the Lord in salvation, and the state of your life after salvation. Every Christian has a testimony of salvation. Every salvation follows this pattern because the Bible says we are born dead in our sins and we need to be born again for salvation (John 3:3). This salvation in Christ produces a holy life and righteous desires for obeying the Lord.

            It does concern me how many Christians cannot articulate their own testimony of salvation. Some say things like “I’ve always been a Christian.” That cannot be true because you were born estranged from God and one becomes a Christian when salvation happens (Rom 10:9-10). Some say things like “I was baptized at 16.” That is the aftermath of salvation, not salvation itself. Granted, most people do not have an incredible experience like the Damascus Road but your testimony must adhere to the Biblical pattern of salvation: you didn’t know Jesus to start with, somehow you came to know Jesus, and now you are following Jesus. Maybe you came to Jesus as a young child believing the gospel at church, maybe you came to Jesus through a program like Awana or summer camp, or maybe after a while you just realized you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. All of those are real possibilities.

            Whenever we baptize a person we ask them to write out their own testimony to give at the time of their baptism. Once you write your testimony you have it with you to use whenever you need it. When would you need it? You might use it on 2 occasions. First, when you want to tell another person about what the Lord has done for you in order to lead this person to Christ. Sharing your testimony can be a great lead-in to the gospel message. Second, when you want to encourage fellow brothers and sisters. We ask people to share their testimony, not because we are skeptical of their story, but because we want to hear how the Lord brought them to salvation. Every testimony is different. And it shows the various ways the Lord brings a person to Christ. So, write out your testimony, share your testimony, and if you don’t have any testimony come and talk to me about what it means to be saved.

The Dangerous Path of Unrepentant Sin

Sin is a dangerous thing. When it is not confessed and repented of, it leads to more and more sin driving us further and further away from God. Scripture calls on us to confess our sin, repent of our sin, and to forsake our sin. But sometimes we do not do that. We end up acting like King Saul who was confronted with his sin, but instead of confessing it he traveled down a dangerous path of unrepentance leading to his removal of being king. Let’s look at the dangerous path of unrepentant sin in 4 steps.

            The first step is disobedience. Saul is given clear instructions about what to do with the enemies of Israel, the Amalekites. He is told to ‘utterly destroy,’ to ‘not spare’ and to ‘put to death’ all the people and animals (1 Sam 15:3). There is nothing unclear about these instructions which makes it all the more shocking that he does not obey. It says in v 9 that Saul spared Agag (the ruler of the Amalekites) and the best of the animals (v 9) in contrast to what God had told him.

Sin is easy to define: it is disobedience to God. Whether it is when we do not do what God says or when we do what God says to not do, sin is disobedience. And Saul has the opportunity to confess and repent when Samuel asks him about his disobedience. But instead of confessing or forsaking his sin, Saul continues down the dangerous path of unrepentant sin.

            The second step is denial. Samuel asks Saul pointedly in v 19, why did you not obey the voice of the Lord? This is the opportunity to confess and repent of his sin, but instead Saul chooses to deny. He denies his disobedience by highlighting his partial obedience. He says he did obey by going on the mission he was assigned and destroying some of the Amalekites (v 20). Technically, that is true, but it ignores the clear disobedience to the specific commands of God. We do this when we are caught in sin, too. Instead of admitting the wrong, we turn the focus to the areas where we did right. However, that is avoiding the issue. Obedience in one area does not excuse disobedience in another. Saul should have confessed instead of trying to make himself look good in front of Samuel. But it gets worse.

            The third step is defense. In a weird example of self-justification, Saul actually defends his disobedience as something he did for God. That by disobeying, he was able to do something even better for the Lord. Part of the disobedience was that Saul spared the animals that belonged to the Amalekites after God said to destroy them. Maybe he thought it was a strange command from God; why destroy such a useful resource? Imagine the church found an old chest filled with priceless coins on the church grounds but God told us without uncertainty to destroy them all. Why God? Couldn’t we use that for your kingdom? That’s Saul’s thinking. I spared these animals to sacrifice to you, God (v 15, 21). Somehow, in his mind, disobedience to God is necessary in some cases when you have good intentions. If we ever try to justify our sin by thinking about some other benefit that could come by our disobedience we’ve entered a dangerous realm.

            The fourth step is to deflect. This is the step where we blame others. Saul had originally blamed the people for being the ones who disobeyed (v 15) but when he was called out for his sin by Samuel, he blamed the people for pressuring him into sin. It does seem like he is on the way towards heartfelt confession in v 24 because he does admit the sin. But then he explains away the confession by saying it was the people that convinced him to disobey. Remember, he is the king, but he says he ‘feared’ the people (v 24). In his deflection, it was the people who caused me to sin. This is classic unrepentance: blame everyone else for your sin. Yes I did it, but it was you who caused me to! For example, we do this when we blame others for making us lose our temper or blame others by taking on the childish taunt, “you started it!” It is just another way to not take responsibility for our own disobedience.

            In contrast to Saul is King David. When he is confronted with his sin with Bathsheba he simply confesses his sin (2 Sam 12:13). He doesn’t try to deny his wrongdoing by listing all his other areas of obedience, he doesn’t defend himself or his behavior, and he doesn’t blame anyone else. He takes responsibility for his sin, confesses it and forsakes it. This is the path to dealing with your sin. Let us learn from the poor example of Saul of how to deal with sin when it is exposed to us, not wanting to follow the path of unrepentance that he went down.

