A common proverb of yesteryear goes something like "Put your faith in God, and keep your powder dry." Attributed to Oliver Cromwell during his later years in the mid seventeenth century, the intent is clear. Though a deeply religious man, Cromwell still felt that man had to do his part in carrying out the divine will. Strictly relying upon God to do everything was to be seen as neither God-honoring nor sensible.
Is a Christian called to live out his faith in such fashion? Can a church adopt a posture of waiting for God to accomplish all things? Where do we draw the line between relying upon God to provide and do everything and taking personal responsibility to contribute to the cause?
Perhaps a comparison to God's grace will help in reaching some form of conclusion. God expects us to live morally perfect and holy lives. (Matt. 5:48; I Peter 1:14-16) Yet it is also clear that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). How can we be saved then from the just punishment of our rebellious lives? God's grace accepted by faith is sufficient.
Shall we not also live by faith in God's providence to provide our daily bread? We can, but we also must plant the seed, or work for the loaf, or spend the money on gasolene to drive to the market to buy it. Israel may have stepped out of their tents each morning in the wilderness to find manna, but that hasn't happened often since.
Does such a work ethic deny faith in God to provide? No, it reflects an attitude of divine responsibility placed in the individual. From the beginning of man's existence as recorded in scripture, God has expected man to have a relationship with him based on faith and mutual responsibility. This is called a covenant. At no time has God presented a covenant that said man was to sit and wait for God to drop the beef and potatoes on a plate set before a man and then clean up the mess afterwards. Man has always had a divinely ordained role to play that involved working with God and not just waiting for God.
In Genesis 1 God tells the first man and woman not only to be fruitful and multiply, but also to subdue the creation around them. That does not come without some effort. Subdue more than implies that something needs to be brought under control that is currently out of control. Those first folks had work to do. The blessing was they didn't have to do it alone. God was still working there by them.
Jesus told his disciples to feed the 5000+. (John 6) They were clueless. Jesus could have used the rocks laying around, turned them into bread. Instead he said for his disciples to go out and round up the resources. The miracle didn't occur until they had done their part.
Jesus brougth Lazarus out of the grave. (John 11) He told someone else to remove the stone at the entrance. You'd think that someone who could raise the dead could move the rock without help. No, he told the people there to be a part of the action.
Faith recently kept me praying hard for the Lord to get my car over the Tennessee mountains when it had sprung a water line leak on the interstate highway. I made it all the way to Evansville, IN. Would God have brought me safely back to North Carolina without ever adding water to the car? I'm not sure I was ready to test God that far. Was that a lack of faith? Was it playing my part in taking care of myself according to the power God had given me?
God is still in the business of miracles. God works miracles even when we are involved. From the beginning he has chosen to work through a covenant relationship with man. Man must respond through faith, and he must respond through surrender. That surrender can involve gathering fish and bread, rolling away a stone, or picking up a hoe and chopping weeds in the freshly created garden. In all cases God intends to be there to guide, assist, and make up for our weakness through his grace.
When all is said, walk by faith, but don't tell God to feed the hungry man when you have a loaf of bread in your hand.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Politics, Economics, and the Gospel
A blog of a former pastor of mine reflects thinking that tends toward a more liberal slant than that with which I am comfortable. Unfortunately for me the problem I find in his thinking is more related to my comfort level than with the biblical veracity of his thoughts. What he says does not reflect traditional, strict capitalist leanings nor does it support a government hands-off style of social provision. His words do reflect a great deal of the radical thought of a Person known as Jesus.
If we are to evaluate our work as churches in 21st century society, then how is our proclamation, both from the pulpit and in our individual lifestyle witnessing, to be compared to the proclamation content and style of Jesus? Is he to be our role model? Is his content to be our content both as churches and as individual Christians? Since it is so easy for us sinful human beings to be distracted by personal agendas, the regular evaluation of who we are and what we represent in the eyes of God is an absolute necessity.
Jesus never mentioned savings accounts or insurance policies. Of course we have to recognize savings accounts were matters of investment with bankers in the days of Jesus. Insurance policies under Jewish tradition consisted of faithful and caring family members. Planning ahead was more a matter of "casting your bread upon the waters" and having it come back to you when you needed it through the generosity of family and friends. We have the social support systems today primarily because we can no longer count on sufficient help coming from family and friends for what society has said we need.
