May 18 2010

Will I lose my life?


Upon hearing that the American evangelist D.L. Moody had been invited to preach in a city wide campaign a prominent London minister remarked to another minister, “Why Moody, what is so special about him? He doesn’t have a monopoly on God!”. The wise friend replied, “You are correct, Mr. Moody does not have a monopoly on God. The reason he has been invited is that God has a monopoly on him”.

Wow! What a powerful statement. And, by all accounts, God did have a monopoly on Dwight L. Moody. He and hundreds of common men have been mightily used by God. I can think of a dozen men who preached the gospel to tens of thousands with great effectiveness, many of whom had little or no formal training. The Apostle Peter comes to mind.

This story begs a question. Does God have a monopoly on me? Does he have a monopoly on you? The man God uses is not the one with the greatest education, armed with a degree from the best seminary, but the one who has kept nothing of himself away from God’s control.

Our aim is to be more dedicated to Christ. The problem is what we dedicate is “self” and the abilities we possess. What Christ wants is surrender.  He doesn’t need our ability, our energy, or even our strengths. When we give up God shows up! Only what is done for His glory in His power really matters.

“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”. (Matthew 10:38-40)

These words of Jesus find me, and I fear many of us, off target. It goes against all I am to come to Christ with nothing to offer and allow Him to use me as He will. Will I lose my life? Will you?

Royce

May 13 2010

Jeb’s Story – Part 2


The first section of Jeb’s Story can be found here. Jeb’s Story
…the story continues.

I was in the city with some friends and we heard that Jesus of Nazareth was creating a stir. A huge crowd had gathered and when I got near enough to see what was happening I could hear one of our priests encouraging the crowd to choose Barabbas to be freed instead of Jesus who is called the Christ. As you all know it is customary for Pilot to release a prisoner during the time of the feast. The priests kept saying to the crowd “Barabbas!” The angry mob began to shout over and over,”Give us Barabbas!” I am not sure why but I too joined the chorus, demanding that this hardened criminal be spared and that Jesus be executed.

I had known Jesus for several years, sort of at a distance. Twice I believe my inns had purchased tables from Jesus’ family carpenter shop. One of those times I myself spoke to him briefly inquiring about the tables. He was just an ordinary Jew. He was not handsome and I didn’t notice anything unusual about him. It was a few years later that I started to hear that he had gone mad. He was claiming to be God, the Messiah, and that he would overthrow the government and rule the Jews from David’s throne.

I felt only pity for him, the poor fellow had mental problems. But as time went on there were more and more stories about miracles, healing cripples, giving sight to the blind, and desecrating the temple and the Sabbath. He made outrageous claims about knowing Abraham, being equal with Jehovah, and that he was King of the Jews. My pity soon turned to anger. I hated this impostor who spoke against the chief priests, whose disciples broke the law, and ate with Samaritans and common sinners.

So on that day when Jesus was condemned to be executed by crucifixion I heartedly joined the others in calling for his death. I wanted the earth rid of this devil. I began to have an anger that I couldn’t explain and it surprised me. I am one who was usually just out for a good time and religion and politics did not move me.

I witnessed with my own eyes the brutal beatings, the humiliation, the mocking, the bloodshed before they put him on the cross. I was a willing participant even though I did not personally strike him or say anything but I did not object either.

When he was finally up on the cross and the roar of the crowd was at a fever pitch I felt an emptiness in my inner being. I admitted to myself for the first time that an innocent man was being put to death. He had really done nothing that deserved this.

I left for a while, drank several cups of wine with friends and came back to see if it was over yet. When I drew near I was astounded when he summoned the strength to say “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are dong.” Those words struck my soul. There had been a great injustice! This was all so wrong! I was so wrong.

to be continued…..

Royce

May 11 2010

Jeb’s Story


It was an unusually beautiful Sunday afternoon in the courtyard of the wealthy widow, Abigail. Abigail’s deceased husband had done very well and had left her a sizable inheritance, including the nice property on  a hill overlooking Jerusalem, and a bustling wine business. Abigail was known as a shrewd business woman but for the last two years was almost as well known for her hospitality and philanthropy. She had converted to the Way several months after the well known events of the execution of Jesus of Nazareth and his reported resurrection.

