Don’t Be Judgy, Be Discerning
We’re looking at perhaps one of the most loved Bible passages of our secular culture. At least one of the best-known and most quoted: “Judge not lest ye be judged.” Yet, as one commentator said, “Our supremely tolerant society is more judgmental than ever.”
Jesus, however, is not condemning all forms of judgment. He tells us to avoid hypocrisy and judgmentalism. We should be aware of our own flaws and struggles before graciously helping others with theirs. Lastly, we should not waste the time and energy the Lord has entrusted to us on those who are unreceptive.
I was a little upset at one of my bosses awhile back because we were supposed to have a meeting at the office at 8:30. We have a work call every weekday morning at 8am so I was sure to leave at the beginning of the work call to make the meeting at the office in time. However, towards the end of the call, when I was like 5 minutes from the office, my boss said the meeting was canceled…
I wasn’t super excited about that. Honestly, I was a little annoyed and frustrated. But look what Jesus says…
1) Judging can be Dangerous
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”
This verse warns against the dangers of judging others because we will be judged in the same way. It is not my place to say someone else is guilty before God. That is way above my pay grade. Christians can pronounce “that is good” and “that is wrong” but not “you are condemned by God.” That is not our place.
To bring back the story with one of my bosses… I too have had to cancel a meeting at the eleventh hour… Who am I to cast the first stone?…
“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
One person I read said, “Being judgmental means you attempt to play God when you are not. You apply to others a standard you do not want applied to yourself, and your spiritual vision is blurred. You lose perspective and fail to see reality as it truly is.”
Would I want judged with the same severity with which I am judging others?
2) Judging can be Dysfunctional
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?”
Our judging can be flat wrong or at least not make any sense. Again, I made a big deal about my boss canceling the meeting but it’s not a big deal. And when I make that perceived wrong a big deal I blind myself to my own issues. I am not seeing clearly. I’m blinded and in a dangerous place.
We see dysfunctional, hypocritical, and blind judging in 2 Samuel 12:1-7. Nathan, sent by God, tells David a story about a rich man who, instead of using his own livestock, takes the only lamb belonging to a poor man. David, upon hearing the story, is immediately angered by the rich man’s actions and demands justice, declaring the man deserves death and should restore fourfold to the poor man.
Nathan then turns the tables: ”You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7), directly accusing David of the same sin he had condemned in the parable. Thankfully, this helped David see reality. He saw the massive plank in his eye and repented.
We often need to get our eyes off others and get them on ourselves. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” That is, you do the right thing. You can’t control others. As far as it depends on you, you do the right thing.
3) Judging can be (self) Deceptive
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Jesus instructs us to address our own flaws before attempting to correct others. This visual really sticks with you, doesn’t it?… Get it‽… “Sticks” with you?…
Anyhow, Jesus’ visual makes a very graphic and good point. How can I see to help someone when I have a massive telephone pole sticking out of my own eye? I’m not in a good place to help someone else. “Physician heal thyself.” So, this verse highlights the absurdity of trying to correct others while ignoring our own shortcomings.
When our focus is on others, we can’t see reality. We will be self-deceived.
We should pursue humility and self-awareness. We should consider where we are guilty of hypocrisy… Now, in some ways, I am sure we will all always be guilty of some form of low-grade hypocrisy. But at least if we’re aware of it we will be in a better position to graciously help others who struggle too. We will be aware that we to at least have a speck in our own eye. We’ll be keenly aware of the Lord’s grace and kindness to us and we’ll be better able to extend grace and kindness to others.
Here’s a good question for us to consider: are you more sensitive to the sin of others than to your own sin?
4) Judge with Discernment
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”
This verse warns against wasting our time and energy sharing with those who are unwilling to receive what we share. This applies to all sorts of situations.
This verse clearly teaches that not all forms of judgment are wrong. We are to discern and judge. We, however, are not to be judgmental and judgy. After all, Jesus Himself made judgments and practiced discernment so it doesn’t seem like it would make sense for Him to outlaw all forms of judgment. Jesus Himself dismisses a group of religious leaders (Matt. 15:14), writes off Herod (Luke 13:31-33), and promises judgment to whole a city (Matt. 11:20-24). Jesus called Herod Antipas “that fox” and He called the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees “whitewashed tombs” and a “brood of vipers.” Now Jesus had perfect discernment so we should be careful going around calling people a “brood of vipers.” That would be good discernment for us to show.
Spurgeon says it this way, ”You are not to judge, but you are not to act without judgment… Saints are not to be simpletons; they are not to be judges, but, also, they are not to be fools.” We must discern who is receptive to the message and who is not. We must be wise in sharing and avoid wasting efforts on those who are unreceptive. Matthew 10:11-15 is one of the applications of Matthew 7:6.[1]
Conclusion
There are many things we must be aware of when it comes to judgment. We must judge with discernment and must be sure that we ourselves are not being hypocritical and self-deceived. But, as throughout Jesus’ whole sermon, Jesus cares about and is getting to our hearts.
Jesus is reminding us that we are a different type of people. We are His people. We are forgiven people. And, forgiven people, forgive people. We are justified people. And justified people judge justly and humbly.
As Jesus’ apprentices, we should be known for how sincerely we love people, not how severely we judge people.[2] We are people of loving light, not shadowy darkness. Light exposes sin, that is true. But our exposure of sin should only be to apply the loving salve of the gospel. A doctor may uncover a festering wound but it is only to bring healing. We are salt to preserve, not to burn.
Jesus Himself, the light of the world, came into the world not to condemn but in order that the world might be saved through Him. The reality is, the world was already condemned. But Jesus came to save.
As Jesus’ people, we should show mercy because our Father shows mercy. He has been merciful to us and so we are merciful to others. Judging harshly reveals that we have failed to fully understand and appreciate the abundance and undeserving nature of God’s grace to us. As Christians, we should be different. Jesus showed just discernment and Jesus from the cross said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
As Sinclair Ferguson has said, “The heart that has tasted the Lord’s grace and forgiveness will always be restrained in its judgment of others. It has seen itself deserving judgment and condemnation before the Lord and yet, instead of experiencing his burning anger, has tasted his infinite mercy.”
Notes
*I read through several helpful resources on this topic. I reference them here since I may have missed citations: Amy-Jill Levine, Sermon on the Mount, Jonathan T. Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing, Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, D.A. Carson, Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World, Ed Gallagher, The Sermon on the Mount.
