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Beliefs Matter: “It Does Really Matter…What One Believes About One Hope” – Ephesians 4:4; John 14:1-3

12 Mar

Hope is something that God gives to help us keep our lives together until the very end

Ephesians 4:4-6 (ESV)  4  There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Halford E. Luccock, in Unfinished Business, tells the story of a man who fascinated his dinner companions one night by telling of his experiences in the little town of Flagstaff, Maine, in Somerset County.

The town was to be abandoned and flooded and become a part of a large lake. A dam was being built which would submerge the little town. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months?

Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more unprofitable, more miserable. Then he added: “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.” And I wonder if that’s not a good parable for many people’s lives today.

Hope is something that God has offered us to help us keep our lives together until the very end.

Our hope, in short, is that Jesus is coming back to take us home.  John 14:1-3 (ESV) 1  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

More broadly, based on several texts, our hope is that Christ will return, raise us from the dead or meet us in the air, transform us so that our bodies are like his glorious body, take us to heaven so we can see God face to face & live with him there forever.  Salvation will be complete & we’ll enter into eternal life in heaven.

Our hope is solid. It is not wishful thinking or an outside chance.  

Hebrews 6:13-20 (ESV)
13  For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
14  saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”
15  And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
16  For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
17  So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18  so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
20  where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The reason it is secure is the basis it has. Our hope does have a foundation: (1 Peter 1:3 NIV)  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(1 Peter 1:21 NIV)  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Our hope is based on God raising Jesus from the dead.  So, because God raised Jesus from the dead, we have a solid hope that he will return and take us home.

The question isn’t whether we have a thorough understanding of hope but whether our hope is transforming the way we live. Are our lives noticeably different because of our hope that Jesus is coming back to take us home?

A woman diagnosed with a terminal illness called on her minister to plan her funeral. She had some ideas about what she hoped would happen, but she was insistent about one thing: “I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.

Her incredulous minister demanded an explanation. “Oh, it’s quite simple,” the woman said. “In all my years of attending church socials and potlucks, I always remember that, when they clear the dishes, someone will say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It’s my favorite part, because I know something better is coming. So I want people to see me there in that coffin with a fork in my hand and know: ‘Her best is still to come.’ ”

Here are some of the ways the Bible says our hope should affect us:

Give us Joy — (Romans 5:2 NIV)  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

(Romans 12:12 NIV)  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Lead to Praise: (1 Peter 1:3 NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

Give us Endurance: (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV)  We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cause us to Purify ourselves: (1 John 3:2-3 NIV)  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. {3} Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Speak openly even courageously to others: (2 Corinthians 3:12 NIV)  Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

The Bible teaches that our hope should have a noticeable effect on how we actually live our lives.  The one hope of the Christian has always rested upon the return of Christ and the blessings of the- future life” (Titus 2:13 ; I Peter 1 :13).

“Set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” ( I Corinthians 15 :19).

Strengthening our Hope (Bible gives several, I’ll mention 3).

Make sure our hope really is in God (not government or my own abilities; not here & now; not health & wealth gospel)

(Hebrews 13:14 NIV)  For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

(1 Timothy 6:17 NIV)  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

 (1 Peter 1:21 NIV)  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

 Choose to trust God.

(Romans 15:4 NIV)  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

(Romans 15:13 NIV)  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Hebrews 10:23 NIV)  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Be willing to learn from our suffering (Rom. 5:3-4).

(Romans 5:3-4 NIV)  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; {4} perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Ironically, one of the things that often robs me of hope is intended to be a means of increasing our hope.  When we suffer, whether it is for our faith or not, it is a God-given opportunity for us to develop perseverance.  If we persevere, that affects our character.

If our character becomes more like God’s, then we have all the more reason to hope. So, suffering gives us an opportunity to develop hope, but it isn’t automatic—we have to be willing to learn from it.

Be diligent in doing good

(Hebrews 6:10-12 NIV)  God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. {11} We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. {12} We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Summary: we have a hope that Jesus is coming back to take us home, our hope has a solid basis: the resurrection of Jesus, & we can strengthen our hope by making sure it really is

In the 1800s, when he was just a small boy, John Todd lost both of his parents.  A kind-hearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry.  Later on, this aunt became seriously ill, and in distress wrote Todd a letter.  She asked whether death would mean the end of everything, or could she hope for something beyond?

Here is the letter John Todd wrote in reply:

“It is now 35 years since I, as a boy of six, was left quite alone in the world.  You sent me word you would give me a home and be a kind mother to me.  I have never forgotten the day I made the long journey to your house.  I can still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming for me yourself, you sent your servant, Caesar, to fetch me.

“I remember my tears and anxiety as, perched high on your horse and clinging tight to Caesar, I rode off to my new home.  Night fell before we finished the journey, and I became lonely and afraid.  “Do you think she’ll go to bed before we get there?” I asked Caesar.

“Oh no!” he said reassuringly, “She’ll stay up for you.  When we get out of these woods, you’ll see her candle shining in the window.”

“Presently we did ride out into the clearing, and there, sure enough, was your candle.  I remember you were waiting at the door, that you put your arms close about me—a tired and bewildered little boy.  You had a fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting on the stove.  After supper you took me to my new room, heard me say my prayers, and then sat beside me till I fell asleep.

“Some day soon God will send for you, to take you to your new home.  Don’t fear the summons, the strange journey, or the messenger of death.  God can be trusted to do as much for you as you were kind enough to do for me so many years ago.

“At the end of the road you will find love and a welcome awaiting, and you will be safe in God’s care. “

 It’s the wise individual who can hope for the best, get ready for the worst, and take what God chooses to send.

I like the example of the hospice nurse, who had ministered to many as they faced death, trying to ease the transition. A minister asked her, “Do Christians die differently from others?” “Most definitely, yes,” she replied, “Christians really do die better.” Why do Christians die better? “They know it isn’t over.”

I am told the catacombs in Rome, those tunnels under the ancient city, where many of the early Christians were buried, reveal symbols of faith.

Three common symbols appear: the dove, the fish, and the anchor. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The letters of the Greek word for “fish,” ichthus, stand for the words Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. The anchor came from the idea that as Christians were going through difficult, insecure times, their hope anchored their souls.

I must insist that we take a few steps alongside the men on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) to make certain we see the other side of this difficult coin. The whole situation seemed to these two men to have no explanation. Their hopes and dreams were shattered.  There is all the poignant, wistful, bewildered regret in the world in their sorrowing words, “We were hoping that he was the one who was going to rescue Israel.”

They were the words of men whose hopes were dead and buried.  Then Jesus came and talked with them, and the meaning of life became clear and the darkness became light.

Life with Christ is an endless hope, without him a hopeless end

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2026 in Church, ephesians

 

Beliefs Matter: It Really Does Make A Difference What We Believe About the One Body – Ephesians 4:4; Romans 12:3-8

02 Mar

* Appreciation to Marvin Bryant

We receive from God’s Word much instruction on HOW we should live and WHAT we should believe.

An example of that is found in Ephesians 4:1-6. Verses 1-3 show us the how: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3  eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Verses 4-6 show us the what: 4  There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
5  one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Sometimes we might tempted to think we’d like more of the HOW and less of the WHAT. I don’t know which way that may go in your life, but the fact is that God has given us both of them.

In order for us to be a genuine people of God there is a certain life we need to live and also certain belief matters we need to share. Our lifestyle is tremendously important, but in this series we are focusing on the belief matters.

God gives us 7 belief matters that we need to hold on to in order to be a part of God’s true people—these are beliefs that really matter. Today we are going to look at the first one he mentions, the one body, which is a reference to the church.

Every true believer is a part of God’s one church.

(Matthew 16:13-18 NIV)  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” {14} They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” {15} “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” {16} Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” {17} Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. {18} And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

The One Body is the church that Jesus built in the 1st century.

Chrisian means “one who belongs to Christ,” and that should be our primary identity as individuals. The primary group identity is that we belong to the one body.

More than any other identity I may have as an individual, I see myself as “Christian.” Church refers to the group of all those who belong to Christ and that should be our primary group identity. More than anything else that gives me identity, I am a Christian, part of the body church.

Secondarily I may be right-handed, good-looking and funny or maybe not. Maybe I’m rich, liberal, democrat, Republican, Lithuanian, basketball player, from Montana or Tennessee, a guitar player, who loves quiche, but all that is secondary to my main identity as a Christian, a part of the church.

Because I am a believer and if you are a believer—we have a unique relationship to all others who are also part of this one body.

Let’s turn to Romans 12 for a few moments. There’s a little verse there that might “get next to you” a little. Some of the things we see in this series are going to “rub us wrong.” They have that tendency in my life, unless I take on a particular mindset. But it’s only fair that if it “bugs” me I ought to inflict some of that one you!

Being a part of God’s one church includes having a unique relationship and connection with everyone else who is a part of this group:

(Romans 12:4-5 NIV)  Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, {5} so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Did you notice anything there at “rubs you wrong?”

You’ll notice that the phrase “belongs to all the others” differs from the independent spirit Americans value, but American is not my primary identity—that’s secondary to this.

We have this God-created connection even with people who are different from us and with whom we might not otherwise associate:

(Galatians 3:28 NIV)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Besides, those identities are secondary:

  •  But this does mean, like it or not, that we have that special connection with those Christians whose secondary identity is Democrat and those whose secondary identity is Republican.
  •  You & I belong to those believers whose secondary identity is liberal & to those whose secondary identity is conservative.
  •  You & I belong to those Christians who also, secondarily, could be described as poor, middle class, or rich.
  •  We are all one & we all belong to each other. Not all of these will meet together in the same worship assembly, due to distance certainly, sometimes due to differing languages & perhaps sometimes due to different cultural matters, but never due to barriers that are secular and fleshly.
  •  But even in circumstance when we don’t all meet together, we are all still a part of the one people of God.

As we continue to go through a list of our oneness with people of all kinds of secondary identities, at some point we may begin to wonder whether all those people are a part of God’s church….or if we can be comfortable in some associations.

It is true, according to Jesus, that not everyone who claims to belong to him really does :

(Matthew 7:21 NIV)  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

There will be times when we will have to come to some conclusions about who is part of the one body. How do we come to those decisions? We let God and His Word tell us! If we should begin a process to add shepherds to the leadership of this congregation, we would want to use God’s definition to make certain they are Christians, wouldn’t we?

While it will never be my place (or yours) to decide on the eternal fate of anyone, we will be called upon from time to time to let God’s word define and clear up some matters as they relate to our ministry here at Parkway or in the community.

According to Jesus, you know by their fruit, the way they live their lives. According to Eph 4, beliefs matter also, at least some certain core beliefs.