What is a Church

Recently our church participated in a combined worship service with two other churches here in town, and in the same week, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club at the high school met with 25 or so high schoolers gathering to hang out and hear a devotional from a student. It got me thinking about this question: what is a church? How do we define when a gathering of believers is a church? When 3 churches meet together, is that a church in and of itself? When a bunch of Christian kids gather on their school campus is that a church? What are the necessary elements to have a Biblically defined church?

            Let’s assume for our discussion that we are talking about true believers. But I think you’ll be a bit surprised to find out what constitutes a church in the New Testament. Because in the eyes of God you do not need bylaws or a building in order to be a church.

            First, there needs to be Biblically defined leadership. Elders are the leaders of the church (1 Tim 3:5) and they are discussed in almost every book of the New Testament. They are gifted by the Lord to His church (Eph 4:11) and they need to be appointed in every church (Titus 1:5). You can’t have a church without Biblically defined leadership. With this necessary element, the three church meeting would qualify (since elders were leading) but the FCA meeting would not, since they have student leadership and not Biblically defined leadership. You can’t have a church without Biblical leadership.

            Second, there needs to be the preaching of the Word. New Testament ministers in the church are required to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph 4:12) and they are also commanded to preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2). Sound doctrine and Biblical exposition is the bedrock of the church and a non-negotiable. While FCA was disqualified for being considered a church for lack of Biblical leadership, they do teach God’s Word there regularly, and so they would pass this requirement as would the combined church meeting.

            The third necessary element is the conducting of the ordinances. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were both instituted by the Lord and the church is commanded to practice them. The administering of the ordinances would disqualify both the combined service and FCA from being considered a church because neither one engages in the keeping of the ordinances.

            The final element is what I would call accountability. There is an expectation amongst the people of a church to live a Christlike life and obey the Scripture. Why else would there be so many commands and instructions in the Bible about how to live and behave? Why else would we preach messages on how to live differently, if we weren’t to actually do it? To join a church is to agree to covenant with one another to pray for and challenge one another to be faithful to Scripture. This is also why the need for Biblical shepherds is so important, as they hold their members accountable too. I believe God’s people welcome this kind of accountability because they really do want to live rightly in God’s eyes. With this final element, both the combined service and FCA would not qualify as a church since they are gatherings without this level of further accountability outside of the meeting.

            Now, now one is saying that the combined service and the FCA meeting are trying to be churches, but with the Covid pandemic, the redefinition of church happened without us knowing it. Some people watch an online service of a church hundreds or even thousands of miles away and call that their ‘church.’ They’ve never set foot inside the church or even talked to the pastor. But that cannot be your church as you are not under the Biblical leadership, you are not participating in the ordinances, and there is no accountability to right living. That can be a helpful tool for your spiritual life, but it is not your church.

            The same can be said for those who attend one of these Christian meetings and assume it counts as their church. A club on campus cannot be your church, just like youth group cannot be your church, or even a community service cannot be your church...if they do not have these necessary elements.

            My sincere prayer is for a renewed passion and commitment to the church. To submit to Biblical leadership is God-honoring. To hear the Word is God-honoring. To regularly take the Lord’s Supper and observe baptisms is God-honoring. And to be held accountable for Christian behavior is God-honoring as well. They are all God-honoring because these are the necessary elements to have a church.

Developing Convictions

On March 10th 1528 a man named Balthasar Hubmaier was burned at the stake in Vienna, Austria by the Roman Catholic city authorities. His wife, for merely being associated with him, was drowned in the local river. For this serious punishment Hubmaier must have been guilty of a serious crime, wouldn’t you say? Since it was the church that executed him the crime must have been a religious one. Was it some heinous sin or act? No, the execution was for heresy. So, then it follows that the heresy he was promoting must have been something equally as heinous, right? Some type of teaching or doctrine that insults God or Christ, possibly? Denying fundamental truths of Christianity? Well, Hubmaier’s ‘crime’ was baptizing confessing believers.

            You see the theology of the Roman Catholic church was that baptism was for infants, not for adults. So, any baptisms that Hubmaier, and other Reformers, were conducting were then outside of the established teaching of the church, thus equaling heresy. They were accused of being ‘rebaptizers,’ baptizing people who had already been baptized. Hubmaier had actually been arrested on multiple occasions before for baptizing individuals but he had only been beaten, tortured, and forced to recant. This last time when he did not recant, he was executed.

            It is startling to think that a man and his wife (and many others as well) would be put to death by church authorities in such a gruesome way for dunking people in some water. What is the big deal? But also, it makes me think about Hubmaier’s commitment as well. Why would he perform such an act if he knew it would lead him to this type of suffering and death?

            The answer lies in the word ‘conviction.’ His conviction was that baptism was not something done to infants but to those who confess faith in Christ; baptism should come after belief, not before. And that conviction was so strong that he was willing to pay with his life to do it.

            I’ve come across multiple believers throughout my ministry who have a trivial view of baptism. They see it as unimportant, an option that they can consider or reject. But stories like Hubmaier come to mind and cause me to reflect on the fact that people literally died to conduct believer’s baptism because they were convinced that is what the Bible teaches. Not to mention the people getting baptized who were also putting their lives in danger. In fact, in Vienna it was outlawed to even attend a ‘rebaptizer’s’ preaching service!