[1] Jesus sent out His disciples and said: “And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”
[2] As Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Photo by Viktor Talashuk
Biography As A Form of Discipleship: Edwards, Spurgeon, & Lloyd-Jones (pt. 2)
Different Levels of Gifting, Same Stewardship
Lloyd-Jones had a profound memory, “it was as if he was unraveling an endless ball of wool.”[1] Edwards had a keen intellect being the foremost of American thinkers. Spurgeon was “the Prince of Preachers.” As we can see by these small examples, these men were especially gifted by God but they were not merely gifted, they were also faithful with the gifts God entrusted to them. We will all be held accountable for what God has entrusted to us but praise God I am not held accountable for the intellect of Edwards. That, however, in no way clears me from being faithful. These men were not merely amazingly gifted but amazingly faithful. We may not be able to preach like Spurgeon but we can seek by God’s empowering to be faithful like him.
We are all stewards entrusted with different amounts, some 30, 60, and a 100 fold, but we must all be faithful (Matt. 13:8; 25:14-30; Luke 12:35-48; 1 Peter 4:10). I have not been entrusted with the same stewardship as the men of whom we are seeking to emulate, and it is highly unlikely that you have either. However, these men were not merely gifted, they were all entirely dedicated to the Lord (we will turn to this in more detail shortly). Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player of all time, still worked hard. What made him so great was that he was not just talented but also tough in his discipline. The men we are looking at were gifted, there is no doubt, but they were also incredibly faithful. So the first thing we see to emulate from them is their faithfulness.
They were Consumed with God’s Glory
All three of these men here were greatly concerned for the glory of God, even if this desire came to fruition differently in the lives of each man. They did not all, like Edwards, write The End for Which God Created the World, but they all would have agreed with what he wrote and desired, like him, to glorify God with their utmost ability.
It is said that though “Edwards was intellectually brilliant and theologically commanding, his true greatness lay in his indefatigable zeal for the glory of God.”[2] Likewise, “The chief element of Spurgeon’s entire career” was not his preaching, or anything else; it “was his walk with God.”[3] This was also central to Lloyd-Jones: “A God-centered theology was not an addition to his personal life, it was central to it… His jealousy for God’s glory… flowed from his knowing something of being in the presence of God.”[4] In fact, Lloyd-Jones’ concerned for God’s glory, told Iian H. Murray, his biographer, that the biography should be done “for God’s glory only.”[5]
We should, like these men, seek in whatever we do to glorify God. We must, however, remember that we are all gifted differently and thus the route we take may be different than that of these three men. We are all called to different things, but we are all called to seek to glorify God in whatever we do.
They had an All-Encompassing Commitment to Christ[6]
This section is one of the most significant sections. We must remember, however, that these men’s complete commitment to God was not something they mustered up on their own. God gave even that to them. He showed Himself glorious to them, more glorious than anything else, and their complete devotion followed.[7] These men invested all, their time and talent, indeed, their heart, soul mind, and strength because they had been granted eyes to see that God and His glory were worth it.
Their all-encompassing commitment to Christ flowed out of their understanding of the glory of Christ. Not only did these men see that God was glorious and thus worthy for themselves to entirely comment to but also that He was Lord of all. They understood the language in the New Testament that says that Jesus is our Master/Lord and we are slaves, which clearly implies that we do whatever He says, whenever He says it.[8]
Benjamin B. Warfield said that Edwards committed himself without reserve to God. His whole spirit panted to be in all its movement subjected to God’s government.[9] Edwards explained his reasoning for his total commitment. He said,
If God be truly loved, he is loved as God; and to love him as God, is to love him as the supreme good. But he that loves God as the supreme good, is ready to make all other good give place to that; or, which is the same thing, he is willing to suffer all for the sake of this good.[10]
Edwards was entirely committed to God because He is “the supreme good.”
Spurgeon commenting on first Kings 18:21 said, “If God be God, serve him, and do it thoroughly; but if the world be God, serve it, and make no profession of religion.” Later he goes on to tell us, “Either keep up your profession, or give it up… Let your conduct be consistent with your opinions.”[11] What Spurgeon was saying is, if the Bible and the gospel are true we must live as though they are. We must live in line with what we believe. As the scriptures say, “The LORD is God; there is no other… therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in His statutes and keeping His Commandments” (1 Kings 8:60-61).
Spurgeon lived out what he said. People told Spurgeon that he would break down his constitution by preaching ten times a week among all his other labors. But Spurgeon’s desire, like Paul’s, was to spend and be spent. Spurgeon could say, “If I had fifty constitutions I would rejoice to break them down in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[12]
Spurgeon gave his money, time, and self completely to the Lord. God used Spurgeon greatly. He wrote over 140 books, penned around 500 letters a week, spoke to thousands of people each week, started an orphanage, started a pastor’s college, and led countless people to Christ among other things. That was all possible because he gave himself entirely to the Lord. One of Spurgeon’s biographers, Arnold Dallimore said, “Early in life he had lost all consideration of his own self, and his prayer that he might be hidden behind the cross, that Christ alone might be seen, had expressed his heart’s chief purpose.”[13] Dallimore also said, “Spurgeon was characterized by an earnestness that almost defies description.”[14]
Lloyd-Jones, too, saw that “our supreme duty is to submit ourselves unreservedly to Him.”[15] In fact, “Essential Puritanism,” Lloyd-Jones argued, “put its emphasis upon a life of spiritual, personal religion, an intense realization of the presence of God, a devotion of the entire being to Him.”[16] You can see that Lloyd-Jones did exactly that all over the place in his life, he gave himself to God and the work that He had for him. “When God calls us,” Lloyd-Jones said, “He is to be obeyed in spite of all natural feelings.”[17] Lloyd-Jones not only said this but practiced it himself because he was entirely commented to Christ.
God is looking for individuals in this generation who will rise above the status quo of contemporary Christianity and say with Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon, and Edwards, “‘I am completely Yours.’”[18] We must resolve, as Edwards did, to be the jar of clay through which God will display his surpassing power. We must seek for pleasure in God above all things. We must seek to be so heavenly-minded that we can be of some earthly good. We must do all this with all the power that God so mightily works in us by His grace. “If one is to impact this world for Jesus Christ, he must live as Edwards did, with extraordinary purpose and firm determination.”[19]
Notes
[1] Murray, The Fight of Faith, 376 see also 406n1, 453, 759.