As we go about involving people in our various ministries and having fellowship with others, we will sometimes have to make some decisions about whether we think a person in fact is a part of God’s people, but we need to remember those decisions are not definitive. God knows who his people are; we too will often know, although not perfectly.

In this one group of God’s people, not only are we different in that we have a great variety of secondary identities, we are also different in gifts. In this way we are similar to a human body—many parts to our bodies, and each part has a different function. That’s how we are in the body of Christ.

So what? We are all a part of God’s one church, we all belong to each other, even with people who have a secondary identity that’s really different from us, and we all have different gifts/functions. So what? Well, what we really believe about these matters will affect the way we live. It’s easy to say we agree with these truths God has given us about the one body, but the test of whether we really do believe them is how we live our lives, especially how we live them in relation to the other parts of the one body

Some lifestyle matters that test whether we really believe in the One Body.

Attitude toward other members of the One body

(1 Corinthians 12:14-16 NIV)  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. {15} If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. {16} And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (if you believe you are inferior to others in this one body, I am not so certain that you truly believe in the one body of Christ.)

(1 Corinthians 12:21 NIV)  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (if you believe you are superior than someone else in this one body, I am not so certain that you truly believe in the one body of Christ.)

(1 Corinthians 12:24-25 NIV)  while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, {25} so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

If you believe in the one body, you know we are equally special and important!

(Romans 12:15 NIV)  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

(1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV)  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

When someone is hurting, to say “don’t cry” or “get over it” contradicts the word of God. To rejoice at someone’s misfortune contradicts the word of God. To be disappointed when someone is blessed or rewarded contradicts the word of God. If we do such things, it calls into question whether we really believe we are all part of the One Body of Christ.

Attitude toward and use of our gift(s) in the One Body.

Respect the diversity of gifts. Don’t insist everyone be like you. Do you have the misshaped idea that everybody ought to be involved in the ministry you are involved in…rather than realizing that we have different interests and talents…and we need all of them!

Don’t seek to have a gift you don’t have for wrong reasons: the ones you may humanly perceive to be more prestigious or powerful or self-gratifying. That’s not what these are about.

Whatever gift or gifts we do have, we are to use them to serve & edify the One Body.

(Romans 12:6-8 NIV)  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. {7} If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; {8} if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

(1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV)  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

(1 Corinthians 14:3 NIV)  But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

What God has enable us to do is not about me & my gift & making a name for myself; it’s about using the gifts God has entrusted to me for the benefit of others.

Whether we respect the diversity of gifts & use ours for others, indicates whether we believe in the One Body.

If we think “this thing we do called church” is primarily about attendance, I question whether we believe in the One Body.

Love for other members of the One Body.

(1 Corinthians 12:31 NIV)  But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

When it comes to my relationships w/ all the other members of the One Body, am I … (vv. 4-7)? Paul is painfully specific about what it means to be “lovers of the one body!” You don’t hear Paul saying “well you have to love them but you don’t have to like them.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV)  Love is patient…kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. {5} It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. {6} Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. {7} It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Whether we love all the other members of the body indicates whether we believe in the One Body.

 
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Posted by on March 2, 2026 in Church, ephesians

 

“Does It Really Matter What One Believes” Ephesians 4:1-6

26 Feb

*Appreciation to Marvin Bryant for many great thoughts…

A few years ago a man and woman in Long Beach, California stopped and bought some fried chicken for a picnic. When the clerk took their money she somehow, mindlessly, enclosed a large stack of the cash register’s money in with their food. When they arrived at the picnic spot and found the money, the man instantly said they had to return it, which they did.

The frantic manager was thrilled to meet someone of such honesty. He wanted to call the newspaper and have the man’s picture and story printed. The man refused, which is even more impressive as long as you think it was due to his humility. But the story turns sour when you find out the reason he didn’t want to call the newspaper is that the woman he was picnicking with wasn’t his wife but was in fact someone else’s.

That sick feeling you have right now is why we need to be genuine as God’s people…this “thing” we’re doing here is not about ritual or numbers, but we’re seeking to be a church that belongs to Christ…individuals who want a high moral standard that includes lifestyle, attitudes & beliefs.

From the front page of some website:

“…is part of a fellowship of independent congregations known as the churches of Christ, with roots in the Restoration Movement. We seek to shed our individual differences and unite on the simple truths of the New Testament. We are far from accomplishing this ideal, but we do seek to follow God’s word in an open and authentic way.
   “We are not a perfect church. We are a church where imperfect people can connect with a perfect God, where people can grow together, learn together, and serve together. We are each unique members of Christ’s body, using the gifts His Spirit provides to build each other up, lift up Jesus Christ in this community, and reach the world with the Good News! We’d love for you to join with us on this journey. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.”

 Beliefs matter.  Jesus confronted the Sadducees regarding their disbelief on the subject of the resurrection in  Matthew 22. He stopped their ‘trap’ but he also exposed the error of their belief.

When Apollos began to preach the word of God in Acts 18-19, he was “off” on the subject of baptism and it was corrected.

We are to use wisdom and grace in building people up and bringing people into the “way of the Lord more perfectly” (Acts 18:24-28; Col. 4:5-6; Eph. 4:29).

(Acts 18:24-28)  Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. {25} He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. {26} He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. {27} When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. {28} For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Colossians 4:5-6 (NIV) 5  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) 29  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Which beliefs matter? Is it what the elders offer as “official church policy?” Do you have to follow lock-step with everything the preacher or favorite Bible class teacher presents? Of course not!

We will have our own ideas about many subjects, but on some subjects there can be no real discussion, if it fits in the area of God’s Word and it is clearly given by direct command, necessary inference, or is based upon the teaching in the 1st century of the apostles of Christ.

Right doctrine is essential to right living. It is impossible to live a faithful Christian life without knowing biblical doctrine. Doctrine simply means teaching, and there is no way that even the most sincere believer can live a life pleasing to God without knowing what God Himself is like and knowing the sort of life God wants him to live.

When people say, “Don’t talk to me about doctrine—just let me live my Christian life!” they are revealing their ignorance of the way the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer.

“It makes no difference what you believe, just as long as you live right” is a similar confession of ignorance. It does make a difference what you believe, because what you believe determines how you behave!

The main idea in these first sixteen verses is the unity of believers in Christ. This is simply the practical application of the doctrine taught in the first half of the letter: God is building a body, a temple. He has reconciled Jews and Gentiles to Himself in Christ. The oneness of believers in Christ is already a spiritual reality. Our responsibility is to guard, protect, and preserve that unity.

Most denominational members would be surprised to discover that their chosen religious affiliation is less than 500 years old. Many people assume that the church of which they are members is ancient in origin, divinely ordained, and a part of the church revealed in the New Testament.

It doesn’t always occur to them that there were no denominations in New Testament days. When the church was established in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, there was one church with Christ as the head and the apostles as pillars of faith as they did exactly what Jesus had trained them to do.

That church was planned (Eph. 3:10-11), prophesied (Isaiah 2:2-3), prepared (Matt. 3:1-2), and promised (Matt. 16:18) before it existence. The kingdom came with power (Mark 9:1) when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 1:8).

The gospel was preached, sinners responded to that resurrected Savior, they repented, they were immersed in water for remission of sins, and they began the Christian walk.

How simple! And how tragic today that so many have changed that simple beginning with their own ideas and teachings. How thrilling it is to find people in the Ukraine (for instance) who were given Bibles in years past and began reading it and with little or no help from outside teachers, became New Testament Christian and began worshipping in ways God approved through the apostles and first century Christians.

 At Pentecost, every person obeyed the same gospel, became members of the same body, and ultimately wore the same name.

Jesus prayed that His followers would be united (Jn. 17:21-23).

(John 17:20-23)  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, {21} that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. {22} I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: {23} I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

 Those who cause factions are to be rejected

(Titus 3:10)  Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.

Men who cause dissensions are to be avoided

(Romans 16:17)  I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

Tim Stafford (OCC professor) tells of a minister who used a jar full of beans in teaching. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates. Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right.

He then turns to the list of their favorite songs. “And which one of these is closest to being right?” he asks. The students protest that there is no “right answer”; a person’s favorite song is purely a matter of taste. And the teacher agrees.

But then he asks, “When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?” Always, and amazingly, he gets the same answer, from old as well as young: they say choosing one’s faith is more like choosing a favorite song than knowing the # of beans in the jar.

IF that is true, then what we believe has more to do with what we like or what we will not accept. The issue of God’s authority is taken out of the equation!

One of the main reasons that cults in our day have had such an impact on the world is their unity. Disharmony is not tolerated. Though misguided, misused, and often totalitarian, such unity is attractive to many people who are tired of religious uncertainty, ambiguity, and confusion.

Few of us who have attended church for a number of years have not been in or known of a congregation where there was a split or at least serious quarreling. The problem has existed in the church from New Testament times. The Corinthian believers fell short of the Lord’s standards in many ways, and the first thing for which Paul called them to task was quarreling.

Quarrels are a part of life. We grow up in them and around them. Infants are quick to express displeasure when they are not given something they want or when something they like is taken away. Little children cry, fight, and throw tantrums because they cannot have their own ways.

(James 4:1-2)  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? {2} You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.).

What the Lord laments and opposes, Satan applauds and fosters. Few things demoralize, discourage, and weaken a church as much as bickering, backbiting, and fighting among its members. And few things so effectively undermine its testimony before the world.

The church we see in the New Testament was planned (Eph. 3:10-11), prophesied (Isaiah 2:2-3), prepared (Matt. 3:1-2), and promised (Matt. 16:18) before it existence.

At Pentecost, every person obeyed the same gospel, became members of the same body, and ultimately wore the same name.

God is much more desirous of people being saved, than of their being condemned

(Ezekiel 18:23)  Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

 (John 3:17)  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

 (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2026 in Church, Doctrine, ephesians

 

Beliefs Matter: “It Does Really Matter…What One Believes About One Hope” – Ephesians 4:4; John 14:1-3 H

16 Sep

Hope is something that God gives to help us keep our lives together until the very end.

Ephesians 4:4 (ESV)
4  There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

John 14:1-3 (ESV)
1  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
2  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Halford E. Luccock, in Unfinished Business, tells the story of a man who fascinated his dinner companions one night by telling of his experiences in the little town of Flagstaff, Maine, in Somerset Count. The town was to be abandoned and flooded and become a part of a large lake. A dam was being built which would submerge the little town. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months?

Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more unprofitable, more miserable. Then he added: “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.” And I wonder if that’s not a good parable for many people’s lives today.

Hope is something that God has offered us to help us keep our lives together until the very end.