In my reading of scripture I do not remember Jesus ever preaching a sermon or telling a parable that would be either critical or supportive of the occupying Roman administration. He told his listeners that if they were required to carry a Roman soldier's pack one mile, they should volunteer to carry it an extra mile (Matt. 5:41). He healed a centurion's servant and praised his faith (Matt. 8:5ff). He told Pilate that the Roman governor would have no power if it were not allowed from above (John 19:11). These were far more related to revealing the presence of the Spirit of God in this world than to serve as any kind of a political or religious commentary on government.
Trying to give an objective view of a Christian's role in sinful society while being a member of it is at best difficult and at worst self-deceptive leading to destructive conclusions. Trying to apply the teachings of Jesus while both being a sinful human and dealing with sinful humanity brings on the frustration of knowing what's right but having that influenced by a fallen nature.
What shall we preach from the teachings of Jesus? Pray for your enemy. Give food and water to those who are hungry and thirsty. Do not worry about your own physical needs. Be blessed as you give all that you have to the religious (spiritual?) institution. Take in the homeless and stranger. Give without asking to receive. Turn the other cheek when injustice strikes you. Depend in all ways upon your heavenly Father and give all glory to him. Make the Kingdom of God your highest priority.
Yet though we preach these, we must admit that we are not taking care of our neighbors, the homeless, and the stranger. Do we then provide for a government to do that? We do not take care of our poor, our elderly, our exceptionally challenged? Do we then provide for a government to do that? We do not cover the costs of medical care or basic classroom needs? Do we provide for a government to do that?
In all of these we recognize the limitations of the family institution. We need something bigger than our family to insure that loved ones and strangers receive what they need. Call it a city council, county social services, state departments of human resources, or the Department of Health and Human Resources. They all represent attempts to provide what we as individuals or as nuclear families cannot.
For me as an individual my questions arise, not in the areas of what people need, but in the areas of defining what they need in contrast to what they want. The Apostle Paul said not to provide food for those who refused to work according to their capabilities (I Thess. 4:11-12; II Thess. 3:10-13). Is that contrary to the teachings of Jesus or an extension of them? We already provide a reasonably free general education from kindergarten through high school. Do we owe our youth more than that at a price that would allow everyone to attend a tech school, two-year, or four-year college? Do we include graduate school?
A socialized medicine program must be seen in the same light. What is the equivalent in medical care when compared to a public education? What is the medical care equivalent to a college degree? Do we offer need-based grants or special interest funding for particular cases? If you cannot afford to go to college but your academics say you deserve to go, we offer scholarships. How do you translate that into long term disease or rehab treatments or organ transplants or highly specialized neurosurgery? Do only those we deem most capable of giving back to society get the enhanced medical care?
It will always be easy for the right wingers to say that we are a free country, and we are only required to give everyone an equal chance to make it on their own. Give them a chance to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. The left wingers will say such a perspective is living in a fantasy world. No matter what we do, we cannot guarantee that everyone will have an equal chance. A compassionate government is the only hope we have of trying to level the playing field.
Jesus in a broad sense said that you do the best you can with what you have in this world while you're here. He might have asked if you are using what you've been given, great or small as it may be, to reflect your relationship with the Creator of all as you prepare for the eternity that is coming. The answer to that question is up to each individual and can only be evaluated in purity by the Holy One Himself.
If we are to evaluate our work as churches in 21st century society, then how is our proclamation, both from the pulpit and in our individual lifestyle witnessing, to be compared to the proclamation content and style of Jesus? Is he to be our role model? Is his content to be our content both as churches and as individual Christians? Since it is so easy for us sinful human beings to be distracted by personal agendas, the regular evaluation of who we are and what we represent in the eyes of God is an absolute necessity.
Jesus never mentioned savings accounts or insurance policies. Of course we have to recognize savings accounts were matters of investment with bankers in the days of Jesus. Insurance policies under Jewish tradition consisted of faithful and caring family members. Planning ahead was more a matter of "casting your bread upon the waters" and having it come back to you when you needed it through the generosity of family and friends. We have the social support systems today primarily because we can no longer count on sufficient help coming from family and friends for what society has said we need.
In my reading of scripture I do not remember Jesus ever preaching a sermon or telling a parable that would be either critical or supportive of the occupying Roman administration. He told his listeners that if they were required to carry a Roman soldier's pack one mile, they should volunteer to carry it an extra mile (Matt. 5:41). He healed a centurion's servant and praised his faith (Matt. 8:5ff). He told Pilate that the Roman governor would have no power if it were not allowed from above (John 19:11). These were far more related to revealing the presence of the Spirit of God in this world than to serve as any kind of a political or religious commentary on government.