[2] Steven J. Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards (Lake Mary, Florida: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2008), 4.
[3] Arnold Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1999), 177.
[4] Murray, The Fight of Faith, 764-65.
[5] Ibid., 729 see also xxiv.
[6] See Deut. 6:5; 1 Kings 8:61; Matt. 8:22; 22:37-38; Mark 12:30 (heart, soul, mind and strength, i.e. total devotion); Luke 10:27; 14:25-33; 16:13; Rom. 14:7-8; 1 Cor. 7:35 (Paul wants to secure an “undivided devotion to the Lord”); 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:9; 14-15; Phil. 3:7-8; Col. 3:17, 23, and 1 John 2:3-6 for some examples of the all-inclusive nature of the call of Christ. Also in Romans 12:1, we are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice because that is our reasonable (logical) worship. Thomas R. Schreiner says, “Paul used the term with the meaning ‘rational’ or ‘reasonable,’ as was common in the Greek language. His purpose in doing so was to emphasize that yielding one’s whole self to God is eminently reasonable. Since God has been so merciful, failure to dedicate one’s life to him is the height of folly and irrationality” (Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans [Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998], 645 [italics mine].). In addition, Schreiner points out that “the word ‘bodies’ here refers to the whole person and stresses that consecration to God involves the whole person… Genuine commitment to God embraces every area of life” (Ibid., 644. Italics mine). Christianity is all-encompassing.
[7] God often shows His glory to us before He calls us to comment to Him in unreserved obedience. Note, for example, in the Decalogue. God gives the commands but first He adds a relational and redemptive element, namely, “I am the LORD your God [relational], who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery [redemptive]” (Deut. 5:6). This same thing is seen throughout Scripture, both OT and NT.
[8] “Edwards would say that actions do reveal something about a man’s will and heart. Professing Christ implies being subject to him in practice, it entails the promise of universal obedience to him” (Iain H. Murray, Jonathon Edwards: A New Biography, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), 336). Edwards understood that “none profess to be on Christ’s side, but they who profess to renounce his rivals” (Idem, Jonathon Edwards: A New Biography, 337). Lloyd-Jones clearly saw that one cannot “receive Christ as Saviour without receiving Him as Lord” (Idem, The Fight of Faith, 470).
[9] Murray, Edwards, 98.
[10] Jonathon Edwards, Charity and its Fruits, (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2005), 257.
[11] C. H. Spurgeon, sermon “Elijah’s Appeal to the Undecided” from 1 Kings 18:21 (italics mine).
[12] Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography, 132.
[13] Ibid., 239.
[14] Ibid., 76.
[15] Murray, The Fight of Faith, 181 (italics mine).
[16] Ibid., 460n1 (italics mine).
[17] Ibid., 588.
[18] Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, 60.
[19] Ibid.
Biography As A Form of Discipleship: Edwards, Spurgeon, & Lloyd-Jones (pt. 1)
Introduction
We have clear scriptural warrant for emulation. We see this through Jesus’ earthly ministry; He made disciples and in the Great Commission, He instructed us to make disciples (Matt. 28:19). We see this precedence all throughout the New Testament. We will examine a few examples to establish the usefulness and biblical grounds for Christian biography.
The writer of Hebrews instructs us to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12). He also encourages us with the thought of all the saints that have gone before us. He says, “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race set before us” (12:1). Of course, he wisely reminds us that our supreme example is Jesus (12:2). Again, he says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (13:7). I think here, we can deduce that many times it is a good principle to wait to imitate leaders until we have considered “the outcome of their way of life.” This also shows us that we should not imitate them wholesale but evaluate them. We can emulate good Christian leaders, and that is fine, but we must always remember that only “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8).
Paul tells us to “honor such men” (Phil. 2:29)[1] who are faithful in service to the Lord. Paul even urged people to imitate himself (1 Cor. 4:16), but only as much as he imitated Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).[2] I wonder if one reason for this is proximity. It is one thing to ask, “What would Jesus do,” it is another thing to see someone who by our evaluation tends to do things that Jesus would have done had He faced similar circumstances. It is easier to understand what love is when it has flesh on. Paul continues to say imitate me, but not just me, but also those who follow my example (Phil. 3:17). Thus, in as much as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and Lloyd-Jones follow Paul as he followed Christ we should seek to learn from biography’s and emulate them.[3]
It is helpful for most human beings to see something demonstrated before they attempt to do it themselves; it is just how we tend to learn. This is also what we see when it comes to spiritual matters. We need someone to imitate because we are naturally imitators, but not just anyone. Imitators (mimetes) simply means ones who follow. We see this in some of its related words: a “mime” is someone who acts out an imitation of another person or animal. And a “mimeograph” is a machine that makes copies from a template. Thus, we see the template/person we chose to copy/imitate is vital because if we do our job well we will be a lot like them.
The New Testament shows us the importance of discipleship and there is even a sense in which those who have died can still teach us.[4] Look for example at the impact that Jonathon Edwards has had on John Piper or the impact of both Edwards and Spurgeon on Lloyd-Jones.[5]
Then look at the impact that Piper has had on many others. It reminds me of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy (2 Tim 2:1-2). Obviously, Paul is an apostle and Edwards is not, but the principle still applies. We in the 21st century have an unprecedented opportunity to entrust good teaching to faithful men who will teach others also. Biographies are a good source to use when discipling men. It is helpful for us to see men who though they are dead, still speak by the life of faith they lived. However, we must remember to evaluate them in light of Christ and see where they succeeded in following Him and where they failed.[6] We must learn from both the good and the bad. To this, we will turn momentarily but first, we will look at the unique way that God gifts certain people differently yet expects everyone, though not equally gifted, to be equally faithful.
Notes
[1] In this verse, in the Greek, we see the present imperative so Paul is commanding them to continually honor faithful men, in this case, Epaphroditus.
[2] In both these verses from First Corinthians, we see the present imperative tells us to habitually follow the command. It is to be our long-term commitment, our lifestyle, to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ.
[3] We could look at many other texts here to establish the legitimacy, indeed, the blessing of biographies however; we do not have the space for that here. Here are some further texts to look at Phil. 4:8-9; 1 Thess, 1:6, 7; 2 Thess. 3:9.
[4] The Hebrew writer reminds us that we can learn even from Abel though he has long since been dead. Even Abel “through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Heb. 12:4) Even though we do not know very much about him we can still learn from what he “speaks” with his demonstration of faith.