Where are we in our study of these seven 1’s?

There is only one body of believers, the church, which is composed of every saint who has trusted or will trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. There is no denominational, geographical, ethnic, or racial body. There is no Gentile, Jewish, male, female, slave, or freeman body. There is only Christ’s body, and the unity of that body is the heart of the book of Ephesians.

Obviously there is but one Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, who is possessed by every believer and who is therefore the inner unifying force in the body. Believers are individual temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16-17) that are collectively “being fitted together [and are] growing into a holy temple in the Lord,… being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22).

The Spirit “is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:14). He is the divine engagement ring (pledge), as it were, who guarantees that every believer will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9).

If all Christians were walking in obedience to and in the power of the Holy Spirit, first our doctrine and then our relationships would be purified and unified. The spiritual unity that already exists would be practically manifested in complete harmony among the people of God.

It is one of the 7 key truths listed in Ephesians 4 that hold God’s people together. Belief matters.  Not so much because we’re going to have a doctrinal test in order to go to heaven, but because healthy beliefs lead to healthy spiritual lives, and unhealthy beliefs lead to unhealthy spiritual lives.

Our hope, in short, is that Jesus is coming back to take us home.

More broadly, based on several texts, our hope is that Christ will return, raise us from the dead or meet us in the air, transform us so that our bodies are like his glorious body, take us to heaven so we can see God face to face & live with him there forever.  Salvation will be complete & we’ll enter into eternal life in heaven.

Our hope is solid. It is not wishful thinking or an outside chance.  According to Heb. 6 it is firm and secure and can serve as an anchor for our souls.

The reason it is secure is the basis it has. Our hope does have a foundation: (1 Peter 1:3 NIV)  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

(1 Peter 1:21 NIV)  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Our hope is based on God raising Jesus from the dead. 

So, because God raised Jesus from the dead, we have a solid hope that he will return and take us home.

The question isn’t whether we have a thorough understanding of hope but whether our hope is transforming the way we live. Are our lives noticeably different because of our hope that Jesus is coming back to take us home? 

Here are some of the ways the Bible says our hope should affect us:

Give us Joy — (Romans 5:2 NIV)  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

(Romans 12:12 NIV)  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Lead to Praise: (1 Peter 1:3 NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,                

Give us Endurance: (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV)  We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cause us to Purify ourselves: (1 John 3:2-3 NIV)  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. {3} Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Speak openly even courageously to others: (2 Corinthians 3:12 NIV)  Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

The Bible teaches that our hope should have a noticeable effect on how we actually live our lives.  The one hope of the Christian has always rested upon the return of Christ and the blessings of the- future life” (Titus 2:13 ; I Peter 1 :13).

“Set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” ( I Corinthians 15 :19).

Strengthening our Hope (Bible gives several, I’ll mention 3).

Make sure our hope really is in God (not government or my own abilities; not here & now; not health & wealth gospel)

(Hebrews 13:14 NIV)  For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

(1 Timothy 6:17 NIV)  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

 (1 Peter 1:21 NIV)  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

 Choose to trust God. 

(Romans 15:4 NIV)  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

(Romans 15:13 NIV)  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Hebrews 10:23 NIV)  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Be willing to learn from our suffering (Rom. 5:3-4).  (Romans 5:3-4 NIV)  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; {4} perseverance, character; and character, hope.

       Ironically, one of the things that often robs me of hope is intended to be a means of increasing our hope.  When we suffer, whether it is for our faith or not, it is a God-given opportunity for us to develop perseverance.  If we persevere, that affects our character. If our character becomes more like God’s, then we have all the more reason to hope. So, suffering gives us an opportunity to develop hope, but it isn’t automatic—we have to be willing to learn from it.

       Be diligent in doing good. (Hebrews 6:10-12 NIV)  God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. {11} We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. {12} We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

     Sum: we have a hope that Jesus is coming back to take us home, our hope has a solid basis: the resurrection of Jesus, & we can strengthen our hope by making sure it really is.

In the 1800s, when he was just a small boy, John Todd lost both of his parents.  A kind-hearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry.  Later on, this aunt became seriously ill, and in distress wrote Todd a letter.  She asked whether death would mean the end of everything, or could she hope for something beyond?  Here is the letter John Todd wrote in reply:

   “It is now 35 years since I, as a boy of six, was left quite alone in the world.  You sent me word you would give me a home and be a kind mother to me.  I have never forgotten the day I made the long journey to your house.  I can still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming for me yourself, you sent your servant, Caesar, to fetch me. 

   “I remember my tears and anxiety as, perched high on your horse and clinging tight to Caesar, I rode off to my new home.  Night fell before we finished the journey, and I became lonely and afraid.  “Do you think she’ll go to bed before we get there?” I asked Caesar.

   “Oh no!” he said reassuringly, “She’ll stay up for you.  When we get out of these woods, you’ll see her candle shining in the window.”

   “Presently we did ride out into the clearing, and there, sure enough, was your candle.  I remember you were waiting at the door, that you put your arms close about me—a tired and bewildered little boy.  You had a fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting on the stove.  After supper you took me to my new room, heard me say my prayers, and then sat beside me till I fell asleep.

   “Some day soon God will send for you, to take you to your new home.  Don’t fear the summons, the strange journey, or the messenger of death.  God can be trusted to do as much for you as you were kind enough to do for me so many years ago.  At the end of the road you will find love and a welcome awaiting, and you will be safe in God’s care. “

 
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Posted by on September 16, 2024 in Church

 

Beliefs Matter: It Really Does Make A Difference What We Believe About the One Body Ephesians 4:4; Romans 12:3-8

09 Sep

* Appreciation to Marvin Bryant

In the year 1212 a French shepherd boy by the name of Steven claimed…he’d had a vision from God and it was an appearance where Jesus told him to go to the Holy Land and pick up a letter and deliver it to the king of France. He set out and as he traveled he told anyone who would listen and before long he had a huge crowd of children. He eventually arrived at the Marci and the waters of the Mediterranean did not part as they had anticipated. Instead they met two men, Hugo Ferris and William Porcos, who were impressed with what they perceived their mission to be….and offered them free  passage across the Mediterranean. Several hundred children boarded one of the seven ships provided…but instead of going to the holy land, they were taken to north  Africa and to the Muslin slave markets, where Steven and everyone of the children were sold into slavery. They never reached the holy land.

Beliefs matter.

If we don’t believe God’s truths, we won’t reach the promised land either. Not because we failed an arbitrary doctrinal test, but because unhealthy beliefs lead to unhealthy spiritual life; our beliefs affect the way we live, leading us to spiritual health or spiritual ruin. Beliefs matter.

We received from God’s Word much instruction on HOW we should live and WHAT we should believe. Sometimes we might tempted to think we’d like more of the HOW and less of the WHAT. I don’t know which way that may go in your life, but the fact is that God has given us both of them.

Last week we noticed that in order for us to be a genuine people of God there is a certain life we need to live and also certain belief matters we need to share. Our lifestyle is tremendously important, but in this series we are focusing on the belief matters.

We noticed that in Eph 4 God gives us 7 belief matters that we need to hold on to in order to be a part of God’s true people—these are beliefs that really matter. Today we are going to look at the first one he mentions, the one body, which is a reference to the church.

Every true believer is a part of God’s one church (Matt. 16:13-18)

(Matthew 16:13-18 NIV)  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” {14} They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” {15} “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” {16} Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” {17} Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. {18} And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

The One Body is the church that Jesus built in the 1st century.

Chrisian means “one who belongs to Christ,” and that should be our primary identity as individuals. The primary group identity is that we belong to the one body.

More than any other identity I may have as an individual, I see myself as “Christian.” Church refers to the group of all those who belong to Christ and that should be our primary group identity. More than anything else that gives me identity, I am a Christian, part of the body church.

Secondarily I may be right-handed, good-looking and funny or maybe not. Maybe I’m rich, liberal, democrat, Republican, Lithuanian, basketball player, from Montana or Tennessee, a guitar player, who loves quiche, but all that is secondary to my main identity as a Christian, a part of the church.

Because I am a believer and if you are a believer—we have a unique relationship to all others who are also part of this one body.

Let’s turn to Romans 12 for a few moments. There’s a little verse there that might “get next to you” a little. Some of the things we see in this series are going to “rub us wrong.” They have that tendency in my life, unless I take on a particular mindset. But it’s only fair that if it “bugs” me I ought to inflict some of that one you!

Being a part of God’s one church includes having a unique relationship and connection with everyone else who is a part of this group:

(Romans 12:4-5 NIV)  Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, {5} so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Did you notice anything there at “rubs you wrong?”

You’ll notice that the phrase “belongs to all the others” differs from the independent spirit Americans value, but American is not my primary identity—that’s secondary to this.

We have this God-created connection even with people who are different from us and with whom we might not otherwise associate:

(Galatians 3:28 NIV)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Besides, those identities are secondary:

  •  But this does mean, like it or not, that we have that special connection with those Christians whose secondary identity is Democrat and those whose secondary identity is Republican.
  •  You & I belong to those believers whose secondary identity is liberal & to those whose secondary identity is conservative.
  •  You & I belong to those Christians who also, secondarily, could be described as poor, middle class, or rich.
  •  We are all one & we all belong to each other. Not all of these will meet together in the same worship assembly, due to distance certainly, sometimes due to differing languages & perhaps sometimes due to different cultural matters, but never due to barriers that are secular and fleshly.
  •  But even in circumstance when we don’t all meet together, we are all still a part of the one people of God.

As we continue to go through a list of our oneness with people of all kinds of secondary identities, at some point we may begin to wonder whether all those people are a part of God’s church….or if we can be comfortable in some associations.

It is true, according to Jesus, that not everyone who claims to belong to him really does :

(Matthew 7:21 NIV)  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

There will be times when we will have to come to some conclusions about who is part of the one body. How do we come to those decisions? We let God and His Word tell us! If we should begin a process to add shepherds to the leadership of this congregation, we would want to use God’s definition to make certain they are Christians, wouldn’t we?

While it will never be my place (or yours) to decide on the eternal fate of anyone, we will be called upon from time to time to let God’s word define and clear up some matters as they relate to our ministry here at Parkway or in the community.

According to Jesus, you know by their fruit, the way they live their lives. According to Eph 4, beliefs matter also, at least some certain core beliefs.

As we go about involving people in our various ministries and having fellowship with others, we will sometimes have to make some decisions about whether we think a person in fact is a part of God’s people, but we need to remember those decisions are not definitive. God knows who his people are; we too will often know, although not perfectly.