            In the Muslim world, if a person comes to faith in Christ, sometimes the rest of the Muslim family doesn’t care…until the person gets baptized. Baptism becomes the ‘last straw’ and the person is excommunicated or worse. This makes me think of the importance of something like baptism: people literally have died to practice it.

            But this isn’t an article just about baptism. This is about developing Biblical convictions. Taking a stand on what you believe the Bible teaches. Now we should be humble enough to always consider opposing arguments, but at some point we have to come to a conclusion, and we have to stand firm on it.

            I think of myself: would I be so convicted about a subject even like baptism that if I was threatened with execution for me and my wife as well, would I stand firm for that belief or would I cower and recant? Hubmaier did recant on multiple occasions, but eventually his conscience was held captive by the Word of God. “This is what the Bible teaches and I will stand firm on it,” was what went through his head.

            Have you developed any Biblical convictions like this? As the persecution of the church of Jesus Christ heats up, what areas will you compromise and what areas will you hold fast? Areas like creation, homosexuality, and the exclusivity of Christ seem like the biggies of today. If the culture puts pressure on you because of what you believe the Bible teaches what are you going to do? Will you stand firm or will you shrug off that conviction for your own comfort? If the culture makes it illegal for you to attend a church where these things are preached, will you obey or will you resist?

            It is so important to be well-informed about the Scripture. To take a stand on various doctrines and teachings and hold fast to them no matter what the world may throw at you. It is said that ‘a man may hold convictions, but convictions hold the man.’ I pray that we would firmly trust and stand upon the truth of Scripture, never wavering from our beliefs. This high view of Scripture is necessary for living for Christ in the midst of a hostile world.

Lessons from Surgery Recovery

I write this Voice article from my kitchen table in my third week of recovery from spinal surgery. There is much gratitude in my heart for this church family and others in the community who have given us meals, cards, flowers, texts, calls, and even rides for our children. We couldn’t have done it without you and we thank you. I have another reason to be thankful and it is for the Lord teaching me some lessons during this whole process and I would like to share them with you.

            First, is the lesson of needing greater empathy towards others going through medical problems and issues. Overall, I’m a pretty healthy individual so my time in the hospital is pretty rare. When you are sitting up the night before a surgery, your mind racing, that text message or word of encouragement is really helpful. When you are in the hospital your thoughts go to feelings of missing home and the feelings of ‘woe is me.’ But then a person is wheeled into the room next to you and that person is not even conscious. You realize things could be much worse. For those who must deal with repeated medical issues and hospital stays, now that I have been in your shoes for a time, I hope to have greater empathy.

            Second, is the lesson how the Lord is near during our time of weakness. I brought my pocket Bible with me because I wanted to be close to the Psalms. I usually counsel others when they are in times of hardship and stress to go to the Psalms. There is a good chance that you will find a Psalm that expresses exactly what you are thinking. Since I counsel others with that, I figured I should take my own advice! Psalms like 2:12, 5:11, and 11:1 call on us to take refuge in the Lord because He is a refuge and strength (46:1). This truth was one that continually popped up to me in my Psalms reading. Since I couldn’t even get out of bed on my own, I felt like I was at my weakest, but all the while God is near calling me to take refuge in Him because He is a refuge. I seem to find that the Lord is always near in times of weakness.

            Third, is the lesson of the glorious creative work of God in the human body. It is another grace of God that He allowed the invention of surgery to fix these problems people have, but just marvel at the human body for a moment. There are 3 major incisions that the surgeons cut in my body and they are healing. These doctors literally cut me open and my body is fixing those cuts on its own. Also, after surgery there is a lot of swelling that builds up. Once again, your body deals with that on its own and goes back to normal. In both of these cases the body has to naturally be able to do this or else I wouldn’t survive. There is no way this type of self-healing that the body does could just develop naturally over a long period of time. It has to work correctly the first time or else disaster. The human body is a wonder of God’s creation.

            All in all the Lord is still shaping me and molding me, even in my time of recovery. I thank you again for all your help and well wishes and hope to be back to ministry soon.

The Abortion Ruling

Last week a monumental ruling came down from the Supreme Court of the United States regarding abortion. The decision will have reverberations for years to come. It is important to define exactly what the decision was since there is much confusion in the rhetoric about the case. First, the Court did not make any moral or ethical statement on the nature of abortion itself. So, it would be incorrect to say that the Supreme Court decided that abortion is wrong. Second, the Court did not make abortion illegal. The decision handed down by the Court said that the issue of abortion was not a constitutional right, but instead, should be decided by individual states. In essence, the Court sent the issue of abortion to the states for them to independently decide what to do. Some states might choose to make it illegal, some might keep it legal, and some might put restrictions.

            Such a decision has brought unmitigated joy from anti-abortion advocates like Christians and unrelenting fury from pro-choice proponents. But, how exactly do we look at this profound moment in our nation’s history from the perspective of being a born again Christian?

            First, a Christian’s opposition to abortion is grounded in the Word of God. The Bible speaks in multiple places about God’s hand and design over infants in the womb. Psalm 139:13 says, “You wove me in my mother’s womb.” In Jeremiah 1:5 God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” The prophecy about John the Baptist says he will be filled with the Holy Spirit “while in his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). Clearly God is designing, making, molding, and influencing babies in the womb. The Bible also talks about how God is the one who opens wombs or closes wombs (Gen 20:18, Gen 30:22), so pregnancies are His providential decision. So, I believe the Bible makes it clear that a Christian should be against abortion.