[5] Iian H. Murray, D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009), 421 see also idem, D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), 196n1.
[6] As J. C. Ryle has said, “The best of men are only men at their very best. Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles,—martyrs, fathers, reformers, puritans,—all, all are sinners, who need a Saviour: holy, useful, honourable in their place,—but sinners after all” (Murray, D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith, 752).
Photo by Aaron Burden
Our Time is Today
Our time is today, not yesterday, or yesteryear. We must be faithful today with the challenges we face today.
The story of Esther is one of the most epic stories there is. It has everything you could want in a story. It has a heroine whose time to shine is today. “For such a time as this.”
Obviously, I’m not Esther. And even my sister whose name is Esther, is not Esther. But could it be for Esther (my sister), for you, for me, that the time is now?! Perhaps God is calling us “for such a time as this”?
Let’s do what God gave us to do
God put us where He put us to do what He called us to do. There’s purpose and pleasures enough in that.
God has called us to be faithful today with the gifts and challenges we have. He hasn’t called us to be Spurgeon or Jonathan Edwards. Though perhaps He has called us to be this generation’s version and He has certainly called us to be inspired and encouraged by those who have gone before. But our lives and ministries will not or should not mimic theirs.
What Jesus said to Peter is powerful for many reasons but notice what was said: “What is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22). That is our part to play. We follow Jesus and the unique path He has set out for us. We don’t need to do what someone else has done. Jesus is likely not calling us to replicate their success. He is calling us in our unique setting with our unique talents (Matthew 25:14-30) to make much of Him in our own way.
For we are God’s masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life (Eph. 2:10).
Let’s speak in a way people can easily understand
I like the Puritans like the next guy (who also grew up theologically in the specific stream of Christianity as I did). I’ve read Baxter, Bunyan, Brooks, and Burroughs, and I’ve read authors whose last names don’t start with “B” too, Charnock, Owens, and Edwards. However, their 16th- 17th-century language will be slightly confusing to most people. I’ve enjoyed and gleaned from Augustine, Calvin, and Luther. But I’m not, nor will I ever be, in their world. I need to bring the stores of treasures they’ve revealed forward to our day.
Why do I say we need to speak in a way people will understand? Two reasons come immediately to mind. One, Jesus spoke in an understandable way.[1] Second, the New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the common form of Greek. It was not reserved for the intellectually elite. Of course, this does not mean no content in the New Testament is difficult to understand. There certainly is complexity in the Bible! A whole lot of it! But the biblical authors, especially the New Testament authors, wrote to be understood. We too must be aware of our culture and seek to faithfully “put the cookies on the lowest shelf.”
Let’s not whine about culture, but instead cultivate loving wisdom
As Carl Truman wisely says, “The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.” (Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self). Plus, Trueman says,
As for the notion of some lost golden age, it is truly very hard for any competent historian to be nostalgic. What past times were better than the present? An era before antibiotics when childbirth or even minor cuts might lead to septicemia and death? The great days of the nineteenth century when the church was culturally powerful and marriage was between one man and one woman for life but little children worked in factories and swept chimneys? Perhaps the Great Depression? The Second World War? The era of Vietnam? Every age has had its darkness and its dangers (Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self).
We don’t get to choose what we face but only how we face what we face. But even when we have done all we were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).
Action this Day
“Action this Day” is a phrase and sticker Winston Churchill used during World War II to indicate a task that required immediate action. If Churchill put the red “Action this Day” sticker on something there was no choice. There would be action. What action is Jesus calling you to today?[2]
Notes
[1] I realize this was not always the case. He did intentionally make things confusing sometimes.
[2] I think of “The man in the arena”:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
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Jesus is the foundation, not “free love” or “forced law”
Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:46-49).
To oversimplify, it seems to me that Christians who lean towards the conservative right could be liable to overly rejoice when moral ground is gained. On the other hand, more liberal-leaning Christians may be tempted to be overly distraught with certain people’s elections.
The reality is, however, that Jesus is the foundation—He is the solid ground. Everything else is sinking sand. Everything.
As Christians, may we not sing moralities praise or prosperities praise! No. Just Jesus’! Sure, prosperity is a blessing and a stewardship and I definitely believe it’s better to have a moral nation rather than an immoral one. But still, let’s keep our focus where our focus should lie: Christ and His Kingdom.
To oversimplify (again!), if one society leans towards “free love” and license (licentiousness), and one towards “forced law” and legalism, the ramifications will obviously be different but neither will be wholly good. The only truly good society is one built on Jesus. Now, of course, the full realization of that Kingdom is in the future (already/not yet).[1]
But we should faithfully work within our current “kingdoms,” and work for their prospering (Jeremiah 29:7). We shouldn’t be overly pessimistic or optimistic. We should think with sober and realistic judgment. And we should ever look to Jesus and His word and radically love and trust Him so we’re not hoodwinked (Revelation 2:4).
Sometimes the “free love” side rejoices when people have the freedom to make whatever choices they want, whatsoever those choices are. The “free love” side seems to see this “freedom” to align with love. On the other hand, Christians who lean towards the “forced law” side, see the enforcement of morality as good because law is good.
But Jesus talked about the law of Christ. He talked about the law of liberty. Jesus talked about something different from either one of those paradigms. We see this “law of love” in a few different places in Scripture.
- Starting in Deuteronomy 6:5 and 18, God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might… you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord.”
- In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus states that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
- In John 13:34 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.”
- Romans 13:8 and 10 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
- Galatians 5:14 says about the same thing: “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
- James 2:8–9 shows us that the royal law of love is to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Jesus isn’t building a “free love” or a “forced law” structure. Jesus explodes both of those paradigms as wrong and shortsighted. As Christians, we are to be about the Jesus structure, Jesus’ Kingdom. A whole different way of being human.
Jesus wasn’t with the Pharisees rejoicing at morality. Though, He did say you should do as they do—i.e., be moral (Matthew 23:3).[2] But Jesus wasn’t just super stoked at morality for morality’s sake. He didn’t act like morality itself was the cure to all that ails society (I know this sounds strange but hear me out).
But Jesus did talk about law. He fulfilled it! He also talked about and showed love. What Jesus got at, and the level we need to most care about, is the heart!