Trying to give an objective view of a Christian's role in sinful society while being a member of it is at best difficult and at worst self-deceptive leading to destructive conclusions. Trying to apply the teachings of Jesus while both being a sinful human and dealing with sinful humanity brings on the frustration of knowing what's right but having that influenced by a fallen nature.
What shall we preach from the teachings of Jesus? Pray for your enemy. Give food and water to those who are hungry and thirsty. Do not worry about your own physical needs. Be blessed as you give all that you have to the religious (spiritual?) institution. Take in the homeless and stranger. Give without asking to receive. Turn the other cheek when injustice strikes you. Depend in all ways upon your heavenly Father and give all glory to him. Make the Kingdom of God your highest priority.
Yet though we preach these, we must admit that we are not taking care of our neighbors, the homeless, and the stranger. Do we then provide for a government to do that? We do not take care of our poor, our elderly, our exceptionally challenged? Do we then provide for a government to do that? We do not cover the costs of medical care or basic classroom needs? Do we provide for a government to do that?
In all of these we recognize the limitations of the family institution. We need something bigger than our family to insure that loved ones and strangers receive what they need. Call it a city council, county social services, state departments of human resources, or the Department of Health and Human Resources. They all represent attempts to provide what we as individuals or as nuclear families cannot.
For me as an individual my questions arise, not in the areas of what people need, but in the areas of defining what they need in contrast to what they want. The Apostle Paul said not to provide food for those who refused to work according to their capabilities (I Thess. 4:11-12; II Thess. 3:10-13). Is that contrary to the teachings of Jesus or an extension of them? We already provide a reasonably free general education from kindergarten through high school. Do we owe our youth more than that at a price that would allow everyone to attend a tech school, two-year, or four-year college? Do we include graduate school?
A socialized medicine program must be seen in the same light. What is the equivalent in medical care when compared to a public education? What is the medical care equivalent to a college degree? Do we offer need-based grants or special interest funding for particular cases? If you cannot afford to go to college but your academics say you deserve to go, we offer scholarships. How do you translate that into long term disease or rehab treatments or organ transplants or highly specialized neurosurgery? Do only those we deem most capable of giving back to society get the enhanced medical care?
It will always be easy for the right wingers to say that we are a free country, and we are only required to give everyone an equal chance to make it on their own. Give them a chance to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. The left wingers will say such a perspective is living in a fantasy world. No matter what we do, we cannot guarantee that everyone will have an equal chance. A compassionate government is the only hope we have of trying to level the playing field.
Jesus in a broad sense said that you do the best you can with what you have in this world while you're here. He might have asked if you are using what you've been given, great or small as it may be, to reflect your relationship with the Creator of all as you prepare for the eternity that is coming. The answer to that question is up to each individual and can only be evaluated in purity by the Holy One Himself.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Death of the Church
Some very wise person somewhere whose name is known to somebody once said, "It is not persecution that will kill the local church. The Church of Jesus Christ thrives when it is solely dependent upon the Holy Spirit that gave it its birth. The local church will die through the complacency of its members."
These are the weapons that Satan will use to kill the local church in the 21st century.
1. The fear of change. When some church members quote Hebrews 13:8 about Jesus being unchanging, they somehow confuse their congregation with the eternal Son of God. Jesus does not change. Everything else in the created order does change. All living things change. Even when they die, they change. To refuse to acknowledge the need to change is to reject the authority of God to sustain his Church as a living organism. Living things must change. The congregation must accept the fact that if it is to be salt and light in its ever-changing context, then it also must change.
2. The maintenance mentality. The explanation for the fear of change is usually grounded in a spiritual mentality that says what we have had or been must be maintained for the sake of who we are. The good old days are the best we can ever hope to be. We must preserve that or seek to recapture it. Such an attitude is nothing more than a lack of faith in the God who created all there is and sent his Son to die for mankind. Such an attitude says that God cannot improve on what he did in the past. We can hope for nothing better in the future. By focusing all resources on preserving the past, we sacrifice the future and the blessings God has waiting for us there.
3. Material wealth over spiritual power. The story is told of St. Thomas Aquinas talking with a pope of his day in one of the great halls of the Vatican. The pope is reported to have said as he looked at all the material splendor around them, "No longer can we say as did St. Peter, 'Gold and silver have I none'." Aquinas' response was quick and to the point. "Neither can we say, 'Rise up and walk'." Too many of our churches have fallen into the same condition. We have become so enamored with our material facilities and our bank accounts that we have no power to affect the lives of the people around us. We offer cushioned pews and air conditioning, but we have no answer to hopelessness, suffering, and relational pain. Our focus has become looking good in the eyes of the world instead of in the eyes of God.