In this one group of God’s people, not only are we different in that we have a great variety of secondary identities, we are also different in gifts. In this way we are similar to a human body—many parts to our bodies, and each part has a different function. That’s how we are in the body of Christ.

So what? We are all a part of God’s one church, we all belong to each other, even with people who have a secondary identity that’s really different from us, and we all have different gifts/functions. So what? Well, what we really believe about these matters will affect the way we live. It’s easy to say we agree with these truths God has given us about the one body, but the test of whether we really do believe them is how we live our lives, especially how we live them in relation to the other parts of the one body

Some lifestyle matters that test whether we really believe in the One Body.

Attitude toward other members of the One body

(1 Corinthians 12:14-16 NIV)  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. {15} If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. {16} And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (if you believe you are inferior to others in this one body, I am not so certain that you truly believe in the one body of Christ.)

(1 Corinthians 12:21 NIV)  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (if you believe you are superior than someone else in this one body, I am not so certain that you truly believe in the one body of Christ.)

(1 Corinthians 12:24-25 NIV)  while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, {25} so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

If you believe in the one body, you know we are equally special and important!

(Romans 12:15 NIV)  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

(1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV)  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

When someone is hurting, to say “don’t cry” or “get over it” contradicts the word of God. To rejoice at someone’s misfortune contradicts the word of God. To be disappointed when someone is blessed or rewarded contradicts the word of God. If we do such things, it calls into question whether we really believe we are all part of the One Body of Christ.

Attitude toward and use of our gift(s) in the One Body.

Respect the diversity of gifts. Don’t insist everyone be like you. Do you have the misshaped idea that everybody ought to be involved in the ministry you are involved in…rather than realizing that we have different interests and talents…and we need all of them!

Don’t seek to have a gift you don’t have for wrong reasons: the ones you may humanly perceive to be more prestigious or powerful or self-gratifying. That’s not what these are about.

Whatever gift or gifts we do have, we are to use them to serve & edify the One Body.

(Romans 12:6-8 NIV)  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. {7} If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; {8} if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

(1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV)  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

(1 Corinthians 14:3 NIV)  But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

What God has enable us to do is not about me & my gift & making a name for myself; it’s about using the gifts God has entrusted to me for the benefit of others.

Whether we respect the diversity of gifts & use ours for others, indicates whether we believe in the One Body.

If we think “this thing we do called church” is primarily about attendance, I question whether we believe in the One Body.

Love for other members of the One Body.

(1 Corinthians 12:31 NIV)  But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

When it comes to my relationships w/ all the other members of the One Body, am I … (vv. 4-7)? Paul is painfully specific about what it means to be “lovers of the one body!” You don’t hear Paul saying “well you have to love them but you don’t have to like them.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV)  Love is patient…kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. {5} It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. {6} Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. {7} It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Whether we love all the other members of the body indicates whether we believe in the One Body.

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2024 in Church

 

A study of 1 Corinthians: #1 Addressing the ‘main’ issues (an introduction)

07 Nov

Solomon observed in his day that “there is nothing new under the sun.” He tried to prepare his generation for a thought we need to hear today: “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, forever.”

When some of us were much younger, because of the disillusionment with organized religion, people were saying “Jesus, yes! The church, no!” They were hearing about church problems and deciding they wanted little or nothing to do “with that group,” though, if truth be known, they were not in the midst of God’s people so they weren’t getting the full picture. Those same words could also be said today.

  1. It reminds me of a phrase heard early in my ministry: “To live above with those we love, O, that will be glory. But to dwell below with those we know, well, that’s another story.”
  2. Charles Hodge has this response: “Stick with those you’re stuck with!” when discussing sectarianism, which we will discuss more completely next Sunday.

These sentiments could have been used it with sincerity in Corinth back in AD 56, because the local church there was in serious trouble. Sad to say, the problems did not stay within the church family; they were known by the unbelievers outside the church.

But what does ‘that’ have to do with ‘us?’ You are fair to ask that question, but I am of the belief (and I know many of you think the same way) that this “eternal book” has much to say to our generation.

It’s From God to us: Perhaps you are of the minority today who may wonder: How do these ancient words apply today? We are distanced from the original readers by time, space, culture, and language. But we do share five striking similarities with the Corinthian Christians:

  1. We are people equally needing God’s truthful instruction.
  2. We live in a similar aggressively pluralistic society that denies absolutes and makes “personal rights” absolute.
  3. This claim to personal rights challenges the lordship of Jesus Christ within the church today, even as it did then.
  4. The ancient philosophy that “might and money make right” continues to divide churches and destroy people’s lives.
  5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ remains the solid fact upon which our faith rests. To some, it will always be a stumbling block.

My conclusion: so, in spite of the obvious differences between ourselves and the Corinthians, the points of similarity make it crucial that we read this letter as God’s Word for our day. He is going to be talking to me and you!

Somehow, an expression of thanksgiving is not what I would have expected from Paul at this point in time. Here is a church that has begun to listen to false teachers and who is challenging Paul’s authority. Here is a church which condones immorality and “unconditionally accepts” a man whose sin shocks the unbelieving pagans of that city. Here is a church whose personal conflicts are being aired out before unbelieving eyes in secular courts. How can Paul possibly give thanks?

Paul believed that the real cause of the Corinthians’ problem was not errant philosophies but a lack of love for each other. Instead of unifying around the gospel message, the Corinthians had created divisions by asserting themselves in public worship and at the Lord’s Supper. They had sided with one teacher over another.

Paul does not give thanks for the sins and failures of these saints. Paul gives thanks to God for what He has done and for what He will ultimately do for His children.

To deal with this deeper issue, Paul encouraged the Corinthians to focus on Christ. As members of Christ’s body, they should be united to do Christ’s work. If they could learn to love each other, they would grow in their faith. Thus, the unifying theme of this corrective letter is the unity of Christians in Christ’s body, the church (12:13). [1]

 ————————

If we had any doubts  about what Paul was excited  about, what was at the center of his thoughts and intentions, this first paragraph of one of his most varied and lengthy letters would soon put  us straight.

One name keeps coming  up, over and over again. It’s good to remind  ourselves where Paul’s heart  lay, because we can easily read the whole  letter merely as an  argumentative tract,  almost  bossy sometimes, setting the Corinthians right about  this and that, as though  his only concern was to lick them  into shape.

In the first 10 verses of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the name of Jesus Christ occurs no fewer than ten times. This was going to be a difficult letter for it was going to deal with a difficult situation, and in such a situation Paul’s first and repeated thought was of Jesus Christ.

Paul couldn’t stop  talking  about Jesus, because without Jesus nothing  else he said or did made any sense. And what he wants the Corinthians (and us) to get hold of most of all is what it means to have Jesus at the middle of your story, your life, your thoughts,  your  imagination. N. T. Wright said: “If they could do that,  all the other  issues that  rush  to and fro  through the letter will  sort themselves out.”

I’ve said over the years that we need to “fall in love with Jesus Christ,” and IF we do, some of the things we’re asked to do will be less difficult!

In particular, he wants  them  to have Jesus at the center of their understanding of the world and of history.  Most of the Christians  in Corinth  had   not   been   Jews,  but   ordinary ‘pagans’.  They had  been Gentiles, believing in various  gods and goddesses….But without any idea that  history,  the story of the world, was going anywhere,  or that their own lives might be  part  of  that  forward movement.

Again  and  again  Paul wants them to learn this lesson: that they (and all Christians) have/should be caught up into  a great movement  of the love and power of the one true God, the God of Israel, whose work for the whole world had now  been  unveiled  through the  events concerning his  son. That’s why Jesus is at the center of the picture.

Sometimes in the Church we try to deal with a difficult situation by means of a book of laws and in the spirit of human justice; sometimes in our own affairs we try to deal with a difficult situation in our own mental and spiritual power. Paul did none of these things; to his difficult situation he took Jesus Christ, and it was in the light of the Cross of Christ and the love of Christ that he sought to deal with it.

How do these issues arise in the church?

  1. Church of “faith” compared to the “church of fact.”
  2. Importance of holding a “private view” after “we don’t/won’t do that here.”

The members of the church permitted the sins of the city to get into the local assembly.

Corinth was a polluted city, filled with every kind of vice and worldly pleasure. About the lowest accusation you could make against a man in that day would be to call him “a Corinthian.” People would know what you were talking about.

Corinth was also a proud, philosophical city, with many itinerant teachers promoting their speculations. Unfortunately, this philosophical approach was applied to the Gospel by some members of the church, and this fostered division. The congregation was made up of different “schools of thought” instead of being united behind the Gospel message.

Of course, when you have proud people, depending on human wisdom, adopting the lifestyle of the world, you are going to have problems. In order to help them solve their problems, Paul opened his letter by reminding them of their calling in Christ. He pointed out three important aspects of this calling.

Paul first attacked the serious problem of defilement in the church, yet he said nothing about the problem itself. Instead, he took the positive approach and reminded the believers of their high and holy position in Jesus Christ.

“Set apart” by God – 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 (ESV) Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wanted the minds of the Corinthian believers to be immediately centered upon Jesus Christ. He knew this: the answer to the Corinthian problems did not lay in his ability to discuss and reason, nor in his laying down rules and regulations for them, but in Jesus Christ. Therefore, he immediately discussed some of the resources which the believer receives when he accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.

  1. Resource 1: the grace of God, given by Jesus Christ (v. 4).
  2. Resource 2: the gifts of God’s grace and Spirit (vv. 5–7).
  3. Resource 3: Jesus Christ Himself—His security and assurance (v. 8).
  4. Resource 4: God Himself—His call (v. 9).[2]

Look how, with a few deft strokes of the pen, he sketches a picture of the Christians in Corinth so that at every point their story is intertwined with Jesus’ story.

To begin with, God has set them  aside  for  his  own  special  purposes  in  Christ; that’s  what ‘made  holy’ means  (verse 2).

From God’s point  of view; it means that   he  has  set  people  aside for  special  purposes;  and  the people in question  are expected to co-operate  with this. That, indeed, is what quite a lot of the letter will be about.

The word church in the Greek language means “a called-out people.” Each church has two addresses: a geographic address (“at Vallejo”) and a spiritual address (“in Christ Jesus”). The church is made up of saints, that is, people who have been “sanctified” or “set apart” by God. A saint is not a dead person who has been honored by men because of his or her holy life. No, Paul wrote to living saints, people who, through faith in Jesus Christ, had been set apart for God’s special enjoyment and use.

When a man and woman pledge their love to each other, they are set apart for each other; and any other relationship outside of marriage is sinful. Just so, the Christian belongs completely to Jesus Christ; he is set apart for Him and Him alone.