Jesus is the tightrope. We stand on Him or else! It’s perilous on either side. The solution is not merely “love” or “law.” It’s something altogether different. It’s the law of love.
Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. Until individuals in society have their houses firmly built on Him “love” and “law” are both sand and the house is destined to fall.
Let’s rejoice at what God rejoices at. We’re told God rejoices when a sinner comes to Him for salvation. God throws a party when that happens! God doesn’t throw a party when someone allows someone else to “follow their own heart,” whatever it is their heart says. God also doesn’t throw a party when someone is more morally upstanding than someone else. Actually, God says, “Woe to you hypocrites!” God rejoices, rather, when those who are utterly needy see their need and turn to Him. He rejoices when people build their everything on Jesus.
Are moral laws good for society? Is love good for society? Yes and yes! With Jesus they are. When Jesus defines law and love, yes. But where Jesus is not King, Satan reigns.[3] There have been nations that have been considered quite moral. Many Muslim countries are “moral” and Nazi Germany was even moral in many ways. But “moral” is not the Christian’s ultimate desire.
We pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Heaven is not just moral, however. Heaven is a world of love. But it’s not “love” in the sense of the culture of the French Revolution.
We’d be wise to remember these words from that old hymn, “How Firm A Foundation”:
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.E’en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!
Whether the dictatorship of oppressive law or the rage and licentiousness of the masses, the Christian’s hope is this: we have a firm foundation on the Lord. If to Jesus we have fled, no tempest can touch us. No breach can be made. We are loyal to the Lord of angelic armies, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. The path to victory may lay in the grave, we’re not promised the road will be easy, but as sure as we’re planted we will rise.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!
So, let come what may! This world’s awash in sand but we’re built on the Stone! Let’s rejoice not in so-called “law” or “love,” but in Christ! And let’s ourselves live the law of love. A more moral culture is great but may we never forget we need Jesus!
As Christians, let’s build our house on Jesus the Rock and not just hear His word but do what He says (Luke 6:47). Let’s articulate and live a positive vision of life that calls us forward.[4] Let’s actually be what Jesus has called us to be. Let’s be salt in a world of decay, loving light in a world of darkness.
Notes
[1] The “already/not yet” theological concept refers to the idea that Christians already possess spiritual blessings, but they are not yet fully experiencing the complete consumption of those blessings.
[2] Jesus says, “Do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
[3] Obviously, Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, and there is no being in the universe who will not bow before Him. But Satan is the god of this world and we can’t serve two masters (2 Cor. 4:4; Matt. 6:24). So, it would seem, that people are either ultimately following Jesus or following Satan.
[4] “As Christian theologians, we are not followers of John the Baptist, the prophet of national repentance, but of Jesus Christ, the bringer of good news to the whole world. The core of our response toward moral decline—where and when it exists—should be to articulate a positive vision of life that calls us forward” (Miroslav Golf and Matthew Croasmun, For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference).
Photo by Julian Gentile
Confession Before A Christian Meal
When our church gathers, we always share a meal together. Sharing a meal follows the pattern of the early church and helps us cultivate hospitality and relationships; both of which are sorely lacking in our American culture. Before we eat, we share a confession to remind ourselves of the special significance of eating together.[1] Here are some of our past confessions:
“Let us say what we believe…
#1: Being the apprentices of someone who is sinless and who died for the sins of a sinful world, never promised to be easy or to fit nicely into the life we carved out for ourselves. Jesus says, “If you lose your life you will find it.” He doesn’t say, “Find a place to fit Me in.” But the reason Jesus so wants to explode our lives and the way of living is not because He is some monster that wants to ruin the good thing we have going. No! Jesus wants us to walk in the way of abundant, full flourishing, and eternal life. Jesus, as the way, the truth, and the life, knows how we ought to live, and wants us to walk that straight and narrow, beautifully righteous, road.
One of the things Jesus shows He values is eating with others, eating with friends and soon-to-be friends. We take time to eat and talk because Jesus did. We take time to love because Jesus did. So, as we eat and talk and love today, let’s seek to take time this week to do the same. As followers of Jesus, let’s follow Jesus.
#2: Messiah Jesus has called us together to be a people of purity in a land littered with porn, He has called us to be light in a world of darkness, salt in a world of decay, a harbor of hope in a world of hopelessness. He has called us to be His people of radical love in a world of hate. So, as we gather, may God gift us and grow us to that end. May God build us up as we are gathered and use us to bless this broken world as we scatter.
#3: Jesus’ Kingdom is made up of people from Sierra and Senegal, Armenia and America, China and Chad, Portugal and Pakistan, Mexico and Malaysia, and many many more. The reality is, in Christ, we are all one. Division is dead. We are united. So, we are to live together in purposeful unity. It will not be easy, but Jesus’ blood was spilled to welcome us into union with Him and each other. We should not disregard Jesus’ great sacrifice for us, instead, we must “make every effort to keep the unity” (Eph. 1:3).
#4: As we eat even a meager meal together it is significant. We testify to the truth of our unity in Jesus. We remember the relationship with God and each other that Jesus has welcomed us into at great cost to Himself. We remember the various people that Jesus ate with while He walked the earth—prostitutes, Pharisees, and frauds. He welcomed them, He welcomes us, and we are to welcome others. We also remember that soon we will eat with Jesus and with people from every tribe, language, nation, and tongue.
#5: We eat remembering the fellowship and love of the Trinity and we share together in that fellowship. We eat as an act of rebellion against the ways of the world. We eat as a tangible reminder of all we share. So, while we eat, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding (Rom. 14:19).
#6: God gives the gift of rain and crop, He gives the gift of life, and breathe, and everything. Often we as humans fight over everything. But in a meal we share and partake together. We give grace and we receive grace. A meal is a teacher and a uniter. God cares about meals. As we eat, we remember and we are thankful that we are not in the final analysis independent, we are dependent, dependent on God and upon one another.
#7: Jesus’ posture on the cross is His posture towards us; His arms are open wide. Jesus says to everyone who is thirsty, “Come. Quench your thirst.” To everyone who is sick, Jesus says, “Come. Be healed.” To everyone who is lonely, Jesus says, “Come. Be loved.” Jesus welcomes us, so we welcome one another, and we welcome others. And as we eat now, we remember and celebrate the fellowship Jesus welcomes us into.
