Sexual abuse! Abuse of authority! Financial misdealing! Tax evasion! Divorce! Bigotry and racism! Are these problems in our society? Yes. Are they problems in the church? Yes. Sadly, yes. And when they are associated with the church they are so much worse than when those outside of the church fall into such sins. This is so not because we are proved to be as needful of a savior as the next person; it is so because we bear the name of Christ and we bring offense to that blessed name. The only scandal that should ever be attached to the church is the scandal of Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). All other offensive behaviors place stumbling blocks in the paths of people getting to the stumbling block of the cross.
Such things happen in the church when the church does not walk in the most basic of Kingdom principles: love. We can seek to eradicate poverty, fight against the evils of abortion, offer profound insights regarding the human condition, and join forces with others who seek renewal in all levels of society. But if we have not love, our pious pronouncements will sound hollow and our “good works” will be judged as just another self-serving agenda.
The need for followers of Jesus to walk in love is essential. Yet, how to walk in love is something to be learned. It needs to be shaped by the gospel working on our hearts till we understand gratitude and humility. And the classroom God has given us in which we are to be schooled in this most basic of principles is the local church. It’s in the church, walking side by side with other sinners, that we will come to appreciate that “love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This kind of love has the power to prevent scandals and persuade skeptics. The world is watching! Let’s offer them a convincing apologetic.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Getting It Right about Sex
There’s a catchy definition sometimes offered for the biblical term justified. What does justified mean? It means “just as if I’d never sinned.” It leaves too much unexplained, but in essence it’s true. Being justified through faith in Christ we are considered in the courtroom of heaven to be as one who never sinned. However, we have sinned. And though our sins will not be held against us, they too often continue to define us. The apostle Paul understood this and sought to encourage a practical righteousness in the newly declared righteous Thessalonians. In particular, he was concerned with how they exercised their sexual capacities (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).
The prevailing norm for these former pagans was far from the biblical norm (the norm that Paul would have instructed them in), but not all that far from the prevailing norm of our day. As such, the baggage they carried into their walk of discipleship is carried by many coming into the church today. This will likely require a complete overhaul of their presuppositions about engaging in sex, and Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians is as good a place as any to start. Taking control of one’s body (“vessel” in the Greek, which some scholars take to mean not the body in general but genitalia), having regard for how one’s actions affect others, and understanding that “whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit” to his children for the purpose of transforming them, will set new Christians on the road to realizing the divinely expected holiness in their lives.
We all struggle with the “old self,” which, in the words of the apostle, “belongs to [our] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.” The call is to “be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). While this is so in every aspect of our thinking and doing, of particular prominence is understanding how and why God has made us sexual beings. Misuse of this capacity has caused a great deal of harm. Out of love for God and neighbor we want to get it right.
The prevailing norm for these former pagans was far from the biblical norm (the norm that Paul would have instructed them in), but not all that far from the prevailing norm of our day. As such, the baggage they carried into their walk of discipleship is carried by many coming into the church today. This will likely require a complete overhaul of their presuppositions about engaging in sex, and Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians is as good a place as any to start. Taking control of one’s body (“vessel” in the Greek, which some scholars take to mean not the body in general but genitalia), having regard for how one’s actions affect others, and understanding that “whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit” to his children for the purpose of transforming them, will set new Christians on the road to realizing the divinely expected holiness in their lives.
We all struggle with the “old self,” which, in the words of the apostle, “belongs to [our] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.” The call is to “be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). While this is so in every aspect of our thinking and doing, of particular prominence is understanding how and why God has made us sexual beings. Misuse of this capacity has caused a great deal of harm. Out of love for God and neighbor we want to get it right.
The Priviledge of Persecution
Our Christian brothers and sisters in the 1st century had a very different perspective on persecution than we 21st century western Christians. For them it was a privilege (see Acts 5:41; Philippians 1:29), for us it is something to be avoided, almost at all costs. But can it be avoided? If Jesus and the apostles are any measure, it cannot. The scriptures clearly attest that persecution follows proclamation.
Why is this so? The message of the Kingdom of God runs smack up against the prevailing powers of the kingdom of this world making conflict inevitable. And because the gospel offers a stern critique of the nature of human beings and the works we produce, when a person embraces the gospel as true it necessarily aligns that one with that assessment, provoking persecution. The demand to the believer in the face of this inevitable enmity, notes Glenn Penner, the late director of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, “is not so much a willingness to die for Christ but a readiness to die due to one’s unconditional obedience to the Crucified One.” If persecution is part and parcel with proclaiming and living the gospel, we must accept that we are “destined for this” and “not be moved by these afflictions” (1 Thessalonians 3:3).
But suffering for the sake of Christ is not an end in itself. Jesus spoke of his redemptive suffering when he taught, ““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:23-24). Each disciple of Jesus is a product of the redeeming death to which he alludes. For this we are grateful. The startling news, however, is that he also envisions our own sacrificial fruit bearing when he explains, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25). Our participation in the redeeming work of Christ through suffering for the sake of his name, has a redemptive purpose, not for ourselves but for others.