But once they’ve been set aside as special, they discover that they are part of a large and growing worldwide  family, brothers and  sisters of everyone  who ‘calls on the  name  of our  Lord King Jesus’. In fact, ‘calling on’ this name  is the  one and  only sign of membership in this family, though people in Paul’s day and ever since have tried to introduce other  signs of member­ ship as well.

Enriched by God’s grace (vv. 4-6).  I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5  that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6  even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—

Paul thanked God for the Corinthian believers. During the Thanksgiving holiday, we focus on our blessings and express our gratitude to God for them. But thanks should be expressed every day. We can never say thank you enough to parents, friends, leaders, and especially to God. When thanksgiving becomes an integral part of your life, you will find that your attitude toward life will change. You will become more positive, gracious, loving, and humble. Whom do you need to thank today?

As in most of his letters, Paul follows the opening greeting by  telling  them  what  he thanks  God for  when  he thinks  of them – using the opportunity, in the process, to hint at some of the  things  he’s going to be talking  about  later  on.

Notice how  he  moves  from  what  happened to  them   in  the  past, through the sort of people they are in the present, to the hope they have for the future, with Jesus at the center at every stage. God gave them his ‘grace’ in Jesus (verse 4).

‘Grace’ is one of those little words that contains a whole universe of meaning, summing  up the fact that God loved them and acted decisively on their behalf even though  they had done nothing  whatever to deserve it, but rather the opposite.

Expecting Jesus to return (v. 7). …so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Christians who are looking for their Savior will want to keep their lives above reproach.

Depending on God’s faithfulness (vv. 8-9). …who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

As Christians, one of the strongest rebukes we can have when we sin is to be reminded of who our Father is. And reminding ourselves of whose we are should be one of our strongest deterrents to sin. Remembering our position can compel us to improve our practice.”[3]

Paul isn’t talking about  problems  at the moment.  God called them in the past, God equips them in the present, and God will complete the whole process in the future.  World history, and the story of the Christian life, has a shape, and Jesus is its shaper  at every point.

Christian  must always be leaning forwards towards  God’s finishing line, ‘eagerly waiting for our Lord, King Jesus to be revealed’. One of you called this “our exit plan” recently.

There is corning a day – like ‘the   day of  the  God   in  the   Old  Testament,   only  more so – when the hidden  truth about the world will be unveiled; this truth will turn out to be a person, and the person will turn out to be Jesus.

Writing this letter, in other words, is part of the process by which  God intends  to take these Christians  from  the one to  the  other,  from  God’s past  achievement  to  God’s  future finishing of the job. May God grant that it will have that effect on us, too.

[1] Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). 1 & 2 Corinthians (pp. 9–10). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide, The First & Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 9.

[3] John MacArthur, 1 Corinthians: Godly Solutions for Church Problems, MacArthur Bible Studies (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2001), 12.

 
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Posted by on November 7, 2022 in 1 Corinthians, Church

 

Ministry to missing members: How to respond when people are in danger of ‘dropping out of church.’

03 Jan

Saint John Lutheran Church, Charter Oak, Iowa: We Miss YOU!

The Apathetic and Bored Church Member

John S. Savage wrote a doctoral dissertation several years ago on inactive members and the steps they go through to become ‘permanently’ inactive. I believe it will be advantageous for all of us to be aware of these steps and be ready to assist our brothers and sisters if a need arises.

1. The first step is an anxiety-provoking event.

An incident which produces some type of anxiety or uncomfortable feeling in the active member (1) Conflict with the minister; (2) Conflict with another family member; (3) Conflict with another church member.

We found 95 percent of the people had experienced what we now call an “anxiety-provoking event”-an ape. Subsequent research showed these events usually come in clusters, several apes compounding within six months to a year.

Anxiety is the emotional alarm system triggered by disequilibrium, hurt, or anticipated hurt. The inactive members we visited revealed high levels of anxiety, which drove them from church membership because they were never resolved. Their anxiety fell into four categories.

  • Reality anxiety. This anxiety is based on some real, historical event; you could have videotaped what caused it. Normally the event is a snub or an utter lack of church care when a member needed it.  A family from the church had their home burn to the ground, and their 2- and 4-year-old children died in the fire. How many people went to visit him and his wife? Maybe the minister, but probably not many parishioners. Most would confess, “I wouldn’t know what to say,” as if they had to say something.  That event causes reality anxiety. A family experiencing this kind of tragedy would have a hard time returning to a church they felt let them down when they needed them.
  • Moral anxiety. Moral anxiety arises when people experience in themselves or others behaviors they believe aren’t right.  Immoral sexual activity causes many people to eventually leave the church.
  • Neurotic anxiety. Neurotic anxiety is pain caused by the imagination. Someone may claim, “I don’t go to church because the minister doesn’t like me.” The feeling might be based on reality, but the chances are it’s neurotic. It’s only in the person’s head.  A man goes into the hospital, doesn’t let you know he’s there, but expects you to visit. Then he gets angry when you don’t. Months later when you do call, you may trace his problem to that hospital stay. The man is convinced you don’t care about him. That’s neurotic anxiety.  We can inadvertently foster neurotic anxiety. For example, a minister regularly calls on a couple who are potential members. He spends time with them and makes them feel important. All the time they’re thinking, Look at all the personal attention you get from the minister around here! Then they join the church, and the attention they receive drops almost to zero. They wonder what happened. The minister has accidentally encouraged unrealistic expectations, which give rise to neurotic anxiety.
  • Existential anxiety. Existential anxiety is the feeling brought about by the thought that some day you may not exist, or that even if you do, your life may be meaningless. We hear the refrains, “The church has lost its meaning for me,” “The sermons don’t mean anything anymore, Minister,” “My kids are bored stiff in Sunday school.”

Main conflict areas
All anxiety arises from some problem. The most common is intra-family conflict. Husband and wife square off on some issue; parents and kids squabble. This kind of conflict is the most consistent characteristic of people who have left the church.

Conflict with ministers is the second most common problem. When ministers avoid dealing with people’s anxiety, the people simply avoid the ministers and their churches.

Family against family, inter-family conflict, is the third arena. It’s the Hatfields against the McCoys; people don’t get along with one another.

Overwork, or at least the feeling of it, presents a fourth problem area. With volunteer church service, too much too soon or too long, with no reward, will drive people from the church.

Suppose you discover a family is having troubles at home, seems to be avoiding you, is feeling disappointed about the way other church members have treated them, and thinks they’re overworked and unrewarded. You will usually find they are experiencing reality, moral, neurotic, or existential anxiety-often simultaneously. Then you can predict the next stage: they cry for help.

2. The second step is the blinking red light.  The member is hurting inside and wants/needs to talk.

3. Anger is the third step. When anxiety reaches the stage of acute discomfort, the anxiety is transformed to anger.

The cry
If we learn to hear and respond to people’s cries for help, we can usually prevent their dropping out. Those still crying will respond to our efforts to reach them. But cries don’t last forever. Some cry longer than others, depending on their bond to the congregation, but when the cry goes unanswered, eventually members leave. Then the damage is much greater and more difficult to repair.

A verbal cry for help may sound like this: “I don’t know if I want to continue coming to this church. If there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s hypocrites!”

Or it could be more subtle: “You know, all the men but me in our Sunday school class have had promotions at work.”

I worked with a woman in Christian education for two years and never once heard a complaint. Then one day in the midst of a long paragraph she let slip just one sentence: “I’m not sure I can do this job much longer.”

I didn’t say anything right then, but when I saw her the next Sunday morning in the hallway, I said, “Sally, I have a feeling you might be upset about some things in church, particularly in the Christian education area.”

“Can I talk with you this week?” she said.

She came in the following Thursday with all her teaching materials-and unmistakable body language. Even before she sat down, she said, “You’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you, but I’m going to resign.” I listened to her story for an hour and a half, and I heard from her the classic phrase of one who is thinking of leaving: “I don’t want to leave the church. I love the church, but I’m tired.” She was overworked-reality anxiety-so we renegotiated her workload, and she stayed. The key is hearing the story first.

Ministers can respond to cries in one of three ways:

First, they can listen and respond to the pain the cry represents. That can be amazingly beneficial.

Second, they can ignore the cry, not realizing how serious it is, until the cry moves into anger. The person gets more agitated and says, “Hey, what do I have to do to get you to hear me? Somebody help me. Can’t you see I’m about to leave the church?”

Third, they can shoot the person with the gospel gun: “What’s the matter with you? Are you losing your faith or something?” That’s a mistake of confusing the symptom for the disease, the behavior for the cause.

But surprisingly, even if we react to the immediate anger rather than the anxiety behind it, we’ll still recover about 80 percent of the people. Even hesitating steps in the right direction can help.

If we miss the verbal cries for help, we at least have a whole string of nonverbal cries to alert us to the problem. The cries for help become behavioral. The person either leaves or begins the process of leaving.

4. Behavioral change. The member either becomes more aggressive or withdrawn. If the problem is not resolved at this point, they move further away from active membership. They drop out of committees. They give up their Sunday or Wednesday classes, if teaching. Usually, at this point, they stop attending except on Sunday morning. They stop attending special meetings and their contributions are either cut down or cut out altogether.

The first behavior change is the leaving of worship.

Second, people leave major committees and boards. They either don’t show up or they begin to show up sporadically. Both of these indicators can be seen on an attendance graph. The one who was always there four Sundays a month drops to three to two to only rare appearances. Or the board member makes one or two meetings a year after nearly perfect attendance in past years.

Third, people begin to leave Sunday school. Most adults have their closest friends in their Sunday school classes. Backing away from friends is a major change.

Fourth, the kids are pulled out of Sunday school. The parents decide they don’t even want to bring them, let alone come themselves.

Fifth comes the letter of resignation, and finally, interestingly enough, the pledge is dropped. That’s the final gasp for help, the last commitment to be given up in most denominations.

The sad thing is, these dropouts are hurting. They’ve not only experienced a cluster of anxiety-provoking events, but also are grieving the loss of their church.

Skunks and turtles
In my experience, a third of the inactive people we called on had tears running down their cheeks once we dug out the original cluster of pain. Uncovering that hurt caused them to cry before perfect strangers.

But people respond to their pain in different ways. Some begin to blame something external – the church, the elders, the members, the minister. We’ve nicknamed them skunks. When you call on these people, you get sprayed on. It’s what happened to me when the woman slammed the paper into her lap and lashed out at me.

When these people drop out, they wait six to eight weeks and then psychologically seal off the pain and anxiety produced by the original cluster. They back away and by all appearances become apathetic. But the pain of the cluster remains and acts as the block to returning to church. In order to get the person to come back, we must deal with that pain.