#8: When the church comes together, it’s a political rally. We testify and celebrate the reality that Jesus is King. Jesus reigns in goodness, justice, and power. And though we may not see it with physical eyes, we are a powerful group of people, because we are the LORD’s people, we are the church of God (Gal. 1:13; 1 Cor. 10:32, 15:9). We all together are in Christ. Our identity is new in Him; we are not the old people we used to be (2 Cor. 5:17), we are people who radically love, who radically give. We are in Jesus’ Kingdom and under His powerful and eternal reign. We can’t be hurt by the second death because we are more than conquerors and will celebrate at the marriage supper of the Lamb. So, even as we eat now, we testify to these realities. We remember and we rejoice.
#9: It is no light or flippant thing to gather with God’s saints. We celebrate and rejoice that we get to share this meal and time together. As Hebrew 10:24 says, we want to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, we do not want to neglect meeting together, but instead intentionally encourage one another. So now, Father, may you build us up, and bless us so we can bless the broken world that needs to know the love of your Son, Jesus.
#10: We together give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever (Ps. 136:1). We give thanks because the LORD is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17), the giver of life, breath, and everything (Acts 17:25). Our Lord gives food and friends to eat with. Therefore, as we come to eat together, we come with thankful hearts. Together we acknowledge God’s abundant goodness. As we eat, may we remember and teach ourselves and one another, that God is a God of extravagance and abundance; God has more grace, more love, and more pleasure in store, so may we likewise be lavish in our love for others.
[1] During the singing portion of our gathering, we sometimes confess one of the historic confessions (the Nicene Creed or Apostle’s Creed). I’ve thought about us systematically working through a confession but we haven’t done that yet.
Photo by Jaco Pretorius
We Should Invest mainly in the Body, not the Building
Wildly, “Every year in the United States, we spend more than $10 billion on church buildings. In America alone, the amount of real estate owned by institutional churches is worth over $230 billion.”[1] That’s what David Platt said in his eye-opening and challenging book, Radical. And Radical is an old book. It was released way back in 2010. I am sure the figures are much higher now (except the more than 4,000 churches closing every year may have impacted the numbers).
Platt shares a helpful example of where the American church is. He was looking at a Christian news publication. On the left side of the headline, it said, “First Baptist Church Celebrates New $23 Million Building… On the right, it said, Baptists have raised $5,000 to send to refuges in western Sudan.”[2] That is a little bit of a contrast to what we see practiced by the Macedonian church and held up as an example by Paul in 2 Corinthians 8.
Let’s build up the church and give radical offerings to the temple as they did in the Old Testament, but let us not be confused about what that temple is. Here we have no temple made by human hands but we seek the temple that is to come; the heavenly holy of holies. We must now invest our money and resources on the church, that is, the church body.
The universal church, the body of Christ from every tongue, tribe, and nation is where we should focus our money and work, not on building a material church. Why spend our money and work on a church that will burn when we could focus on saving the lost so that they may not burn? Buildings will burn, including church buildings, so may we focus on using what God has entrusted to us to spread the gospel so fewer eternal bodies burn and the true church of God is built up.
It should be realized here that I am not saying church buildings are bad. I don’t think they are. In fact, they are a blessing. But, like anything God gives us, they are a stewardship. If we are using our church’s building, resources, and wealth to the maximum capacity for the glory of God, that is great. We should leverage everything for Jesus our Master.
However, if we are not, we must evaluate our church budget. I personally don’t think extravagance in a church building is called for and is not a wise allocation of money and time. I, however, realize that extravagance is a relative term and not precise, this is intentional. I cannot determine what is the right stewardship for someone else’s church, only the head of the church can; namely, Christ, and the leadership He has put in place there.
But I believe we can apply what the Hebrew writer talks about when he says to throw aside every weight (cf. Heb. 12:1). The weight is not necessarily bad in and of itself, but it will undoubtedly slow us down. So, the Hebrew writer says, cast it off.
We, as the church, have a clear goal, the Great Commission. So, we must be intentionally wartime efficient. Everything must be measured up to the overarching goal with the realization that we are at war and these questions are important when there are millions dying and going to hell. There is no point in decking out a battleship like a cruise liner. Why take the time to add senseless trinkets to a ship that is needed in the war to save lives?
When we realize we are at war and people are dying, we should adjust our methods to more efficiently reach people. There are obviously certain components that every ship must have to be a ship and there are certainly things that a church must have to be a church. However, we must not add components that are not necessary if we seek to rapidly reproduce churches as is necessary if we are to reach the many lost and dying.
In Nehemiah 4, we see men of God working at masonry rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem with a sword tied to their waist so that they would be ready at any minute to fight. These men labored by day (in hard labor with a sword on) and by night they were on guard against any attack. They gave their time, health, and resources, and it was for an earthly Jerusalem. Should we not all the more labor to build up the body of Christ? Should we not spend and be spent for souls, as the Apostle Paul said?
Notes
[1] David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (Colorado, CO: Multnomah Books, 2010), 118.
[2] Platt, Radical, 15-16.
Photo by Meszárcsek Gergely
What if we believed Jesus was Lord, not just Savior?
What if church were different? What if we believed Jesus was Lord, not just Savior? There was a long debate on this very topic. It’s known as “the Lordship controversy.”
It is true that faith alone saves, but the real genuine faith that saves is never alone. If Jesus is Savior, He is also Lord (Eph. 2:8-10). We prove Jesus is our Savior by showing that He is our Lord (Matt. 7:21; Jn. 8:31; 15:8). He is no Lord if He does not reign. We indeed struggle and we strive as we follow our Savior. In Christ Jesus, we are all simultaneously saints, sinners, and sufferers, seeking to conform our likeness to Jesus.
But I fear that we as contemporary Christians have picked over what is known as Christianity and have taken what we think agreeable and ignored what we consider unpleasant. It is much the same way that a two-year-old eats. The child eats what it feels it will enjoy and pitches everything of seemingly no value. The problem with this is that any baby on its own will not eat as it should and will, therefore, become malnourished, sick, and run the risk of death. I fear this is a problem in the US Church today.
A survey The Barna Group conducted in 2006, found that
“Faith commitments sometimes play a role in what people do – but less often than might be assumed. In comparing the lifestyle choices of born again Christians to the national norms, there were more areas of similarity than distinction… In evaluating 15 moral behaviors, born again Christians are statistically indistinguishable from non-born again adults on most of the behaviors studied.”[1]
This should not be the case. 1 John 2:3-6 states,
“We know that we have come to know [Jesus Christ], if we keep His commandments. Whoever says ‘I know Him’ but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
James, similarly, tells us, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (1:22).