4. The local church over the Kingdom of God. We too often forget that on the Day of Pentecost, God created the Church, not the church. The Church is the bride of Christ and will be transformed into glory on the day its Groom appears. The local church is a tool that serves the Spirit and as surely as it was created on a particular day in a particular community, so it can be removed when it no longer serves its purpose in that community. When Christians forget that Jesus told them to seek first the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33), they have transferred their focus from the Kingdom of God and the Church as its representative on earth to the local congregation which is only a passing manifestation of Christian influence in a community. Congregations are born. Congregations die. Some die in grief. Some die thankfully so. Whether the local congregation lives or dies, it is a temporary tool in the hands of the eternal Spirit. To focus upon it rather than the Kingdom of God is to create another idol that we have put in the place of the One True God. That is a big mistake!
Complacency creeps in when we forget whose is the church and why it exists. That complacency can come in many forms, but it is always a complacency toward the priority of the Kingdom of God and allowing something else to take its top position in our lives. If a local congregation loses it power to be a positive influence in its community for the Kingdom of God, don't point a finger at Satan. He can't get in unless some Christian opens the door.
These are the weapons that Satan will use to kill the local church in the 21st century.
1. The fear of change. When some church members quote Hebrews 13:8 about Jesus being unchanging, they somehow confuse their congregation with the eternal Son of God. Jesus does not change. Everything else in the created order does change. All living things change. Even when they die, they change. To refuse to acknowledge the need to change is to reject the authority of God to sustain his Church as a living organism. Living things must change. The congregation must accept the fact that if it is to be salt and light in its ever-changing context, then it also must change.
2. The maintenance mentality. The explanation for the fear of change is usually grounded in a spiritual mentality that says what we have had or been must be maintained for the sake of who we are. The good old days are the best we can ever hope to be. We must preserve that or seek to recapture it. Such an attitude is nothing more than a lack of faith in the God who created all there is and sent his Son to die for mankind. Such an attitude says that God cannot improve on what he did in the past. We can hope for nothing better in the future. By focusing all resources on preserving the past, we sacrifice the future and the blessings God has waiting for us there.
3. Material wealth over spiritual power. The story is told of St. Thomas Aquinas talking with a pope of his day in one of the great halls of the Vatican. The pope is reported to have said as he looked at all the material splendor around them, "No longer can we say as did St. Peter, 'Gold and silver have I none'." Aquinas' response was quick and to the point. "Neither can we say, 'Rise up and walk'." Too many of our churches have fallen into the same condition. We have become so enamored with our material facilities and our bank accounts that we have no power to affect the lives of the people around us. We offer cushioned pews and air conditioning, but we have no answer to hopelessness, suffering, and relational pain. Our focus has become looking good in the eyes of the world instead of in the eyes of God.
4. The local church over the Kingdom of God. We too often forget that on the Day of Pentecost, God created the Church, not the church. The Church is the bride of Christ and will be transformed into glory on the day its Groom appears. The local church is a tool that serves the Spirit and as surely as it was created on a particular day in a particular community, so it can be removed when it no longer serves its purpose in that community. When Christians forget that Jesus told them to seek first the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33), they have transferred their focus from the Kingdom of God and the Church as its representative on earth to the local congregation which is only a passing manifestation of Christian influence in a community. Congregations are born. Congregations die. Some die in grief. Some die thankfully so. Whether the local congregation lives or dies, it is a temporary tool in the hands of the eternal Spirit. To focus upon it rather than the Kingdom of God is to create another idol that we have put in the place of the One True God. That is a big mistake!
Complacency creeps in when we forget whose is the church and why it exists. That complacency can come in many forms, but it is always a complacency toward the priority of the Kingdom of God and allowing something else to take its top position in our lives. If a local congregation loses it power to be a positive influence in its community for the Kingdom of God, don't point a finger at Satan. He can't get in unless some Christian opens the door.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Guilty as Charged!
Matthew 26 is a rough chapter to read especially when you decide to see if you fit anywhere in the story. Jesus takes his closest disciples through the Last Supper. He tells them that one of them will betray him to the authorities resulting in his arrest and death. He reveals that all of them will abandon him in the hour that he will most need to have his friends close by. Peter discovers that he is no better than anyone else, that he will deny his Master three times in a matter of a few hours. When Jesus needs the prayer support of his friends, they all go to sleep on him! Those were some rough hours and things just got worse.