After they seal off the pain, people reinvest their time, energy, and money in other pursuits. Half reinvest themselves in the family; they buy tents, trailers, and snowmobiles and go away on the weekend. You visit them and hear, “Our family is just as close to God fishing on the lake as we were back at church with that bunch of snobs.”

The other 50 percent reinvest themselves in other institutions: hospitals, PTA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Rotary. So if we call on them, they’ll point their finger at us and say, “I’ve gotten involved with that volunteer ambulance crew. I’m a dispatcher on Sunday mornings. You know, we really help people now.” That’s a skunk speaking.

Another set of dropouts experiences a different emotion: hopelessness. It’s the antithesis of helplessness. It’s the sense of being incapable of generating any inner motivation. As a result, these people withdraw and become inactive. We call them turtles.

Turtles have incredible power to hook other people’s guilt. A turtle’s cry for help might sound like this: “I’m sure you could get Mrs. Green to teach the class. She would do a much better job than I could.” The turtle drops out, waits six to eight weeks, and seals off the pain, much like the skunk. But turtles point the blame internally, toward themselves.

Whether it’s the skunks’ spray or the turtles’ timidity, the various cries for help can be addressed.

Pain – listening
So what do we do for these people? We need to teach ourselves and our lay people to hear the pain of inactive people. It helps, too, if we learn how to intervene in the stages leading to inactivity, before the people disappear.

When we call on an inactive family, or one heading that direction, chances are strong we’re going to have to deal with anger. The turtles’ anger will make us feel guilty, and the skunks’ anger will make us mad. Since calling on an inactive member is often painful, it’s easy to enter a cycle: People leave because they’re angry; I’m angry because they left; I punish them by letting them sit in their pain; they punish me by not coming back.

5. Holding Pattern.

This lasts from six to eight weeks. During this time, they are breaking emotional ties with the folks at the church. They are waiting to see if anyone from the church will call on them. If no one comes during the holding period, then they begin to reinvest their time and energy in other organizations and clubs. Camping, or other family outings, especially on weekends, seems to become a favorite pastime of the inactive member.

6. Out the back door.

The active member has now made the journey out of the church and no longer attends or takes interest in the congregation to which he/she once gave much time and effort.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2022 in Church, Encouragement

 

Uncommon Things We Believe #9 The Essential Nature of Baptism – Acts 2:36-39, Matthew 26:28, Romans 6:1-4

26 May

Acts 2:36-39 (NIV) “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37  When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  38  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

 Matthew 26:28 (NIV)  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Greek Word: εἰς  Transliteration: eis
Simply put, the religious world is divided over this one Greek word. Does it mean “because” or “in order to” be forgiven?

If it means “because” then someone is saved before they are baptized. If it means “in order to” it means that baptism is an act of faith that makes possible the forgiveness of sins.

The same word is used in the Acts 2 and Matthew 26 verses. IF one says we are baptized because we are already saved….does Jesus’ words also mean that we are already saved before He poured out His blood?

In baptism, one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, Lord, Savior, and Son of God (John 3:16; Acts 2:36) and has faith in His blood to forgive him of his sins (Romans 3:25) must commit himself to a new life (Romans 6:4) in order to be clothed with Jesus (Galatians 3:27) and be forgiven of his sins (Acts 2:38).

Thus, he is forgiven, is born again, and enters into the kingdom of God (John 3:5), the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), which is His church (Ephesians 1:22, 23).

 (Romans 6:1-4)  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? {2} By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? {3} Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? {4} We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Does the water of baptism have the power to forgive sins? Is baptism only a symbol, an outward sign of an inward grace, that shows that one has been saved? Is it only a sign of dedication or an act that inducts people into a denomination?

Is baptism valid if the person being baptized neither knows the purpose and design of baptism nor understands the commitment expected of him? Is an empty ritual all that God requires of one who is seeking to be a child of God?

Has God ever required an act on the part of man involving His relationship with man devoid of a response from the heart and of an understanding of its purpose and meaning? Is one to commit himself to a new birth when he is being baptized? Must one accept baptism in the light of the meaning God has associated with it?

These questions should be answered if we are to understand what God requires of a person engaging in a physical act that has no meaning apart from the meaning God has associated with it. The only way to find the answers is to examine the Bible and let God speak for Himself.

We do not believe that baptism saves as a work that earns salvation. Romans 4:1-9 shows very clearly that we do not and cannot earn our salvation. Boasting is excluded in Christ (Rom. 3:27).

We do, however, believe that baptism saves as a work of faith that accesses salvation (Jas. 2:14-26). Naaman’s leprosy was cured by the power of God, but that power was accessed through dipping seven times in the Jordan River (II Kings 5:1-14). We believe baptism works in the same way. Belief does not earn, but it is a part of our accessing grace (Jn. 3:16).

Belief is a work (Jn. 6:28-29). Belief is part of a faithful response to God, as is repentance. The fact that God requires a response does not take away from grace.  If there were no human response required, all would be saved.

If baptism isn’t for the remission of sins…

Why did Simon Peter answer those looking to be forgiven by telling them to “… repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” (Acts 2:36-38)?

Why did the Eunuch request baptism after having Jesus preached to him, even though he was on a lonely road? Why did he rejoice after baptism rather than belief? (Acts 8:35-39)?

Why was the jailer “immediately” baptized at midnight with only his family present (Acts 16:32-33)?

Why do we never find baptism deliberately delayed in the New Testament as it often is by denominations today?

Why was the repentant, believer Paul told to “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sin calling on His name” (Acts 22:16).

Why were the Roman Christians asked to recall their baptism as the time when they had been raised to “… walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4)?

Why were those in the churches of Galatia told that they were sons of God through faith, “For as many of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27)?

Why is baptism never put after salvation in a verse, but always before?

Why is a “washing” or “water” often associated with salvation (Acts 22:16; Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5; Jn. 3:5; I Pet. 3:20-21; I Cor. 6:11)?

Why does Peter say “…baptism now saves you…” (I Pet. 3:21)?

Why do we not hear from denominational pulpits Peter’s response to those wanting to be Christians?

Why do almost all conversions in Acts mention baptism while many of those accounts do not mention belief?

Why does the Bible say that we are saved “… not by faith alone” (Jas. 2:24).

Why are we never told to “believe in Christ”, but we are told to be “baptized into Christ” (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 6:3-4).

Why did Jesus say that “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved… ’’ (Mk. 16:16).

The Evidence Is Overwhelming.

Baptism is linked to salvation, forgiveness, newness of life, new birth, washing away sins, becoming a Christian, being clothed with Christ, being sons of God, being saved, being sanctified, regenerated, etc..

Baptism is never deliberately postponed. People are baptized in isolated circumstances and at unusual times. Belief alone is said not to save, while baptism is said to save in association with Jesus resurrection. Baptism is said to be the way “into” Christ.

Conclusion

Our “uncommon” belief is commonly found in the Scriptures. Baptism is for the remission of sins. Not in isolation, but in association with: the preaching of the Gospel, belief, repentance, confession, and most importantly the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

 

 
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Posted by on May 26, 2021 in Church, Doctrine

 

Uncommon Things We Believe #8 Instrumental Music Isn’t Authorized In the Worship of the Church Ephesians 5:18-20

20 May

(Ephesians 5:18-20)  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, {19} speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; {20} always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father…”

“WHY DON’T YOU USE MUSIC IN YOUR WORSHIP?”

Heard that before? Here’s at least a beginning answer to that important question, which certainly sets us apart from much of the religious world.

We do use music, but we don’t use musical instruments to accompany our singing.

Early Christianity included two groups of people: Jews with a background of instrumental music and pagan Gentiles who also worshipped with musical instruments. Yet when the church was established in about 33 A.D., those early Christians worshipped without such instruments.
In fact, according to Dr. F.W Mattox, a scholar of early church history, musical instruments weren’t used until the 5th century, and organ music didn’t become part of Christian worship until the 8th century.

So it seems logical, considering our goal of restoring a New Testament type Christian worship, that acappella singing would fit that model. Besides, the only musical instrument God ever created is the human voice; man created all the rest. Perhaps the purest form of musical worship on earth is found in human voices.

First, Some Clarification.

We are not opposed to instrumental music in and of itself. The issue with us has to do with the worship of the church. Many among us are quite gifted in musical abilities and play a number of instruments.

We understand that instrumental music in worship was appropriate in Old Covenant worship. Our convictions deal with the nature of New Testament worship. The Old Testament specifically commands instrumental music in the worship of Israel:

(2 Chronicles 29:25)  He stationed the Levites in the temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the LORD through his prophets.

We look for New Covenant authority for the worship of the church.

The Surprising Testimony Of History.

  1. The synagogue did not use instruments in the days of Jesus, or for 1,800 years thereafter; instruments were found only in temple worship—as commanded.
  2. There is no reference in the first 1000 years of church history to the acceptability of instrumental music and no example of its actual use.
  3. Greek speaking churches have continued to reject instrumental music in worship—Greek is the language of the New Testament.
  4. Vocal music was promoted in the early church.
  5. Ignatius (early 100’s) praised the harmony provided by joined voices.
  6. Justin Martyr (middle 100”s) spoke of God’s character being such as to deserve our words of praise.
  7. The Christianized Sibylline Oracles (100’s) extolled vocal music.
  8. Eusebius, the great church historian of the 300’s, mentions that it was the sound of Christian voices heard outside of Christian meeting places.
  9. Ambrose (late 300’s) wrote that the only time extraneous noise was absent from assemblies was when all were occupied with singing. He also spoke of how Christians sang songs and pagans played harps—if a Christian went back to such pagan ways he was said to have chosen death.

Instrumental music was rejected in the early church.

  1. Theodoret (400) said that “lifeless instruments” were “excluded from the singing in the churches, and simple singing is left.”
  2. Niceta (400) spoke to the point that the New Testament was the source of Christian worship and that it rejected instruments being used in worship.
  3. Chrysostom (late 300’s) Attributed instruments to dullness and Christian singing to enlightenment.
  4. Isidore (400’s) equated instrumental music to a state of childhood that characterized Old Testament worship.
  5. Pseudo-Clementine Writings (300’s) condemned instrumental music and classified it with drunkenness.
  6. Tertullian (about 200) condemned instrumental music in the worship of the church.
  7. Gregory of Nazianzus (mid 300’s) said, “Let us take up hymns instead of timbrels, psalmody instead of lewd dances, and songs of thankful acclamation instead  of theatrical clapping…”
  8. Arnobius (early 300’s) named virtually all the instruments known to his culture and forcefully stated that they had no place in Christian worship.
  9. The Canons of Basil (mid 300’s) equated instrumental music with the need for one to be excluded from the church.