Jesus said, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46). If Jesus is Lord, and He is, He demands and deserves our full allegiance. We are commanded by the Lord Jesus to make disciples, it’s not an option. That’s not all though. We are told to teach the disciples to observe all that Jesus has commanded. We’re called to do much more than make converts, we are essentially commanded to multiply little Christs.[2]
Notice also that the Lord, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, has said, “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded them.” He didn’t say, “Teach them to understand everything I have commanded them.” Obedience is first. We often get that backward. We often focus so much on understanding every little jot and title that we don’t have any time or energy left to do what our Lord has given us to do.
When I was in Army boot camp and the drill sergeant told me to do something, I did it. I did it quickly. I didn’t ask why. I didn’t ask for a definition. I just did it. And I screamed “Yes drill sergeant! Moving drill sergeant!” I listened and I obeyed. The drill sergeant deserved and demanded respect and it was given. The drill sergeant was the boss and so there was obedience.
Jesus is the boss for whom every being in the entire universe will bow. He is the Creator, we are creation. What He says, we must do. Jesus is the Lord, not just the Savior.
Notes
[1] “’Born again Christians’ are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as ‘born again.’” The Barna Group, American Lifestyles Mix compassion and Self-Oriented Behavior, February 5, 2007. From: http://www.barna.org/donorscause-articles/110-american-lifestyles-mix-compassion-and-self-oriented-behavior on 6-15-10.
[2] Many passages tell us to be like Christ. For example: Matt. 16:24; 19:21; Jn. 13:14-15, 34-35; 17:18; 20:21; 1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1-2; Phil. 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Jn. 2:6; 3:16; 4:9-11.
Transforming Church Growth: From Addition to Multiplication
What if church were different? What if we grew exponentially instead of by addition?
Upwards of 80% of church growth is actually transfer growth.[1] We rearrange the furniture on the Titanic quite a bit, so to speak, but we’re not moving a whole lot of new people into the lifeboats. We’re adding some but we’re not multiplying very much.
The early church exploded, it didn’t merely add. Larry Hurtado gives this estimate on the exponential growth of Christianity: “One thousand Christians in 40 AD, about seven to ten thousand by 100 AD, about two hundred thousand or a bit more by 200 AD, and by 300 AD perhaps five to six million.”[2] There was a time when Methodists were growing at an outlandish pace. In 1776 Methodists made up just 2.5 % of religious adherents but by 1850 they were up to 34.2 %. Explosive growth has happened at various times throughout church history. How can it happen again in America?
First, we need to think super simple and super small.
You may be familiar with the story of the inventor of the chess game. As a reward for his invention he was offered one free wish as his reward by the king of India. As a most ‘modest’ reward, he wished just for a kernel of rice on the first square of the chess board to be squared (multiplied by itself) for every section of the chess board—64 sections in all. That will mean two kernels on the second square, four on the third, sixteen on the forth, and so on. The king, who had initially smiled on it, thinking that he would get off lightly, simply could not grant the wish. He would have to produce 26 kernels of rice, which is 2,223,372,036,000,000,000 kernels, or 153 billion tons of rice.[3]
We must do all the Bible things a church has to do but not all the modern American things, it doesn’t have to do. Simple things can spread quickly, but complexity bogs down. Also, disciples disciple, consumers don’t.
Second, trust that the Spirit has endowed the church body and individuals with various gifts to build up the body. Every Jesus follower has God the Spirit within them. They have latent potential. When Jesus’ followers work with others in the body, the body grows. It builds itself up in love. All the markings of a Jesus movement are contained in one church body. Just as, “In the seed the whole tree lies coiled, and in the tree, there lies the potential for the production of countless other seeds. In the tree is the full potential of the forest.”[4]
God has gifted His people. We go in the confidence of Jesus the Lord who has “all authority in heaven and earth” (Matt. 28:18). We go with the power of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who is with us and for us. We don’t need huge budgets and fancy buildings. We need to lean into all that God has already provided. It is more than enough. When we overly rely on buildings, budgets, and human wisdom, we often emphasize our power, and not God’s, and thus don’t see explosive growth. As D.L. Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to God.” What if we raise up an army of men and women who set their faces like flint and put their hands to the plow?
God never promised to bless our innovation or entertainment. He said sow, and then we’ll reap. It won’t always be “sexy,” in fact, it will often be scary, but that’s the work our Master has told us to be about.
The Jesus movement was not exponential, at first. By definition, nothing is exponential at first. But, if we actually focus on disciple-making, and not injecting Christians with consumerism resulting in lethargy and atrophy, a movement can happen.
We see a pattern of multiplication in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. God says, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28). God says to Abraham, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore”(Gen. 22:17). We see a call for multiplication in Acts (1:8) and we see that multiplication happening: “The church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied” (9:31).[5] Thus, later in Revelation, we see “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9-10).
Paul was about the multiplication of the Church and sacrificed to see it spread. Paul multiplied himself in others to facilitate the multiplication of the Church. Paul said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1 cf. Acts 20:18ff; Phil. 3:17; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7-8; Heb. 13:7; 1 Pet. 5:2-3).[6] Thus, Paul taught men, like Timothy, who would be able to carry on and teach others (2 Tim. 2:2). Paul’s desire was not to merely preach but to make many disciples. That was Paul’s consuming toil and struggle (Acts 14:21 cf. Col. 1:28-29). He sought the strength of his disciples and not merely their salvation (Acts 14:22; 15:32-41; 16:5; 18:23).
A church is never meant to be about that one church, it is to be about the Kingdom of God, the Church. So, the church is to pursue multiplication because it is a mere embassy of the Kingdom, it’s a local outpost. But, the church is about the Kingdom, and Kingdom expansion.
Notes
[1] Ken Sidey says, “research that shows that more than 80 percent of all the growth taking place in growing churches comes through transfer, not conversion” (“Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas” https://www.christianitytoday.com/1991/06/church-growth-fine-tunes-its-formulas/ see also David Dunlap, “The Myth of Church Growth,” Current Thoughts and Trends, 8/6, (June 1998), 7).
[2] Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods, 3.
[3] Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 208.
[4] Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 206.