            Second, a Christian’s joy to this decision is understood. If we believe that fetuses in the womb are living beings and God is designing them, anything that limits abortion is a good thing. At the least this will probably result in thousands of less abortions as some states will begin to immediately pass strict anti-abortion laws in their legislatures. A Christian should see it as a good thing anytime lives can be saved, because human lives are precious in God’s sight, being made in His image.

            Third, a Christian’s celebration should be tempered. This move by the Supreme Court does not outlaw abortion, let’s get that straight. The only thing the Supreme Court decision did was turn the abortion issue over to the states to decide on their own. Reading the opinion of Samuel Alito, he said, “the authority on this matter is turned over to the people and their elected officials in their individual states.” Since there are a number of states that furiously defend abortion, we will probably see an even greater resolve there. Also, women that really want an abortion will probably be able to get one by just crossing state lines. If your neighboring state provides free confidential abortion, then why wouldn’t you just go there to get the procedure done? While this decision may limit the number of abortions, it doesn’t eradicate the practice altogether.

            Lastly, a Christian’s guard should be up now more than ever. Those that are outraged at this decision have begun to point the finger at religion. I have seen the tweets already: Keep your religion out of my health care! Once people identify the culprit as religion, the next step is to identify which religion. Since Christian principles are at the basis of the anti-abortion view, and since Satan’s world is always at odds with God’s people, the blame will be placed on Christians themselves. I fear a heated backlash coming against Christians in this country. Although that should not come as a shock as Jesus told us to not be surprised if the world hates you. Are you prepared to face this new kind of persecution?

            Overall, I would say I am happy with what transpired last week, but it is a restrained happiness. Abortions will still happen and the fight over the issue will become even more heated with the hottest fire reserved for Christians.

One Impactful Life

How much influence can one life have? We all have people in our lives that have been influential to us and maybe that person was to others as well, but can one person influence literally billions of people? If we are talking about Jesus, then the answer is a resounding ‘yes’! How much of an impact has Jesus had on the entire world? Let’s consider some areas.

            First, think of Jesus’ impact on the arts. In the disciplines of music, art, and even architecture, what other person has inspired more works than Jesus? When it comes to music, some of the most famous pieces of classical music by Bach and Handel have Jesus as the subject. In the area of music, some of the most famous pieces of classical music by composers like Bach and Handel have Jesus as their subject. Then you can think of the sheer amount of Christian music that has been produced over the years. But Jesus’ influence even pervades secular music as well. References to Him or songs about Him can be found in songs by artists like Elvis, Aretha Franklin, Carrie Underwood, and even Kanye West. Why does everyone want to talk about Jesus?

            Now if we turn our attention to famous paintings or sculptures Jesus’ influence is no less. Pieces like The Last Supper, the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta, or even the Christ Redeemer statue in Brazil all have the attention on Christ, and of course there are thousands more. You can look at some of the great cathedrals built all over the world, designed and constructed with Christ as the center of its activities. No other person in all history has been the subject of such artistic expression as Jesus.

            Second, think of Jesus’ impact in the areas of literacy and education. Although Christians are condescendingly thought of as unscientific and unlearned people of mystic beliefs, that couldn’t be further from the truth! If you have ever attended a university, you can thank Jesus’ followers since they were the ones who founded essentially what is the modern university. Some of the first colleges were in Bologna, Oxford, and Paris, and most other universities were modeled after those. Oh, and those three were begun as Christian universities. After them, some of the most prestigious universities in the world were founded by Christians for the purpose of teaching Christian principles like Princeton, Harvard, MIT, and Yale.

            When we think of the greatest minds in history we normally think of scientists. Well, it would probably surprise you to find out that most scientists throughout history were confessing followers of Jesus! Some examples include Galileo, Francis Bacon, Blaise Pascal, and Isaac Newton. Space does not permit us to list all of these genius scientific minds but just think of this: 72% of those awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry were Christians! Nowadays, science and Christianity are purported to be at odds but in reality the original founders of what we know today as science believed that a man named Jesus of Nazareth rose from the grave.

            Jesus is of course followed by billions of Christians throughout the world, but does Jesus’ impact even reach to other religions? This is the third area I would like you to consider: religion itself. Jesus has a recognized place in some of the largest other religions in the world like Buddhism and Islam (and many others as well). Now, I’m not affirming what those religions teach about Jesus is correct, but you cannot deny He holds a respected place in their religions. All of that to say, a positive view of Jesus of Nazareth extends to every corner of the planet to billions of religious people! Is there any other figure who could claim this?

            When all is said and done, considering the profound impact Jesus has had on the world, it is really staggering to think of how unlikely that would have been. He was born in a small town, raised in a small town, in a relatively unknown family. The locals thought He was an illegitimate son and His own brothers were suspicious of him.

            He never had an expensive education, never married, never had children, never owned a home, never held political office, never ruled a nation, never led an army, never authored a book. He never even traveled more than 200 miles from His hometown.

            His work only lasted three years, His followers abandoned Him, one of His friends betrayed Him, and another denied Him. He was rejected by the powerful and those who wanted Him dead seemingly got their way with a very public brutal execution. And after all that, His remaining friends had to borrow a tomb to bury Him.

            And yet, no other person has so transformed the course of history than Jesus of Nazareth. What has He done in your life?

Gospel Preaching

Imagine a certain coach of a basketball team that had a specific strategy in his coaching repertoire that was both effective and unstoppable. This strategy was guaranteed to work and the opponent could not stop it in any way. Would the coach use this strategy? How often would he use it? Absolutely he would use it all the time!