This woman who had earned a reputation as a heartless, and sometimes less than ethical business woman, was now unbelievably generous. It was rumored that she repaid people she had cheated and had given a small fortune away to the needy since joining the Way.

Today, as was her custom of late, she was hosting a gathering of disciples of Jesus. They had started to gather early in the morning and had talked, heard readings from the Torah, sung Psalms, laughed and shared stories. Soon they would all share an agape’ meal and near the end of the meal they would eat some unleavened bread and drink wine to remember the body and blood of the Christ. But, a guest had requested that he be able to share his story with the others.

Abigail began speaking. “Please pray with me. Almighty God and Father, the God of Abraham, together we give you thanks for Messiah who has given us his life and his peace. Please give strength  to our brother Jeb as he speaks to us. May each of our lives honor the Christ of our God, please help our brothers and sisters who are suffering great persecution for the sake of our great God, Jesus Christ our Lord and Messiah.”

The last thing anyone knowing Jeb would expect would be that he would be speaking before perhaps 300 people, some of them the most prominent citizens of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Even more out of character was that this guy who was known for shady business dealings and an affection for wine and women had converted to the Way.

Jeb rose to his feet and began speaking with a trembling voice. “My name is Jeb and I am a follower of the Way. I have lived my whole life in the city of Nazareth. I own two inns, have some cattle, and other small business interests, but I am not proud of my life.
I came from a good family, devout people of God. Our custom was to attend synagogue, repeat daily prayers, and keep all the customs of our faith. I was the rebel in my family. At a young age I started to lie for my own gain, steal, cheat, and when I was old enough I was consumed with lust for women. That all changed two years ago….”

To be continued….

Royce

May 10 2010

Indwelt and Empowered by the Holy Spirit


Among our churches of Christ there is lively, and decades old debate, concerning the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Some deny He is a person, others deny that He indwells Christians, and still others disagree about the extent of His work in the life of a modern day believer.

This post is not an attempt to fix any of this, but is an attempt to encourage us to carefully look at what the Bible actually says. There are some statements by Peter in the book of Acts that raise some questions that we should at least acknowledge and I believe they beg for an answer.

The Holy Spirit indwells Christians

For those of us who do believe that the Holy Spirit indwells believers today there is broad agreement that He comes to be “in” us at the point of our conversion. Jesus said of Him,

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers ofliving water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit,whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16,17)

Jesus gives this comforting promise of the Spirit’s presence “in” His followers and then even indicates that the Holy Spirit is actually Him indwelling them. He continues by saying to them,

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)

Paul confirms this idea in Colossians 1:27 using the phrase “Christ in you”. There are many other passages that make it very clear that the Holy Spirit resides “in” believers.

Does the Holy Spirit come to the believer when he is baptized?

Of those in churches of Christ who believe in the indwelling of the Spirit, the answer to this question is a resounding YES! Peter’s words in Acts 2 were,

“Repent and be baptized every one of youin the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38,39)

It is this passage that ties the reception of the Holy Spirit to the point of one’s baptism. How could it be more clear? It is after all Peter’s own words! But, there is a problem, this is not all Peter had to say on the subject.

Peter has more to say…

Peter has preached the good news to a Gentile audience in obedience to God’s command and they believed, received the Holy Spirit and were then baptized. (Acts 10) The order was not what we would expect if we take the Acts 2 verses at face value. Peter said of those new believers,

“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 10:47,48b)

“As we have…”? That is what he asked. In the next chapter Peter visits the Jewish brothers in Jerusalem and defends baptizing Gentiles. I encourage you to read the whole chapter but this part of Peter’s defense is striking.

“If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17)

Now according to Peter’s words the receiving of the Holy Spirit is tied to “believing”, not baptism. In fact, just before the Gentiles received the gift of the Holy Spirit when they believed, and before they were baptized Peter made this statement.