[5] “There must have been hundreds of churches in the small cities and towns throughout this large region, but all of them together can be called a “church” (Gk. ekklēsia, singular in the earliest and best manuscripts of this verse, though some later manuscripts have the plural). The NT can apply the singular word “church” to the church meeting in a home (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19), in an entire city (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), in a large region (as here), or throughout the whole world (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 5:25)” (ESV Study Bible note on Acts 9:31).
[6] Robert L. Plummber, “Imitation of Paul and the Church’s Missionary Role in 1 Corinthians” in JETS 44/2 (June 2001) 219-35. This article demonstrates that individuals are called to imitate Paul in his witness for the gospel. However, Paul did not expect “bland uniformity” (235) because people are entrusted with different stewardships.
Should Christians Vote for Christian Values?
Yes but realize…
Voting for Christian values is important. It’s difficult, however, when we cannot be sure elected officials will support Christian values. Politicians blow with the wind of popular opinion.[1] And what if there are potentially Christian values on both sides? Further, what if Christian values are not the most important? What if Christian witness also matters? And what if people find themselves conflicted because they can’t, in good conscience, go with either party?
What if people feel that sometimes Christians have appeared to idolize political leaders and thus compromise Christian witness? We must value Christ and love others like Christ. Those are Christian values that aren’t a matter of conscience.
Also, the good news of Jesus is the power of God to salvation and thus transformation, not Christian morality. When Paul spoke to people in the secular marketplace, he didn’t preach Christian values. He lovingly related to them their need for Jesus.
Voting for Christian values may not be as cut and dry as it used to be. Christian values cut both ways. Christian values say abortion is wrong and honesty and humility are right; it says sexual immorality is wrong and radically loving others is right.
Yes but be aware of hypocrisy
As much as caring about Christian values for our country is a way of caring about people’s good and loving them, I think it is appropriate and commendable. But our concern for Christian values can easily devolve into fear. Are we advocating for Christian values from a place of fear or care? The way that we advocate will reveal a lot about our motivations. When Christians are belligerent and unkind, it appears the motivation is coming from a place of fear and not because they want to love their neighbor and protect them from the consequences of an immoral lifestyle.
Our motivation for voting for Christian values should not be a desire to stay safe or the moral majority. Our motivation should be the good of our neighbor. I believe Christian values are a form of common grace that leads to human and societal flourishing. It makes sense for Christians to want even a secular society to practice Christian values. The expectation, however, should be that secular society will not be inclined to practice those values. Why should Christian values be valuable to nonChristians?
This is especially true when Christians themselves aren’t living out the virtues. When Christians fail to display the fruits of the Spirit, for example, they’re not making a good case for nonChristians living Christian values. What impact might it have if Christians lived a lot more like Jesus? What if Christians were loving, kind, moral, gentle, hospitable, and not fearful? People might be intrigued, and Christian values might be more attractive. It sadly seems like the average Christian will talk about the woes of politics in the world but won’t weep about the prevalence of pornography in the Church.
Perhaps Christians need to focus more on living Christian values than implementing those values for others. If Christians across the USA are not themselves living Christian values, it seems like the height of hypocrisy to force them on others. If Christians across the nation lived like Jesus and practiced Christian values, I believe people would be very interested in Christian values. And more importantly, they would be interested in Christ.
Yes but more is needed than voting
As it is, I feel like Christians trying to pull the spec out of others’ eyes has distracted us from the log in our own eyes. But again, that’s not to say I don’t care about the USA or any other nation practicing Christian values. I would like every nation and everyone to practice Christian values! I want everyone to be like little Jesuses. But judgment starts with the church (1 Peter 4:17). If the Church isn’t healthy and following the Lord Jesus’ commands, maybe that’s the bigger deal. We should want everyone to practice Christian morality, but we shouldn’t expect it. In a sense, we should expect them not to (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:10).[2] Just as the president is not our pastor and chief, Babylon will never be the new Jerusalem. To what degree should we be satisfied enforcing Christian values? I’d much rather the Zeitgeist in the USA be changed, which happens by the Spirit through His people.
I also think it’s a problem when Christians seem to wholesale lineup with one party. Christians should be willing to lovingly critique both the right and the left. If we care about Christian values, it applies to both parties. Just as we want America to practice Christian values, we want politicians from the left and right to practice Christian values. If we call out people on the left (remember Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky?), we should be consistent and call out people on the right. If we’re not consistent in our critique, we make it seem like we are not standing on the solid basis of transcultural truth but are biased and trying to protect our preferred political party. Then Christian witness is inconsistent and incongruent.
Also, as the Founding Fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville said in Democracy in America, this country is for a moral people.[3] As John Adams famously said, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In his farewell address, George Washington said, “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” Essentially, when the morality, virtue, and integrity of the people begin to fail, the American experiment will begin to fail. Yet, we can’t change people’s hearts by changing rules. As the University of Pennsylvania seal says, “Laws without morals are useless” (Leges sine moribus vanae). Sure, I believe in good moral laws, but it is short-sighted to think an election can hold off what’s coming down the pike. Many Christians focus too much on politics and not enough on loving hospitality to those who are different than them.
The USA may be helped through voting, but it won’t be saved. We need an overhaul of character and yet at this time, Christians don’t seem to care about character. Many Christians seem to be looking for rescue from the rash and brash.
If we trust a political party to keep back the flood as the damn breaks, we’re trusting in a façade. No political party is the hope of America. If our morality is to truly change, hearts must change. Politics might be able to patch a hole here and there, but our focus must be concentrated where more impact will be felt. Plus, our goal as Christians is not to save America. It sadly seems that a lot of Christians care more about morality than people. It appears like many American Christians want to save America rather than Americans and care more about an earthly country than Jesus’ Kingdom.
Notes
[1] See e.g., https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-the-gop-became-pro-choice/ and https://wng.org/opinions/the-veepstakes-and-the-sanctity-of-life-1720520906.
[2] “Most of the New Testament’s moral witness is about Christian morality inside the life of the church. But that focus about Christian moral integrity doesn’t welcome moral chaos outside the church” (Andrew T. Walker, Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God’s Glory and our Good, 68).
[3] Tocqueville, for example, said, “Society is endangered not by the great profligacy of a few, but by the laxity of morals amongst all” and “A nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak.” Also, “Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not. Thus in order that there be society, and all the more, that this society prosper, it is necessary that all the minds of the citizens always be brought together and held together by some principle ideas.”
Photo by Elliott Stallion
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