Later church history.

  1. In 1250 Thomas Aquinas wrote that the church did not use instruments in worship.
  2. Zwingli rejected instruments in worship.
  3. Calvin spoke strongly against instrumental worship.
  4. Luther called the organ “an ensign of Baal.”
  5. Wesley said they were fine as long as they were “neither heard nor seen.”
  6. Spurgeon allowed no instruments where he preached.
  7. The term A cappella means “as done in the church.”

The Greek New Testament.

  1. In the first-century world, the Greek word psallo, the key word associated with music, had long sense come to mean “vocal music only.” This is a well documented reversal from Classical Greek. The first 400 years of church writings demonstrate this meaning without any doubt.
  2. In the Greek New Testament, when the worship of the church is associated with music, only singing is mentioned.
  3. The seven verses are (Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9; I Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Jas. 5:13; Heb. 13:15).

(Acts 16:25)  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

(Romans 15:9)  so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.”

(1 Corinthians 14:15)  So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

(Ephesians 5:19)  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

(Colossians 3:16)  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

(Hebrews 13:15)  Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.

(James 5:13)  Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

  1. There are three New Testament verses that use Old Testament imagery when speaking of heaven and mention instruments (Rev. 5:8-9; 14:1-3; 15:2-3).

(Revelation 5:8-9)  And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. {9} And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

(Revelation 14:1-3)  Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. {2} And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. {3} And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

(Revelation 15:2-3)  And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God {3} and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.

  1. A metaphoric use is obvious in Revelation 14:1-3.

(Revelation 14:1-3)  Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. {2} And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. {3} And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

  1. A symbolic character is evident in Revelation 5:8-9; 15:2-3.

(Revelation 5:8-9)  And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. {9} And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

(Revelation 15:2-3)  And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God {3} and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.

Theological Considerations.

  1. The nature of Christian worship (Rom. 12:1-2; I Pet. 2:5; Jn. 4:24).

(John 4:24)  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

(Romans 12:1-2)  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. {2} Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(1 Peter 2:5)  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

  1. Rational service over mere emotions or feelings.
  2. Spiritual sacrifices as opposed to the carnal methods of the Old Covenant.
  3. God determines the nature of acceptable worship, not man.
  4. We must come to God on His terms (Matt. 5:4; Jn. 4:19-24).

(Matthew 5:4)  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

(John 4:19-24)  “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. {20} Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” {21} Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. {22} You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. {23} Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. {24} God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

  1. Consider Cain and Able (Gen. 4:4-8; Heb. 11:4; Rom. 10:17).

(Genesis 4:4-8)  But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, {5} but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. {6} Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? {7} If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” {8} Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

(Romans 10:17)  Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

(Hebrews 11:4)  By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

  1. This is not on oversimplification—this is the heart of the issue.

ARGUMENTS FAVORING NON-USE OF INSTRUMENTS OF MUSIC IN WORSHIP

  1. AN ARUGMENT FROM HISTORY

Most feel that instrumental music has always been a part of worship because it has been around as long as they can remember. Rather like television, young people can not imagine a time without TV.

“Historical evidence shows that instrumental music was introduced into Christian worship centuries after the beginning of the church and must be rejected because it is a human innovation into N.T. Christianity” (Worship In Song, p.93, Jimmy Jividen).

Historical evidence affirms that instrumental music was not used in the early church.

  1. Was gradually introduced by the Roman Catholic Church.
  2. First used when Pope Vitalian introduced the instrument in churches in Western Europe about 660-670 A.D.
  3. Instruments were resisted at that time and was not widely used as late as 1250 A.D. during the time of Thomas Aquinas: “Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize.”

M.C. Kurfees in his book “Instrumental Music In The Worship” quotes dozens of historians which witness to the fact that the early church sang only in their worship services.

The basic opposition to instrumental music in worship is not grounded in historical evidence of human conduct.

  1. Historical evidence might not always give the complete picture.
  2. If we could establish that not one instrument was used from the 1st to the 21st centuries, that alone would not make it right or wrong.
  3. However, historical evidence argues strongly against the use of instruments of music in worship.
  4. This evidence serves to substantiate the biblical evidence that instruments were not used in worship.
  1. BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT, TRADITION!
  1. Because Churches of Christ have not used it makes it neither right or wrong.
  2. Tradition must not be the religious standards we look to in pleasing God.
  3. Neither do we reject something just because it is traditionally done, if it is the will of God.
  4. Both those who use and don’t use instruments do so because of tradition.
  5. Each has been reared in a fellowship that follows a certain practice.
  6. Each makes a personal decision about the right or wrong of it based on the practice of the fellowship of which they are a part.
  7. Therefore, human tradition is not a valid reason for accepting or rejecting instrumental music in worship.
  8. This is seeking truth from the wrong source.
  9. Many in the Lord’s Church can give no other reason for not using instruments than ” we just have always done it that way.”
  10. If what our fore fathers did is according to scriptures, we should do the same thing.
  11. Not because they did it, but because it is biblical.
  12. Traditions of men are neutral.
  13. Justification for religious practice can only come from Christ as revealed in Scripture.
  14. A major motivating principle of men in the Restoration Movement in the United States was rejection of human traditions.
  15. Their cry was “Let us speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible in silent.”
  16. Our faith must rest upon the word of God, not the traditions of our fathers.
  1. A CAPELLA IS THE BEST MUSIC!

Some say, “the best argument against instrumental music is good singing.” If one means by this that pleasing God is the best practice, this would be true.

However, this is not usually the point being made. Many try to justify instruments because of poor quality of singing.

Instruments cannot make up for improper singing as they constitute different actions. God is not interested in the quality of singing, but the quality of the heart producing the singing.

This line of reasoning could be carried on to the Lord’s Supper. Adding fried chicken would make the Lord’s Supper more enjoyable. Chicken is more attractive to outsiders than grape juice and unleavened bread.

An appeal to experience or taste is never a valid authority for religious practice. The criterion for good singing is not whether it pleases men or not, but does it please God?

  1. APOSTOLIC EXAMPLE!
  1. No question but apostolic example was singing without instruments in Christian worship.
  2. But, first must decide what is apostolic example and how apostolic example teaches.
  3. An example is an “action” taken by individuals or churches which has been recorded in the N.T.
  1. Not all examples recorded in the N.T. have Divine approval.
  2. There are bad examples such as Herod putting Peter in prison, Ananias & Sapphira lying to God and Peter refusing to eat with the Gentiles.
  3. There are neutral examples like Christians meeting on third floor of a building, preaching until midnight, going to the temple to pray, etc.
  4. There are examples which do not have the force of a command, but show reasonable and sensible ways churches and individuals functioned.
  5. Church at Antioch fasted, prayed and laid hands on Barnabas and Saul as they sent them out to preach the gospel (Acts 13:1ff).
  6. A special prayer meeting was held for Peter while he was in jail (Acts 12:12).
  1. The mere presence of an example does not mean that it is required nor the absence of an example mean that it is forbidden.
  1. If an action is recorded in the N.T. with obvious approval, it shows that such is right in such a circumstance.
  1. An approved apostolic example means that an action has apostolic sanction.
  1. It must be something that was witnessed with approval by an inspired apostolic person.
  1. As is true with the other three arguments against the use of instrumental music in worship, apostolic example alone does not prove the point one way or the other.
  1. The Christian concerned with doing the will of God and edifying his brethren should be concerned with two things:
  1. There is full and sufficient authority for worship in song, such is plain in the N.T. and this should be what we teach and practice.
  2. There is no N.T. authority for instrumental music in Christian worship.
  3. Such cannot be found by commands, examples or necessary inference.
  4. The question is not “Where does the Bible condemn it?”, but rather “Where does the Bible authorize it?”

CONCLUSION

  1. These four arguments are commonly used to reject instrumental music in Christian worship.
  2. Rejecting instruments in worship does not solely rest on these arguments.
  3. True, the cumulative evidence of these arguments would make its use highly questionable.
  4. We must go to the word of God for the real answer

What About Instruments in the Old Testament?

by Wes McAdams

As most people already know, I take the presently unpopular position that mechanical instruments have no place in Christian worship. However, every time I write on this subject someone inevitably asks, “What about the instruments in the Old Testament?” That is a great question. As the argument goes: If God authorized instruments under the Old Law, then without some kind of New Testament prohibition against them, why would anyone teach they are not allowed today? I believe if the average person understood the context in which instruments were authorized in the Old Testament, they would understand why they have no place in the church.

There are a few isolated instances of instrument playing about which we are not told if God approved (ex. 2 Samuel 6:5-8). But there are some who claim God only tolerated – and never authorized – instruments in the temple worship. They claim David alone was responsible for their introduction. Yes, the instruments of the temple were often called “the instruments of David,” but it is specifically stated that David had God’s authorization to implement the instruments in the temple worship:

“And [Hezekiah] stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets” (2 Chronicles 29:25).

As you can see, it is made pretty clear that “the commandment was from the Lord.”

We often make blanket statements like, “God approved of instruments in the Old Testament.” It would actually be more accurate to say God approved of certaininstruments in the Old Testament. The commandment “from the Lord through his prophets” was that specific instruments be played in the temple worship. Whenever reformers, like King Hezekiah, restored temple worship to its intended state, they would go back to the “commandment” God gave David through the prophets.

Undoubtedly, there were other instruments in existence that could have been added to the worship, but they did not presume to add to the Lord’s command. To bring in an instrument that had not been commanded would have been sinful. It would have been like the “unauthorized fire” offered by Nadab and Abihu, for which they “died before the Lord” (Numbers 3:4).

Again, when people speak of Old Testament worship with instruments they seem to imply that anyone could have played an instrument to the Lord in worship. However, the truth is that only the Levites were authorized to be stationed in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, lyre, and trumpets.

People from other tribes – regardless of their musical ability or desire – were not authorized to play with the Levitical musicians. For someone else to have been so presumptuous would have been similar to King Uzziah’s burning of incense in the temple, for which he was struck with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16-23).

Amos, the shepherd turned prophet, was sent to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to rebuke and admonish them. Israel, in order to keep people from traveling to Jerusalem in Judah, built their own temples in Israel. These temples were not authorized places of worship and their priests were not Levites. Their lives and their worship were extremely paganistic. And although they still attempted to worship Jehovah God, they did so in an unauthorized fashion.

Amos was sent to tell them God was not pleased:

“Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen” (Amos 5:22-23).

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music” (Amos 6:4-5).