            When it comes to being a preacher, there are many ideas about what to preach to see change occur. Some say we need to preach ‘how to’ sermons, some say we need to just explain the next verses, some say we need to find topics that are relevant to the outside world. I would submit to you that preachers should be known as gospel preachers because the gospel has the power to save and to transform.

            Now, just a quick reminder, the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is defined as Christ dying for our sins, being buried, and raised again, as the Scriptures testify (1 Cor 15:3-4). This truth has the power to save and to transform.

            Romans 1:16 says it like this, “for the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” It has the power to save a soul. 1 Corinthians 1 says something similar. “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (v 18). In the Romans passage Paul goes on to explain the gospel in great detail for a number of chapters. In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul summarizes it as “Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23). Both of these passages showcase the power of the gospel to save.

            We see the power of the gospel to save evidenced in the account of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. The man is reading but doesn’t understand the passage of the Bible he is reading. Philip explains to him what he is reading by “preaching Jesus to Him” (Acts 8:35). The man comes to faith and is baptized. But Philip made sure to preach Jesus to him which no doubt included the cross and the resurrection.

            Preachers, pastors, and evangelists look all around for different ideas and strategies in which to win people to Christ. But in reality, the power to save souls is not located within the preacher or the speaker or an event. The power to save souls is inherent to the gospel. As a preacher who preaches every Sunday morning, why would I not preach the gospel if I wanted to see souls saved? If I have no power to bring about salvation, but the gospel has all the power, how can I preach anything else? Pastors must be known as gospel preachers.

            But maybe someone reading this is thinking that they are already saved and therefore the gospel’s power to save has no application to them. I’m already saved, I don’t have to hear about how to be saved every Sunday! Fair question. Although, the gospel is also said to have the power to transform. The gospel has the power to make a person holy and sanctified.

            Paul tells the Romans he was eager to come to them to preach the gospel to them (Romans 1:15). That tells me he believed the gospel had a sanctifying effect on the people. Also, in 1 Corinthians 2:2 he says “he determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” That means the cross of Christ was the main focus of his preaching to this church. And if you know anything about this church, they had a lot of problems! Paul’s solution: preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified to them.

            How does the gospel transform? First, understanding what God has accomplished for us in the gospel is a powerful motivator for holiness. We pursue holiness not to earn a place before God but because we have been graciously given a place before God. My heart breaks for those who are trying to be good so that God will be happy with them. In Christ, your standing is eternally resolved. You can’t be any more accepted by God than you are in Christ! What freedom for holiness!

            Second, the gospel brings encouragement when we fail. As we realize our sins are forgiven and washed by Christ, we get back up on the horse and try again. We don’t have to live in discouragement and depression because of the cross of Christ!

            Third, the gospel teaches us to live a life of faith. It is faith in Christ that saves but the gospel spurs us on to continue that trust. If we believe that Christ took our sins and will grant heaven when we die, should we also believe that He will guide, direct, provide, care for, andlove us as well? The answer is ‘yes!’ Believing on Christ for salvation only begins a lifetime walk of faith. Believers need to hear the gospel too and their pastors need to be gospel preachers.

            So, you see how the gospel has the power to save a soul and the power to transform a believer into Christlikeness. Why would I preach anything else? Now, this does not mean that every Sunday I will be only teaching on the crucifixion. The Bible calls on me to preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) so I am committed to preaching God’s Word verse by verse. But in every sermon, there has to be a connection to Christ and the gospel to really unleash the power of God. That is a power that is effective and the enemy cannot stop.

Arguing with Jesus

In Matthew chapter 16 we see the high point of the Apostle Peter’s life. Jesus asked the disciples who people say that He is (v 13). The disciples gave some various theories as to what people were saying. Then Jesus asked them what they thought. Peter answered with one of the great confessions of all time, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (v 16). For this accurate statement of faith Jesus praises and compliments Peter, giving him high marks in front of the other disciples. No doubt this made Peter feel really good.

            However, right after this account we see one of the lowest points of Peter’s life. The text tells us Jesus began to speak of His upcoming suffering, trial, murder, and resurrection (v 21). In fact, it says Jesus told them this ‘must’ happen. He was telling them of His sacrificial death for sinners that was inevitable and upcoming.

            But Peter actually takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him (v 22)! So just imagine this moment: Peter pulls Jesus away from the crowd and begins arguing with Jesus. Peter tells Him, “God forbid it Lord, this shall never happen to you.” We all know what happens next. Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind Me Satan.” Ouch. From the high point to the low point.

            But I find it very interesting that Peter was so confident in himself and what he thought he knew about God’s plans that he was even willing to correct Jesus, to argue with Jesus. I bet if you had asked Peter before this if he would ever argue with Jesus, he would probably say ‘no way!’ Yet, here he is doing that very thing.

            Would you ever argue with Jesus? Most of us would quickly say we would never. But let me give you a few scenarios to challenge that assumption.

            If Jesus revealed to you He was bringing a major trial and hardship upon your life that would last for a significant time, how would you respond? Would you say ‘Thy will be done Lord.’ Or would you protest such a plan?

            If Jesus told you He was turning over your country to ungodly rulers who were going to install ungodly rules and laws where you live, how would you respond? Would you accept that or would you challenge His decision?

