Tag Archives: Jesus

Nov 13 2009

Christian Leadership – A Biblical Perspective


Paul’s first letter to the believers at Corinth began with thanksgiving as was his custom. He emphasized the superiority of Jesus and chided them because of their immaturity and foolish divisions.

They had done what immature believers always do, they had completely lost sight of God’s perspective on things in favor of personal favoritism. This grievous error is precisely why many of our churches have sects and clicks, one group follows this teacher, another this popular author, and another some famous personality from the past. Each division renders the local assembly ineffective and barren. Paul’s accusation was that they were behaving like children, not like mature adults.

The particular problem in the Corinthian church he addresses especially in chapter 3 was this one.  Three groups were enamored to their favorite preacher. One group liked Paul more while another followed only Apollos, and the remaining group only wanted to follow Cephas.

Problem? Immature believers. Symptom? Divisions based on personal preferences. Paul addressed the situation in chapter 3.

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

5What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” ( Corinthians 3:1-7)

The view from God’s perspective is humbling isn’t it? My importance and yours? NOTHING! This shocking truth reminds me that human effort only produces human results. To realize God kind of results we must have this mindset, compared to God, we are NOTHING!

What is the cure for this oft’ repeated error in our churches?

Keep Jesus at the center of our thinking, our talking, and our doing. We must follow Paul’s example of purposeful weakness, meakness, and utter dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (I Corinthians 2:1-5)

Walk in the Spirit. What a humbling rebuke by the Apostle! “I can’t address you as spiritual people but as people of flesh only” (chapter 3:1) In Galatians 5:16 Paul gave the cure for immature squabbling and fighting.”Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

There are two ways every Christian can live, by the rule of the flesh or by the rule of the Spirit. We must ask ourselves continually, Is what I am about to say or do motivated by the Holy Spirit, approved by God, for the good of other believers, and does it honor Christ? If a word or action does not pass this test it is likely best to leave it unsaid or undone.

The Holy Spirit will ALWAYS prompt only those words and actions that honor and exalt Jesus Christ. Never, never, never does God lead one child to hurt another. Be kind, tender-hearted, speaking the truth in love to one another.

Get the Word of God into you. Usually the injunction is “get into the word”. Far too many folks read the Bible of duty and not to let it change them. We must come to the Word with open hearts, sincerely desiring to be taught by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) The Bible is food for a Christian, it is our job description, we must get it into us. As David of old we must “hide it in our hearts”.

Christ is all in all. Never let these truths far from your reach.

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”

Jesus is all we need to live godly lives in this present world. He is truly all we need. Let us not allow any rule but his in our hearts, in our families, and especially in our churches. Let us each live our lives so that we can say with certainty “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”

for Jesus,

Royce

Nov 11 2009

Not so obvious lessons from John 17


This wonderful portion of Scripture is a prayer Jesus prayed just after explaining once again about his leaving the disciples, his authority over the world, the coming Holy Spirit, and just before his death on a cross.

There are many wonderful truths here that are often overlooked. I want to share my understanding of  a few of them.

There is only one method, one plan for world evangelism.

As Jesus was praying he said

“they have believed that you sent me. 9I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:8b-9)

God so loved the “world“. Christ died for the sins of the “world“. And yet, in one of his last prayers on earth Jesus plainly stated

“I am not praying for the world..”

Without question he loves the people of the world so why would he not pray for them, and even say it in such a public way that today it remains a record of the sacred Text?

This is why,

“I am praying for them (those who had believed), “those you have given me, for they are yours.”

God has but one plan to reach the whole world with the good news. It is the church. It is those who have believed who will spread the message to every tribe and tongue. In Matthew 28 when Jesus gave the great commission he said

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:18b-19a)

Here we can ask “What is the therefore there for?” Christians can go into a hostile world, right in the midst of Satan’s stronghold, and make disciples because Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth“. And he has passed on that authority through the agency of the Holy Spirit in and upon the believer’s life.

Just before his ascension into heaven Jesus told his followers

“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)

When the Holy Spirit anointing comes there is a transfer of power and authority to the one who has believed and waited on the Lord. God has no other plan, it is up to you and me and our brothers and sisters of every age who have put our trust in Jesus. But not really. I am not that dependable and neither are you, but God is faithful! Jesus said “I will build my church…” and the devil and hell can’t stop Him.

Nothing will thwart God’s plan to reach the world with the gospel. Those who have not yet heard are in good hands. God uses an inspired and all-powerful message (the gospel) given by the mouths of imperfect saints who are empowered by the Holy Spirit and out of the listeners those whom God has chosen will believe.

Jesus prayed for those who belonged to God, to Him. He did not pray for the world. Their salvation is complete because of His perfect obedience and sacrifice. They can have life because He ever lives. They only need to know it.

I suggest we get in on God’s plan and chunk our own upon the heap of human failure. The focus is never on a plan or a program. It is always about an empowered people. So, may I suggest then that we too pray for the church, for our brothers and sisters, at least more than we do for the lost. God’s way is always best.

Royce

Oct 15 2009

Facts and fiction about the grace of God


If you are one of those people who like me read Christian blogs, read, watch, and listen to sermons and Bible lessons, you will agree that there is lots of hubbub on the subject of God’s grace. You don’t need to read, or listen long to realize that many of the voices either extolling the virtues of Grace, or fear its excesses, don’t really understand what it is.