As we’ve already seen, David had been authorized to appoint Levites to play harps. However, Israel was not authorized to do what they were doing. As the New Living Translation puts it, these musicians of Israel “fancied themselves” to be like David. They were presumptuous enough to believe they could do whatever they wanted in worship and God would be pleased.

As you can see, God authorized only the Levites to worship with certain instruments and only in the temple worship. And surely we know that the temple and its worship were “a shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). In Christ, we are the temple (1 Corinthians 3:16), we are all priests (1 Peter 2:5), and we offer up – not the sound of clanging symbols or lifeless strings but – “a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:15). Our hearts are the instruments we play (Ephesians 5:19).

God does not have to specifically prohibit the use of instruments in the church today anymore than He has to prohibit the burning of incense, the priestly robes, or any of the other parts of the temple worship. We understand that these things have passed away. A great number of notable theologians over the centuries have understood this and have opposed the use of mechanical instruments.

I believe John Calvin said it well,

Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists therefore, have foolishly borrowed, this, as well as many other things, from the Jews. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise; but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostles is far more pleasing to him” (John Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 33). 

  1. God Replaced the Physical with the Spiritual
  2. God Rebuked Unauthorized Music
  3. God Authorized Specific Musicians
  4. God Authorized Specific Instruments
  5. God Authorized Instruments
 
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Posted by on May 20, 2021 in Church, Doctrine

 

Uncommon Things We Believe #7 We Don’t Believe That Jesus Will Reign On Earth For 1,000 Years Revelation 20:1-6

15 May

(Revelation 20:1-6)  And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. {2} He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. {3} He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. {4} I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. {5} (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. {6} Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

We do believe that Jesus will return, but we do not believe He is coming to reign on earth for 1000 years.

2 Peter 3:8-13 teaches that the return of Christ will bring the destruction of the earth.

(2 Peter 3:8-13)  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. {9} The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. {10} But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. {11} Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives {12} as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. {13} But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 shows that when Jesus returns the righteous will join Him in the air.

Revelation 20 is the scripture used by Pre-Mil to establish their doctrine of the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Pre-millennialism is the view of the “last things” which holds that the second coming of Christ will be followed by a period of world-wide peace and righteousness, before the end of the world, called “the millennium” or “the kingdom of God” during which Christ will reign as King in person on this earth.” (J.G. Vos)

We need to see that Revelation 20 does not teach an earthly reign of Christ. Christ is now King, reigning on David’s throne in Heaven. What this passage DOES NOT mention:

  • A second coming of Christ.
  • A bodily resurrection
  • A reign on earth.
  • The literal throne of David.
  • Jerusalem or Palestine
  • Us – you and me
  • Christ on earth

Literal or figurative – which?

Revelation is a book of symbols, figures, and signs. Signs, symbols, and types do not signify, symbolize and typify themselves. It is a violation to make literal application of the figurative imagery of Revelation.

Books like Revelation are clearly figurative in nature (Rev. 1:20).  To say that the “1,000 years” of Revelation 20:1-6 is literal while the “chain,” “dragon,” and “serpent” are said to be figurative is a style of interpretation that does not convict.

PREMILLENNALISM- WILL JESUS REIGN ON EARTH FOR 1,000 YEARS?

IS CHRIST NOW REIGNING ON DAVID’S THRONE?  (Acts 2:22-36)

  1. Old Testament prophecies concerning reign of Christ (Psa. 110:1; Dan. 7:13-14; 2 Sam 7:12-16; Isa. 55:3; Amos 9:11-12; Zech. 6:12-13).
  2. New Testament fulfillment of these prophecies.
    1. Psalms 110:1 – Acts 2:34-36
    2. Daniel 7:13-14 – Acts 2:32-33. Jesus received the Kingdom when he ascended into heaven – not when He comes back.
    3. 2 Samuel 7:12-16 – Acts 2:29-30. Peter argued that Christ was on David’s throne now in heaven.  This was to be done while David was in the tomb, not after his resurrection.
    4. 55:3 – Acts 13:32-38
    5. Amos 9:11-12 – Acts 15:13-18
      1. Setting up of tabernacle is the establishment of the Church and the admission of Gentiles.
      2. A descendant of David (Jesus) would be seated on David’s throne when the tabernacle was restored (built).
      3. Thus Christ was sitting on David’s throne at that time and the Gentiles were being admitted to it.
      4. If this is future – then no Gentiles can have salvation now.
    6. 6:12-13 – 1 Cor. 3:16; Eh. 2:19-20; Heb. 1:3, 8; Acts 2:36; Heb. 4:14-16; 8:4.
      1. The branch is Christ – Isa. 11:1; Romans 15:12
      2. Will build the temple – Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Cor. 3:16 – Church is the Temple
      3. Sit on His throne – Acts 2:34
      4. Rule on His throne – Heb. 1:8
      5. Priest on His throne – Heb. 8:4; 7:14)

Christ cannot be a priest on earth.

Christ is a priest on His throne.

Therefore His throne cannot be on earth.

Christ is priest on His throne now.

Christ is priest in Heaven now.

Therefore His throne is in Heaven now.

  • New Testament teaching about reign of Christ.
    1. 1 Cor. 15:25 – must reign till…death is destroyed. Then deliver Kingdom back to Father (1 Cor. 15:24).
    2. 1:20-21 – Sit at right hand in Heavenly places.
    3. 1 Timothy 6:15 – King of Kings.
    4. John 18:37 – Jesus was born to be King.
  1. CHRIST’S THRONE NOT ON EARTH!
    1. 22:28-30 –Coniah or Jeconiah
      1. Coniah last King of Judah.
      2. No more descendents of Choiah ever sat on the throne of David, ruling in Judah.
      3. Yet, Jesus is a descendant of Coniah (Matt. 1:12-16).
      4. Conclusion:

Since Christ is the seed of Coniah, and since no man of Coniah’s seed can set on David’s throne and rule any more in Judah, it follows that Jesus Christ cannot occupy the throne of David on earth.

But, since Jesus Christ is said to occupy David’s throne, and since the throne is not on earth, it follows that Jesus is reigning on David’s throne in Heaven.

WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL AND THE JEWS? (Acts 28:16-20)

M.R. DeHaan said, “Following the Rapture of the church, God will gather Israel into Canaan, rebuild the temple, re-establish the Old Testament form of worship and sacrifices. Christ then appears to set up the earthly kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital.

Hal Lindsey – “Late Great Planet Earth” pp. 42-47. Uss Matthew 24 to teach a rebuilt temple. Israel restored to her land. Sacrificial system and Sabbath re-instituted.

According to Pre-Mill., the land promises God made to Israel have not been fulfilled, and were eternal in nature.

Questions to be answered:

  1. WHAT WERE THE PROMISES GOD MADE TO ISRAEL? (Gen. 12:1-7; 13:14-17).

God promised Abram:

  • A new land.
  • Would be a great nation
  • God would bless him and make his name great
  • Through Abram, all families of the earth would be blessed.
  • Physical and spiritual blessings.

What land was promised?

  • The land he traveled to upon the command of God (Gen. 12:6-7).
  • The larger land of Canaan (Gen. 15:18; Ex. 23:30-31) to the river Euphrates.
  • Promises made to Abraham and His seed (Gen. 17:8; Ex. 6:4-8).

 

 II. HAVE THESE PROMISES BEEN FULFILLED?

  1. Land of Promise has been fulfilled (Deut. 1:7-8; Joshua 21:43-45; 2 Samuel 8:3; 2 Chron 9:26; Neh. 9:7-8). When was this promise fulfilled?
  • Following the bondage in Egypt as Moses let Israel to and Joshua lead them into the Canaan Land.
  • Abraham himself received not one foot of Canaan – but his seed did.
  • Pre-Mill. say that Abraham must be raised from the dead to enter millennial kingdom in order to possess the land.
  • Stephen said “the time drew near” while Israel was in Egyptian bondage (Acts 7:17).

III. WERE LAND PROMISES CONDITIONAL OR UNCONDITIONAL?

  1. Pre-Mill. Say unconditional (Gen. 17:7-8). “Everlasting covenant”
    1. Word translated “everlasting” means “age-lasting.” Same for Sabbath and other O.T. rituals which are not kept today.
    2. As long as Law of Moses lasted, these things lasted. When Law of Moses ended, these things ended.
  2. Notice the conditions of keeping the land (Deut. 8:19-20; 28:29-30, 63, 64; Josh. 23:14-16; 1 Kings 9:3-7).
  3. Israel lost their land.
    1. Northern Kingdom carried away by Assyria.
    2. Southern Kingdom carried away by Babylon (2 Chron. 36:17-19).
  4. Restoration promises (Deut. 30:1-3; Ezek. 37:11-22; Isa. 10:20-23 (remnant return) Jer. 30:3).
  5. Has Israel been restored? (2 Chron. 36:20-23; Jer. 25:11-13; Ezra 9:9).
    1. All prophecies concerning the return to the land, rebuilding of the temple, etc., were made prior to 516 B.C. Since the rebuilding of the temple of that time – following a return to Palestine – there have been no prophecies concerning a return to the land or a rebuilding of the temple.
  1. WHO ARE THE ISRAEL – JEWS OF GOD TODAY?
  1. Jesus spoke of a “new kingdom” to the Jews of his day (Matt. 21:41-45; 23:38; 24:1-35).
  2. Circumcision nor uncircumcision avail anything – but new creature (Gal. 5:6).
  3. Christians are now God’s Jews – God’s Israel (Rom. 2:28-29; Gal. 3:26-29; Rom. 4:13-16; 9:7-8).
  4. Conversion destroys nationality (Col. 3:10-11).
  5. Paul’s allegory of two women (Gal. 4:21-31).
    1. Two women are two covenants – OLD AND NEW.
    2. Two sons – two nations – fleshly and spiritual.
    3. Hagar and Ishmael had nothing in common with Sarah and Isaac. National Israel has nothing in common with spiritual Israel.
    4. Final verdict – “Cast out the bondwoman and her son.” National Israel cannot have an inheritance with Spiritual Israel.  CHRISTIANS ARE THE ONLY ISRAEL GOD HAS TODAY!
  6. Can Jews be saved today?
    • Yes, all men come to God the same way, through Christ (Eph. 2:14-18).
    • The same gospel is for all (Matt. 28:18-20).
    • Great commission was for the Jews also (Acts 10:34-43).
    • Paul’s prayer for Israel was “that they might be saved” (Rom. 10:1-4).
    • No New Testament passages affirm or predict a return of Jews to Palestine and a second chance to accept Christ as Messiah. It is now or never.

— Appreciation to Bill Craddock for the material at the end of this article.

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2021 in Church, Doctrine

 
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