The Church - Called to Proclaim the Gospel

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 Central to the church being the church is the proclamation of the Gospel.  Since the post-Resurrection church didn't truly begin until the Book of Acts, we can look from Acts through Revelation and see that in the writings of all the New Testament authors, the preaching of the Good News is central to what it means to be the church.  Consider these references from Paul's writings to Timothy and Titus:

"Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching."  
1 Timothy 4:13

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction."

2 Timothy 4:1-2

"You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine."
- Titus 2:1

This is just a little taste of all that the New Testament has to say about proclaiming the Word, and in particular, the Gospel of Christ.  From Acts (2:14-36) on, the church is called to tell people about the lostness of humanity and the grace of God in light of our need.  We can thus conclude a bold but biblical truth: any church that claims to be a church but does not preach the Gospel is indeed not a biblical church at all.

- tC

The Church, The Body

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"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."

- 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

One of the images Paul uses to describe the Church is the Body of Christ.  The passage above tells us that the Body (read: the Church) has many parts, but they are all linked together.  Thus here and in other places, Paul teaches us that the Church is called to live as a body, a body where each part serves a purpose connected to the greater good.  He goes so far as saying that the gifts each person in the Body is given are granted in order to bless others in the Church.

A simple conclusion: when a person decides to stay home and not gather with the Church on a Sunday morning for corporate worship, he or she may be the key element needed in the Body that day.  Just as opening a door requires many parts of the body but mainly it requires the hand, what if on that one day I chose not to gather with the Church I was needed, my gifts were needed, what I brought to the table was needed?  Suddenly, the Church is not just about me "getting something" out of Sunday morning, but instead it is about playing my part in the grand symphony that God is conducting.

- tC

The Church is called to Make Disciples.

One of the most well-known passages from the Gospel of Matthew is the closing (Matthew 28) where Jesus tells His hearers to go and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them.  At the core, one might argue that while there are many key things that the church does or many key elements of what it means to be the church, but I think it's safe to say that this is one of the main purposes of the church. 

If the church is called to make disciples, then the next logical question is, "What's a disciple?"  It's funny because most people could not clearly and concisely describe what a disciple is.  We often, I believe, assume that someone who is religiously active is a disciple but that is clearly not the case if you look at Matthew 23.  There Jesus challenges the religious leaders and confronts them on the way they are missing the cores of knowing and loving God.  Church attendance, praying pious-sounding prayers, giving a great deal of money - these MAY be signs of a disciple, but they are not the core facts about a disciple. 

Often the word “discipleship” is used to describe a broad spectrum and can be a term we use to describe the total scope of moving people toward being a fully-committed follower of Christ.  BUT the weakness of this approach is that we can then say that EVERYONE is in a place of discipleship, even if they are not interested in God at all (we could argue that God’s working despite that person’s hardened heart – Romans 1 – they know of God but reject Him).

To deal with this issue, I looked into the word “disciple” in the Bible – How does the Word of God describe what a disciple is?

- 2 references in the Old Testament (Isaiah has both)

- 294 references to a disciple in the New Testament (use of the word or references directly to people we would call disciples i.e. subtitles that use the word in the NIV)Of these examples, the Bible uses them to describe some of the early followers of Christ (and  those who seemed to just come and listen to Jesus) early on in the Gospels

- However, we should note that very quickly, the term disciple is used to describe those who are fully-committed to following Jesus. 

Their lives are exemplified by the following 4 attributes:
                                                * consistently following Jesus
                                                * commitment to learning from Jesus
                                                * commitment to being like Jesus (in character)
                                                * doing as Jesus did

So we conclude that there is something unique about a disciple – it’s not just a person who wants to come to church and be nice; it’s not a person who wants to meet with a mentor to just hang out.  At the core, a disciple is someone who has found the Pearl of Great Price and has sold EVERYTHING to have it.  A disciple might be best described using 1 John 2:6 – “Those who claim to be in Him must walk as He walked.” 

Sharing Material Items

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Another key element of the Church is the call to hold all material items very loosely.  Paul told the church at Philippi that he had learned to have much or to have nothing, that his material status had no impact on the way he saw himself in Christ (Philippians 4:10-13).  And if we look in Acts 2 and Acts 4, we see a radical generosity with the material items that the early Church had.  Acts 2 tells us that they had everything in common.  One commentator shares that he thinks this is less about one place where everyone kept his or her 'stuff', but more so that when a need came up, it wasn't question as to if it was going to be met.  The goods, though perhaps kept in one individual's home, were always available for the greater good.