            If you have a certain theological belief that you have had for a long time and are fairly confident in that position, yet you read verses in Scripture that confront that theological point and seem to prove it wrong, how would you respond? Would you abandon your long standing belief for what you have found to be true or would you just disregard that finding?

            In each of these scenarios we can see ways that we could argue with Jesus. To protest the introduction of hardship in your life is to argue with Jesus. To challenge His decision about national rulers would be to argue with Jesus. To disregard Biblical truth that contradicts your previously held beliefs is to argue with Jesus. Maybe we are not all that different from Peter as we think?

            Why would we ever dare argue with Jesus? Well the answer is in the text. Jesus tells Peter that he is setting his mind on man’s interests, not God’s interests (v 23). Peter put what he wanted to happen ahead of what God wanted to happen. Imagine if Peter got his way and Jesus never would have died for sinners. Even though Peter’s desire was a good desire (He didn’t want to see His Lord suffer), it was counter to God’s desire, and that made it wrong.

            In our life often times we seek our own interests instead of God’s interests. We see with limited vision, we have limited knowledge, we have limited power, and we want to happen what we want to happen. When all the while God has unlimited vision, unlimited knowledge, and unlimited power, and we should want to happen what He wants to happen!

            God always knows best. God’s will always should come first. We must be humble enough to accept, in faith, whatever the Lord’s will is for us. Maybe it is hardship, maybe it is humility, but I can know for sure He knows what is best.

            At Easter this year we are grateful that Jesus did not listen to Peter’s passionate argument. We are grateful that Jesus went to that cross because it ‘must’ happen for our salvation. We are grateful that He rose and showed Peter, and us, how powerful He really is.

Courageous Faith

It’s been about a week now since the world has watched Russia invade Ukraine and a war rage in a country far away from us. However, it is important to remember that there are believers in Ukraine and the Lord’s church is strong there. The seminary that I attended has a pastor’s training center in downtown Kyiv staffed with a few American missionaries.

            When the invasion happened the missionaries had to make a decision. Do they evacuate as American citizens? This isn’t their fight, this isn’t their homeland. They could easily get on a plane and go to safety. Or, do they stay and minister to the church and to the unbelievers there in Kyiv. Well, they decided to take a courageous step of faith and stay to minister to the people of Ukraine. As one missionary said, “We are here to love the Lord with all our hearts and joyously give everything we’ve got toward the fame of the Almighty.” As an alumni of the seminary I get regular email updates about the situation there asking for prayer and I’d like to share with you a small picture of what life is like right now for one particular church in downtown Kyiv and how they are ministering to their community.

            When the invasion first started people from the church went door to door in their apartment building to tell everyone that answered that their church building has an underground parking garage that anyone could use as a refuge or shelter. They gave every person a paper with the church address on it so they could find it, as well as important gospel verses on the back. With this act, the church was praying for God to save as many people as He could in this time of war.

            A couple of days later, as the invasion continued and people were hearing explosions and sirens in Kyiv, about 50 people from the church and a number of unbelievers were gathering in the church building for refuge and then sleeping on mats in the underground parking garage at night. This includes children as well as numerous babies. The underground parking garage has no heat and electricity cuts in and out at any time.

            In the midst of this situation, the church gathers three times every day for prayer and to hear a short message from God’s Word. They use this time also to share the gospel with the individuals who are just there just to seek shelter.

            There is a tremendous need for prayer for these people. We can pray for safety for the people, as well as, the spiritual salvation for as many people as possible. God uses all things for His glory, including war.

            But I am also encouraged by the courageous faith displayed by these people. We know that the Lord calls us to live by faith and the Lord calls us to trust Him but I wonder if I would be able to take a step of faith like that. Would you? Maybe the Holy Spirit would divinely intervene and give us a measure of courageous faith like that. The fact that the missionaries decided to stay had a profound impact on the believers there. They saw that these believers really loved and cared for the church and that gave them a boost in their faith as well.

            I am also convicted about the way the church in Ukraine is serving their community. Giving their church building for people to use is a way to minister to people. I wonder how we can better minister to our community. How can we better serve the people around us? How can we display the love of Christ to people that don’t know Him? How can we be the light that Jesus told us we are? I hope that it doesn’t take a war to find out.

            I am inspired to live by faith in a new way. To courageously walk with the Lord wherever He may take me, even if I cannot see the path. He promises to lead me, guide me, and never forsake me; that is enough for me to try and live by faith. Is it enough for you?

Names of the Church

At our recent annual meeting I preached a sermon on the Church as a Family. The family metaphor is one of ways God describes this new organism that is the church. This particular description highlights the closeness and bond church members should have with one another. There are some other names for the church found in the New Testament and I’d like to highlight those briefly in this month’s voice article.

            First, let’s consider the word ‘church’ itself. When people think of a church what probably first comes to mind is the brick and mortar building, but that is not what the word means. The Greek word for church means a gathering or assembly of people. Sometimes in the New Testament the generic word for ‘church’ is used for a mob of angry people! You see the spiritual meaning when it is called the ‘Lord’s church’ or something similar. God’s gathering is what a church is. A church that doesn’t gather or members who don’t gather are going against the very definition of the word.

            Second, the church is called a ‘bride.’ Jesus loved His church and gave Himself up for her (Eph 5). The church as the bride of Christ emphasizes His personal care and love, along with His unbreakable bond to her. Jesus will never forsake His church, He will always seek her benefit and good like a husband would to his bride.