Failure. Betrayal. Denial. Those first followers of Christ weren't the only ones guilty of these actions however. Every generation of believers in Christ have in some way failed to be there when their Master needed them to be awake and active. We have betrayed our Savior to a world that seeks to destroy him. When questioned about our relationship to Jesus, we all too often deny that we have one, either out of fear or the inconvenience of the situation.
Jesus lived a life of truth. He was loyal to his friends right through a death on a cross, their only hope of spiritual salvation. He promised that as long as we remain faithful to him, he will be faithful to us. If we deny him, he has no choice but to deny that he has a relationship with us. Through our lack of action and failure to speak, we deny him and refuse to stand up for him and the truth he represents.
Individuals are guilty of failing, betraying, and denying their Lord Jesus Christ. So are churches. When churches allow the world to dictate priorities, values, and methods, they are guilty of failing the One whose sacrifice is their foundation. Our churches would do well to read Matthew 26 and apply its lessons to their witness.
Jesus lived out the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Churches must be found faithful to these as well. Jesus lived out the actions of Matthew 25. Churches through their membership and their public actions must also live out these ministries. When churches fail in carrying out their responsibilities as salt and light in their communities, they betray the One who gave his all for them. When churches reject the mandate of Matthew 28, they deny their relationship and their accountability to the Risen Lord.
Judas handed Jesus to those who wanted him dead. The 21st century church must not hand over the Body of Christ to the ones who want it dead. Yet we do it every time we compromise in order to be found acceptable. We do it every time we compromise in order to be kept safe. We do it every time we allow complacency or a rejection of personal responsibility to result in our refusal to offer the gospel to the world.
God's grace is sufficient to bring repentant hearts back into his arms. God's grace is sufficient to bring fearful and complacent churches back into his great plan for the world. Faithful churches are healthy churches. They remember whose they are. They remember what they are supposed to be. They remember their core values and live by them. They remember who is to receive the glory in all things.
The disciples failed. They ran when things got dangerous. Yet they were blessed in their repentance and faithfulness, and they were empowered to bring the message of the gospel, God's redeeming love, to the world. The faithful church will still do that today through its members and the new disciples that it seeks, trains, and sends back into the world.
Failure. Betrayal. Denial. Those first followers of Christ weren't the only ones guilty of these actions however. Every generation of believers in Christ have in some way failed to be there when their Master needed them to be awake and active. We have betrayed our Savior to a world that seeks to destroy him. When questioned about our relationship to Jesus, we all too often deny that we have one, either out of fear or the inconvenience of the situation.
Jesus lived a life of truth. He was loyal to his friends right through a death on a cross, their only hope of spiritual salvation. He promised that as long as we remain faithful to him, he will be faithful to us. If we deny him, he has no choice but to deny that he has a relationship with us. Through our lack of action and failure to speak, we deny him and refuse to stand up for him and the truth he represents.
Individuals are guilty of failing, betraying, and denying their Lord Jesus Christ. So are churches. When churches allow the world to dictate priorities, values, and methods, they are guilty of failing the One whose sacrifice is their foundation. Our churches would do well to read Matthew 26 and apply its lessons to their witness.
Jesus lived out the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Churches must be found faithful to these as well. Jesus lived out the actions of Matthew 25. Churches through their membership and their public actions must also live out these ministries. When churches fail in carrying out their responsibilities as salt and light in their communities, they betray the One who gave his all for them. When churches reject the mandate of Matthew 28, they deny their relationship and their accountability to the Risen Lord.
Judas handed Jesus to those who wanted him dead. The 21st century church must not hand over the Body of Christ to the ones who want it dead. Yet we do it every time we compromise in order to be found acceptable. We do it every time we compromise in order to be kept safe. We do it every time we allow complacency or a rejection of personal responsibility to result in our refusal to offer the gospel to the world.
God's grace is sufficient to bring repentant hearts back into his arms. God's grace is sufficient to bring fearful and complacent churches back into his great plan for the world. Faithful churches are healthy churches. They remember whose they are. They remember what they are supposed to be. They remember their core values and live by them. They remember who is to receive the glory in all things.
The disciples failed. They ran when things got dangerous. Yet they were blessed in their repentance and faithfulness, and they were empowered to bring the message of the gospel, God's redeeming love, to the world. The faithful church will still do that today through its members and the new disciples that it seeks, trains, and sends back into the world.
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