“And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he (Jesus) is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:42,43)

How do we reconcile Peter’s clear statements? He received the Holy Spirit when he believed just as the Gentiles did when they believed. How does this mesh with the traditional teaching of coc brothers about when one receives the Holy Spirit, and further at what point is one saved?

The question then is when did Peter believe?

  • Did Peter believe at the moment he was baptized? This would have to be the correct answer if we believe it is only at the moment of immersion that the Holy Spirit is given. But, this is not a logical conclusion. The only reason a person would want to be baptized is because they already believe, not to believe. We are right I believe to assume Peter was baptized but we have no record of it.
  • Did Peter believe when he saw the resurrected Christ? I believe it was only after Peter and the others saw for themselves that Jesus had been raised from the dead that they truly put their trust in him. After they witnessed the risen Lord there was never again any of the doubting and fear that characterized them up to that point.

In the passages in John chapters 7 and 14 Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to be “in” believers when he was “glorified” (John 7:39) later in John’s gospel we can read when that event took place. Jesus had been crucified, he has been buried, and now he is clearly alive. On the evening of the day he rose from the dead he appeared to the disciples in a room with the doors closed. The disciples certainly were expressing unbelief and fear. Here is John’s account.

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:19-22)

It was when they saw his hands and his side that their fears vanished and their faith was firm. Thomas was absent at the event and only after he too had seen the evidence did he believe.

I can’t think of any reason, any evidence from the scriptures, that should make me doubt that the disciples received the Holy Spirit on that exact moment. Was Jesus speaking in vain? Hardly! Peter’s defense to the elders about baptizing the Gentiles was that they had received the Spirit just as he did when he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

What about Pentecost?

Again I’ll use Jesus and Peter as expert witnesses. Jesus said of Pentecost, in fact his very last words before his ascension,

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Pentecost was not about people being first indwelt by the Spirit but rather it was about Holy Spirit empowered witness. (Luke 24:49) Peter said this in his address right after this power had fallen upon them.

“But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,and your sons andyour daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:16-21)

It takes this sort of Holy Spirit power and authority to snatch men and women from the clutches of the evil one. Remember when Jesus gave the marching orders to the disciples? “I have all power (authority) in heaven and in earth, therefore go….” (Matthew 28:18)  The purpose was to receive Holy Spirit power. (Luke 24:49)

This Pentecost power was not a one time event never to be repeated. We can read later in the Acts that they were again and again filled with the Spirit for power to witness to the claims of Jesus.

You and I are too commanded to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)  We too need his power to present the claims of Christ to hopeless and helpless sinners. If we humans know how to give good things to our children how much more does our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit’s power for witness to those who ask and keep on asking him? In Acts 4:31 when the Apostles needed a fresh anointing of Holy Spirit power they prayed for it just like they did earlier in Acts.

God’s work must be done by God’s power. That is Jesus’ plan, not mine. Every person who puts his trust in Jesus is indwelt and those who want to win the lost to Christ need the filling of Spirit as well.

What about water baptism?

The Bible pattern for water baptism is perhaps best illustrated by the man from Ethiopia. After Phillip had preached Christ to him he requested to be baptized. Phillip replied “If you believe with all your heart you may…” Water baptism in the Bible is always believers baptism and is almost always immediately after one has professed faith in Christ. The act alone neither saves or imparts the Holy Spirit but is the God designed gospel symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is one moment in the life of a person when they are completely surrendered to another, “self” is not in control. Baptism in the public identification of a person with Christ and Christ’s people.

I can’t find any account in the Bible of Christians who rejected baptism. Rather they at once hurried to be immersed. They knew it was their coming out for Christ, that it would separate them from the word at large and set them apart them as God’s own.

There is no Bible precedent that I can find for baptizing anyone who did not in public,  acknowledge his faith in Jesus Christ. Sinners are not candidates for baptism, believers are. And, the clear teaching is that those who trust Christ are saved. This view agrees with Peter’s statements although it goes against our traditional view.

I repeat often that I might be wrong, I am not infallible. But, I might be right too. What do you think?

Agape’,

Royce