            Third, the church is called a ‘body.’ 1 Corinthians 12 describes each church member as a necessary part of the church body. People are described as hands, feet, eyes, and ears to show how each person plays a critical part in their role in the church. There cannot be any sideline watchers, just as there isn’t any part of the body that doesn’t serve a specific purpose. Try going one day blindfolded or with one hand tied behind your back and you will understand how each part of the body is necessary. The same is true with the members of the church.

            Fourth, the church is called a ‘flock.’ Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd in John chapter 10 and His people sheep in that same chapter. That is not an insult, but another spiritual reality of how to see the church as God sees it. If the church is a flock, then the sheep require shepherding, feeding, guiding, caring, nurturing, etc. This important description highlights our dependence on the Lord for everything and the humility required to be led and guided by His Word.

            Fifth, the church is called a ‘temple.’ Peter uses imagery of a spiritual house, or temple, that is being built up and the people are the spiritual stones for the building (1 Pet 2:4-5). This description of the church emphasizes that the church is necessarily a spiritual enterprise. A church that caters to everything else in the world besides spirituality, is not a church. If we concern ourselves with events and gatherings, decorations and decorum, and never prioritize spiritual worship or spiritual edification we miss the point of the church. God’s spiritual house could meet in a field or a house, in chairs or pews, with microphones or not, and the spiritual exercises could still be accomplished.

            This is a great reminder for us to consider as we move forward as a church into the New Year. This refreshes us as to who we are what we must be about.

Small Town Ministry

A new year of ministry is upon us here at Congregational Bible Church of Shafter. It is the 107th year of ministry at CBC, an amazing testament to the Lord’s faithfulness. Our church has always been a small church in a small town and we can’t really foresee any reason why that would change anytime soon. Shafter is not budding into a sprawling metropolis and small churches are the overwhelming norm in America. However, sometimes it feels that small churches in small towns must be missing something or are glossed over when we think of the Lord’s work in the world. We talk more about the megachurch in the city than we do the little church in the rural area. This can bring about feelings of inadequacy or disappointment for those plugging along in small church rural settings. But this month I’d like to give a few reasons why small church ministry in small towns can be a good thing.

            First, your Christian witness never takes a day off in a small town. One thing people agree on about being in a small town is that everyone knows everyone. The mail carrier knows my name, my occupation, and my home address. If I’m not in the office, she will bring my mail to my home so I receive it. Rosie, the lady who takes my order at the local restaurant sees me every week and she’s not just a waitress, she’s Rosie. We bought our car from someone in our church. If I decide to let my Christian witness go and do something dishonoring to Jesus in front of these people, or to these people, it stains my ministry. It will be noticed…and shared with others! This causes me to maintain my Christian witness at all times.

            The Disney company had a term for employees in their parks called ‘onstage.’ Whenever a guest could see you, you were ‘onstage.’ That meant your costume had to be right, you couldn’t be on your phone, and you had to be smiling and nice. When guests couldn’t see you, then you could relax and untuck your shirt. That was ‘backstage.’ Ministering in a small town means you are ‘onstage’ all the time. That’s not the case in a big city. You can go store to store and see people you’ll never see again and you can act any way you want. Small town church ministry causes us to focus on our sanctification all the time.

            Second, small church ministry makes us aware of our weaknesses. In a big church, if 10-15 people move away, the church hardly notices. It can take that loss and still have an excellent music ministry or still make their budget. But in a small church, 2 or 3 people move away or leave the church for the bigger church across town, those holes probably won’t get filled. So, the small church is always aware of its fragile state.

            While this may seem like a problem more than a blessing, being aware of weakness is a good thing in Scripture! Paul says he boasts about his weaknesses because that is when God shows up in the biggest way (2 Cor 12:9). One theologian says that as a mother has the tenderest care for her weakest child, so Christ mercifully shows His greatest help to the weakest. Recognizing our weaknesses drives us to depend on the Lord for everything, to seek Him in prayer for everything, and to trust Him for everything. Is it a ‘problem’ that it is always close whether or not we will make our budget each year, or is it just another chance for us to lean on Christ to provide? And since He has for 107 years, is this area of weakness really a bad thing?

            Thirdly, God has done some of His greatest work through the little guy. Think of Gideon and his small army. Think of King David, selected from the little town of Bethlehem. Think of the fishermen who defied Caesar. And think of the countless nobodies God has used in the building of His kingdom all over the world. Paul tells the Corinthians to look around their church and see that there are no big shots (1 Cor 1:26), which highlights the work of the gospel and not the celebrity of man. In reality, there are no overlooked soldiers in God’s army. Right now God is using a family from Bakersfield, CA to build His church in a country with no church in Central Asia.

            To read more of these ideas please consult A Big Gospel in Small Places by Stephen Witmer, as I drew some of these ideas from that helpful book. But I encourage you to not run to the big church or think that your church is inadequate but rejoice in small church ministry in small towns.

Incarnation

As a parent sometimes you are called on to help with homework. Some teachers don’t believe in homework anymore, but some still do. There are nights when the homework tasks are abundant and difficult. Most of the time it is the subject of math that needs the most help.

            It is the easy way out to tell your children to go ‘read the book’ or to just ‘figure it out.’ And although that kind of help is still help, it isn’t always the most gracious or kind. When your children need help, they want you to sit with them and help them work through the problems to come to a solution. You have to enter in to the problems they have and walk them through it. That takes a different level of involvement and commitment.