The power of the followers of Jesus united in the face of persecution offers a much needed testimony to the truth of the gospel. Ed Clowney notes: "“The very threats to the existence of the church in the twenty-first century show again our need of the church. The courage to stand apart, to be unashamed of Christ’s claims, is nurtured in the community of those who are baptized into his name. The church may not apply for a union card in a pluralistic establishment by signing away its right to proclaim the only Saviour of the world. Together we must make clear that it is to Christ and not to ourselves that we witness. In that witness we are not only individual points of light in the world, but a city set on a hill. In the ethnic hostility that ravages Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the church must show the bond of Christ’s love that unites former enemies as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Only so can the church be a sign of his kingdom: the kingdom that will come when Christ comes, and that is already present through his Spirit” (The Church. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 15-16).
As our Savior was persecuted because he stood against the prevailing selfishness and cruelty of a sin-racked, idolatrous world, so will his church. Persecution is something to which we have been called and for which we must give thanks.
Why is this so? The message of the Kingdom of God runs smack up against the prevailing powers of the kingdom of this world making conflict inevitable. And because the gospel offers a stern critique of the nature of human beings and the works we produce, when a person embraces the gospel as true it necessarily aligns that one with that assessment, provoking persecution. The demand to the believer in the face of this inevitable enmity, notes Glenn Penner, the late director of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, “is not so much a willingness to die for Christ but a readiness to die due to one’s unconditional obedience to the Crucified One.” If persecution is part and parcel with proclaiming and living the gospel, we must accept that we are “destined for this” and “not be moved by these afflictions” (1 Thessalonians 3:3).
But suffering for the sake of Christ is not an end in itself. Jesus spoke of his redemptive suffering when he taught, ““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:23-24). Each disciple of Jesus is a product of the redeeming death to which he alludes. For this we are grateful. The startling news, however, is that he also envisions our own sacrificial fruit bearing when he explains, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25). Our participation in the redeeming work of Christ through suffering for the sake of his name, has a redemptive purpose, not for ourselves but for others.
The power of the followers of Jesus united in the face of persecution offers a much needed testimony to the truth of the gospel. Ed Clowney notes: "“The very threats to the existence of the church in the twenty-first century show again our need of the church. The courage to stand apart, to be unashamed of Christ’s claims, is nurtured in the community of those who are baptized into his name. The church may not apply for a union card in a pluralistic establishment by signing away its right to proclaim the only Saviour of the world. Together we must make clear that it is to Christ and not to ourselves that we witness. In that witness we are not only individual points of light in the world, but a city set on a hill. In the ethnic hostility that ravages Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the church must show the bond of Christ’s love that unites former enemies as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Only so can the church be a sign of his kingdom: the kingdom that will come when Christ comes, and that is already present through his Spirit” (The Church. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 15-16).
As our Savior was persecuted because he stood against the prevailing selfishness and cruelty of a sin-racked, idolatrous world, so will his church. Persecution is something to which we have been called and for which we must give thanks.
Removing Obstacles to the Gospel
If anyone would know how difficult it is to carry out the missionary enterprise, it would be the Apostle Paul. His efforts met resistance from the onset. This is not to say that he didn't have success at persuading people of their need for Jesus, but it wasn’t an easy sell. More than once he suffered persecution for doing nothing more than preaching the “good news.” Obviously, not everyone found the news good.
People are not readily disposed to being told that, unless they take by faith the gift of Christ’s righteousness, they are destined for hell. Their current belief system, confidence in their own goodness, or any one, or combination, of other such hindrances, make hearing the message about Jesus’ saving work a seemingly insurmountable mountain.
Paul appears to have understood this and made every effort to remove unnecessary impediments to having the gospel heard. We need to take our cue from him. The two most important factors (of many important factors) are the preconceptions of the one we are trying to persuade and our love for that one. The other’s preconceptions will cause them to hear what you are saying through the filter of their current understanding of things. As the gospel presents a very different view of existence than what we naturally come to, if you do not try to anticipate what the other might already be thinking, your words are not likely to be heard. Also, if we have not love for the other, the kind of love that motivated Paul, and caused Jesus to grieve when he looked upon the crowd and saw them as sheep without a shepherd, he or she will detect our disdain. A sure ear stopper!
The missionary enterprise is not an easy one. It must be said, therefore, that it requires the power of the Holy Spirit to attend our bearing witness, certainly in the heart and mind of the other, but also in our own. For, by the grace of God, “we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
People are not readily disposed to being told that, unless they take by faith the gift of Christ’s righteousness, they are destined for hell. Their current belief system, confidence in their own goodness, or any one, or combination, of other such hindrances, make hearing the message about Jesus’ saving work a seemingly insurmountable mountain.
Paul appears to have understood this and made every effort to remove unnecessary impediments to having the gospel heard. We need to take our cue from him. The two most important factors (of many important factors) are the preconceptions of the one we are trying to persuade and our love for that one. The other’s preconceptions will cause them to hear what you are saying through the filter of their current understanding of things. As the gospel presents a very different view of existence than what we naturally come to, if you do not try to anticipate what the other might already be thinking, your words are not likely to be heard. Also, if we have not love for the other, the kind of love that motivated Paul, and caused Jesus to grieve when he looked upon the crowd and saw them as sheep without a shepherd, he or she will detect our disdain. A sure ear stopper!
The missionary enterprise is not an easy one. It must be said, therefore, that it requires the power of the Holy Spirit to attend our bearing witness, certainly in the heart and mind of the other, but also in our own. For, by the grace of God, “we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
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