Acts 4 tells us that no one claimed that anything was his own and then soon after states, "And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them."  Later in the New Testament, Paul says to the church at Corinth the he desires there to be equality among the believers in material items.

And so from these passages and others we can fairly conclude that part of the call of the Church is to be generous and to be very free and giving with our material items and wealth.

- tC

One of the cores to the Church being the Church

Overall, this is a challenging video to watch, but if you'll start at 36:16 and watch for a bit, you'll see that at the core, Christian churches should be defined by love, and in particular, loving one another.  Think about Paul telling the church in Galatia (chapter 5) that the only thing that matters in the end is faith expressing itself in love.  Think about Peter in 1 Peter 4 saying, "Above all, love one another, for love covers a multitude of sins."

So here's where we can start to critique, but we also have to self-examine.  When I gather with other Christians, is my goal to love on people?  Is my goal to encourage, to exhort, to love other followers of Christ, because when I do, and when we do - that is the Church being the Church. 

For other consideration, read that familiar passage in 1 Corinthians 13  and insert "the church" instead of the word "love" ('The church is patient, the church is kind...'). 

That's one core of the Church being the Church.

- tC

God's purpose for the Church

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His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Ephesians 3:10-11

So if the church is not the building but instead is the people of God, what is God's purpose in the church?  Ephesians 3 (above) tells us His purpose.  God has chosen the church to be the means to communicate to the world the grand mystery and story of Jesus Christ.  Paul tells us that in ages past the profound truth of Christ was a mystery, unknown to many who desired to know, but now - in the time of Paul and up through now (2011) - God shows the world the glory and goodness and love of Christ...in the church.  What a blessing and honor that God has placed upon us. 

Now, pause and think about what the church is often allowed to become - a place where, once (maybe twice) a week we gather to sing some songs and learn some of the Bible.  No, according to Paul's letter to the Ephesians, the church was not created to just learn and exist in a holy huddle, but instead to declare the glory of God.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that when the people of God proclaim the truth of God, the non-believer is likely to say, "God is really among you!" 

CONCLUSION 1 - One of the purposes of the church is to declare the wisdom of God in the mystery of Christ.

The Church Building

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If you've been in Christian circles for any amount of time, you've probably heard people talk about "going to church."  What they mean by that is usually that they are going to the building where Christians from a local community gather for worship services, teaching, serving others, and the like.  Now if you were to be like me (a stickler for language) you might say something like, "Well, the building isn't the church - the church, according to God's Word, is the people, the Body of Christ."  Quickly the response would likely come, "Oh but you know what I mean when I say 'church'."

I'm always thinking about our Christian-ese, the language Christian people often use.  I shared the other night that while the term 'lord' is biblical, it's not a word we use often these days unless it is followed by '...of the Rings'.  So when we throw around words like 'church' and then assume we know what we mean, I feel the need to stop us and say, "But do we?  Do we really KNOW what the 'church' is?"  Because here's the deal - we often don't know what the church is.  We don't know what the purpose of the church is, we don't know what the church should be doing or not doing, and and we often don't know where to look.  Too often I think we take our cues from the culture at large instead of from the Word of God. 

Let me give you a few examples. 
What is the place where the pastor stands to give the sermon?  Most would call it 'the stage'.  But a stage is a place where, most often, people go to perform.  But preaching God's Word is not a performance - it is a privilege and a sacred duty.  Thus, people used to call it 'the platform', a place from which we proclaim truth. 

What do you call it when we sing songs about and to God on Sundays?  Worship.  Wrong.  According to Romans 12, all of life given to God is worship - singing is just one of many forms of worshiping God. 

If you think I am over-stating my case, just consider this question: what is the purpose of the church according to God's Word?  In future posts I will be looking at what the church is and what it should look like.  I hope you will join me in this journey as we examine the Bible for God's insights into the church in it's truest form. 

- tC

What Is A Legitimate Pleasure?

Of course, it's one thing to pontificate about what our issues with pleasure might be, but it is something altogether different when we have to actually decided what legitimate pleasures might be.  Let's begin with a few assertions.