            At Christmas time we think about the reality that Jesus entered into our world. There is a fancy theological term for that. It is called the Incarnation. The term comes from the Latin which literally means ‘into flesh.’ Jesus’ incarnation is Him taking on flesh. But He didn’t just add flesh to His being, He actually fully incarnated Himself into our world. He walked the earth, He dealt with difficult people, He encountered hardships and struggles, He felt pain, He experienced loss, and all the other things we go through as well.

            It would have been one thing for Jesus to just sit from heaven and tell us to ‘figure it out’ or ‘find the solution’ on our own. But He chose to become a man. He chose to enter into the problems and struggles that His people face. The book of Hebrews tells us that it had to be this way for Him to be able to minister fully to us. Hebrews 2:17 says, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” This verse is discussing the salvation aspect of His incarnation. Only Jesus being fully human could totally satisfy the wrath of God and cause His sacrifice to be accepted by God. But it also says that through His incarnation He shows His mercy and faithfulness to His people.

            The next verse is also very important. Hebrews 2:18 says, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” This is a much more practical verse for us to relate to. This verse tells us that Jesus can now appropriately minister to us during the times of hardship of this life because He dealt with the same struggles we deal with! He comes to the aid of His people because He knows all that they are going through…He knows firsthand.

            Chapter 4 of Hebrews also adds that Christ sympathizes with our weaknesses (v 15). How can He sympathize with us? Well, through His incarnation into this world. It also says that He went through every trial of life and He did it without sin (v 15). What a perfect example we have in Christ. But not just an example but a merciful and sympathetic one as well.

            Now for us today, to really minister to one another we must consider the Incarnation of Christ. He entered into our world, fully immersing Himself into all the situations we go through to help us, and we should do the same to others. Don’t just say you will be there for them, incarnate yourself into the struggles that they are facing. Maybe that means you go with them to a doctor’s appointment, or maybe you grieve with them as they are enduring the loss of a loved one. Maybe it is being a listening ear in a very difficult decision they are going to make.

            The difference between telling someone where to find the answer and working through the problem with them is incarnation. Walking in their footsteps is the way we imitate the Lord in His mercy and assistance.

Cancel Culture

A movement has been gaining steam over the past few years that many of us have probably heard of: cancel culture. The definition of the concept is the mass withdrawing of support for an individual as an expression of disapproval for their socially unacceptable behavior or words. Usually this happens on social media platforms where people call for a boycott or even for the individual to be fired. Recently, this happened to an NFL head coach over leaked emails that became public and with a comedian who said unpopular things about transgender people.

            Now, whatever you think about the right/wrong of cancel culture, I want to point out two ways that cancel culture diverges from Biblical truth.

            First, in cancel culture, there is no place for mercy, grace, or forgiveness. If you commit the unpardonable sin of saying something offensive or not politically correct in this day and age, you can forget the possibility of people showing any compassion or giving any type of pardon. That is the whole idea of cancel culture. It is not a short-term punishment, it is an unforgivable removal from society. Now I am talking about forgiveness towards those who are genuinely sorry for their offense. Some are not sorry and those people not receiving forgiveness would seem justified. But for those who are truly contrite, no forgiveness is available.

             This is strange because we actually do live in a rather forgiving society. How many times have we seen a politician, athlete, or celebrity, standing before media cameras and reading a written apology to a recent scandal? I remember the golfer Tiger Woods being caught in an adulterous and drunken scandal and when he was apologetic, society forgave him and moved on. Now, he is golfing again with millions of fans like before. Whether he meant his apology or not, society forgave.

            But with cancel culture, things are different. And this is where cancel culture diverges from Biblical truth. Christians should be those filled with mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 tells us to forgive others in the same way God has forgiven us. That is a profound statement for how our forgiveness should look. We have been forgiven a vast multitude of sins that we could never count, should we then withhold forgiveness when someone offends or upsets us once or twice? What about if it was 70 times 7? God’s forgiveness holds no conditions, it is free and unearned. Is our forgiveness the same? The very fact that the Scripture commands us to forgive one another rests on the assumption that we will offend one another…multiple times. Christians should be those ready to hand out forgiveness and mercy first.

            The second way cancel culture diverges from Biblical truth is the rejection that people can change. In some of these cases, things are brought up from years before, many years before. Are we to assume that the person who said something offensive years ago is in fact the same person in every way? Has any growth occurred? Has any change happened? Cancel culture does not allow for such a possibility.

            I heard a story of one particular actor who admitted to using an offensive word for homosexuals years ago, and how he learned the offensiveness of the word, and has since stopped using it. Sounds like growth right? Positive steps? Wrong, says cancel culture. People are calling for the boycott of his movies.

            In contrast, the Bible teaches that Christians are a work in progress. God is conforming us into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). We are progressing in varying degrees of holiness. The Bible affirms that who we are currently, is not who we should be, and we are moving (however slowly) towards being a righteous person. Hopefully, who you and I are today, is not who we will be years from now. That is called growth and change.

            As we engage in relationships with believers around us, we must keep that in mind. We are all on different points on the spectrum of holiness. Maybe someone else’s mouth isn’t as clean as mine, but are they in the process of change? Then I need to acknowledge that. Maybe someone else’s patience is far exceeding mine. I would want the same understanding for me, right? I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it.

            Cancel culture is here to stay. It is of the world, it is not of God. But, we must make sure we are people of grace and forgiveness and people who acknowledge the progress of others. We must not be conformed to the world, but be transformed in our mind by the Word of God.