If you are a follower of Christ, many illegitimate pleasures are described in the Bible.  It's simple enough to read that gossip is looked down upon, and thus if I am taking pleasure in gossiping, I am partaking in an illegitimate pleasure.  That's rather cut-and-dry.

However, there are many issues and ideas that are not addressed explicitly in the Scriptures, so we now offer some additional guidelines to think about how to handle pleasure.

- Does this pleasure draw me away from God?  By this I mean does what I am doing - even if the Scriptures do not call it immoral - draw me to or from God?  For example, I may enjoy watching sports but if my interest in sports starts to become more of my focus than God, it has become an illegitimate pleasure.  There are many places from which we can sustain this principle scripturally, but at the core it is simple idolatry - it is having a god over God (Exodus 20:3). 

Now some may argue, "Well what I am supposed to do - think about God every moment of my life?"  Paul seems to imply this in some ways when He talks about being in a continual state of prayer in 1 Thess. 5:17, but even if that is an over-statement, let's consider this. When I get done watching my game, playing my round of golf, reading the updates on my phone - am I now more able to love God and others?  This leads into my second application point.

- Legitimate pleasures prepare and restotre us to serve God more fully.  If I am constantly napping and wasting my life away by sleeping, I could argue, "But sleep is a necessary part of life."  While this is true, napping my life away is not needed or helpful.  However, napping after being up late some night working will result in my work for God (my life for God) being more effective the next day.  Thus a legitimate pleasure might be viewed as one that prepares or restores me for God's work.

More coming.

- tC

Titillating Culture

                            

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A significant challenge related to pleasure is the reality that our culture is masterful at titillating us.  We are emotionally poked and prodded, like the doctor who knows just where to tap your knee to get your body to react.  And the result of this is that we are constantly looking for what's new or what's hot.

While it serves its purpose, Facebook is greatly based around this reality.  The more "friends" you have on Facebook, the more you can refresh you home page and see what's new in various people's lives.  Along those lines, even technology operates in the same way - as soon as the iPhone 4 came out, another one was in the works so that in a year (or often less) you can really be up to date.

This titillating leads us to a place where we feel as if we need a/many perpetual novelties.  What can impress us today, what can make us smile tomorrow?  While trying to be sensitive, it's worth noting that the nearly 50% divorce rate is certainly connected to the Enlightenment notion of personal happiness as the ultimate good, and thus once my spouse doesn't make me happy (or I don't care to invest to make him/her a life-long companion), I exit the marriage. 

How do we push-back against this titillating culture?  Here are three recommendations:
- eliminate television in your home
- force yourself to only use technology for certain hours of the day
- if you are married, work at being a better spouse.

- tC

Topic 2: The Problem of Pleasure

A handful of post back, I mentioned I wanted to address 4 main challenges to the Christian faith today.  The second of these is the problem of pleasure. 

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At first blush, this might seems like a strange issue to address.  Most philosophers and Christian thinkers look to deal with the problem of pain, not pleasure.  But I am convinced that this issue - pleasure - is a huge issue for the church in America today.  The vast majority of American Christians are less often led away from following after God because of pain, but instead they are lulled into sleep and apathy by all of the pleasures they find around them.  Ravi Zacharias once said that meaninglessness in life doesn't come from being weary of pain - meaninglessness in life comes from being weary of pleasure.  And I firmly agree.

The first angle from which I hope to address this topic is that of identifying the issue.  The reason that pleasure is so dangerous is that we have grouped pleasure into two main categories (human-made categories).  They are biblcally moral and biblically immoral pleasure.  The way we categorize these pleasures is by looking into the Bible, finding the 'thou shalt nots' and then we cut-and-paste those items on to the immoral pleasure list.  While this is a piece of the puzzle (it's true, the things God says 'don't do' are not legitimate pleasures), it is not all of the puzzle.  We read in James 4:17 that if we know the good we should do but we don't do it, it is sin.  That proves to us that pleasures not listed on the 'though shalt nots' can be immoral and even lead to sin.  If I know I should be giving more to God's work financially but I choose instead to take my family on another vacation, the Bible leads us to see that even though a vacation and family time isn't inherently sinful, this use of money for the current vacation under consideration - it is sin because the resources were supposed to be used for something else.

While it is a relatively simple example, the core issue I want to make here is that our categories of what sin and legitimate pleasure are has to be expanded based on more than just a list of 'thou shalt nots'.  The next post will consider some ways to consider what legitimate pleasure are.

- tC