From my teen years as a new believer the pat definition I learned from my teachers was this one. “Grace is God’s unmerited favor toward man“. While that definition is true, it is woefully inadequate. The Bible reminds us mere mortals that every good thing we have comes from the unchanging had of God. (James 1:17) Every despot has experienced the “unmerited favor of God” in that he has the breath of life, food, and shelter. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. (I have thought I must be both, judging from the amount of rain recently in N E Louisiana). Both the best people in your town, and the most vile, alike share at least in part the unmerited favor of God.

A better definition of God’s Grace is this acrostic. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. This view of Grace, although more narrow, is by far more rich and full. The word “grace” appears in the New Testament alone far more than 100 times, and with very few exceptions, is in the context of this more narrow understanding of what God has done through Christ for men as opposed to what I call “common grace”.

Those of us who teach grace and refute its ugly opposite, legalism, are the targets of the ire of religionists who are themselves threatened by something they don’t understand. That is quite a charge! So you can justly ask, “How do you know that Royce?” I know that because of the charges made and the fears exposed by those charges. The alarmist warnings go along this line of thought.

“You are teaching cheap grace!”

“You believe Christians can live any way they want and still go to heaven.”

“God requires obedience…”.

“There is God’s part and your part in salvation.”

And one of the newest,

“You are teaching universalism.”

All of these spurious charges are born of ignorance or unbelief. The idea that teaching what God has accomplished in Christ for wicked sinners is cheap, a license to sin without penalty, or that Christians should not be obedient to God is hopefully based in ignorance. Otherwise it is simply dishonest.

God’s grace is free, but not “cheap“. It is given to sinful men and women as a free gift but it cost Christ his precious redeeming blood. (Romans 5:15) (1 Peter 1:18,19) As Jesus shared a final meal with his inner circle he gave them bread to eat, representing his body, and wine to drink, representing his blood, and reminded them that his very body and his own life giving blood would be payment for the new covenant. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) What one works for, or earns, is given by obligation. The justification of the ungodly is not received as something due, but as a free gift. (Romans 6:23)

The idea that somehow those of us who teach free grace believe God has lowered his standards is incredible. The truth is that God raised his standards. Remember the words of Jesus? “You have heard is said…., but I say unto you……” Adultery is no longer only the physical act of sexual intercourse outside the bounds of marriage but the one who lusts is guilty as charged. And, he went on saying, one who hates his brother is guilty of murder. (Matthew 5:28) (Matthew 5:20,21) This level of moral responsibility is hardly an example of God lowering his standards for holiness. What the legalist fails to comprehend is that even though new covenant standards are considerably higher than the old, God now enables and empowers his own to desire to live out his requirements by “nature“.  Not one child ever reaches the ceiling of perfect obedience but every child is looked upon as if he had. (Romans 2:14) (Romans 4) It is because of what God has done and is doing in us that we live out his will before a watching world. (Philippians 2:12,13)

Do I teach grace that sin may abound? What a strange idea! When Paul asked this rhetorical question his answer was “God forbid!” (Romans 6:1,15) Those who have been set free from the slavery of sin by the representative death of Jesus (A dead man is not bound by any law) are those who joyfully surrender to be love slaves of Jesus to do his bidding. The spurious charge that teaching people are saved by grace alone encourages sin is an idea conjured up largely by people who believe they can in some way contribute to their own salvation. The word of God paints a different picture. It says the exact opposite. It is precisely grace that teaches us to say no to unrighteousness and to live upright lives as we wait for Jesus. (Titus 2:11-13)

The lavish love of God demonstrated in the perfect living, sacrificial and substitutionary dying, and triumphant resurrection of Jesus for sinners is the full measure of God’s grace. In the same way that by one man (Adam) sin and death entered into the world, by the obedience of one man (Jesus) many are made righteous. (Romans 5:18,19) Jesus did man’s part by giving to the Father a life of perfect obedience and taking the punishment for sin so that God could justify the ungodly and still himself be just in so doing. (Romans 3:26)

It is certain that God loves you more than you think and likely the expanse of his grace is much larger than you have thought. The complete package of salvation including justification, sanctification, and glorification, are wholly the work of God. Nothing can be done by the will and in the energy of humans to substitute or supplement this great work of redemption designed before the creation of the world.

One of the most clear statements in the Bible about the grace of God in salvation is found in Ephesians 2 verses 4 and  5.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.”

Once you see the full impact of this simple statement it is simply astounding! Remember when Jesus visited the tomb of his friend Lazarus? He had been dead and buried long enough that his body was decaying and had a foul odor. He was dead……until……..Jesus cried out “Lazarus come out!” Then “the man who had died came out!” (John 11:42-44) The very one who said “I am the resurrection and the life..” called him out of death to life. Although we were dead spiritually, the Bible is crystal clear that we were “dead”. Just as Jesus made Lazarus live, in the same way he made us to live with Him. A dead man can do nothing to reverse his condition. Only God gives life to the dead and that is my story and it is your story if you have been made a child of God. Nothing can we claim but the love and grace of God. We can only boast in the Lord our God.

May we together grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were saved by grace, we stand in grace, and one golden day we will see Jesus face to face by grace and grace alone.

for Jesus,

Royce

Oct 12 2009

The future of Progressive churches of Christ?


Over at Oneinjesus.info, Jay Guin’s blog, there is an ongoing discussion about a post he wrote concerning the future of progressive churches of Christ and ideas about how to have discussions about it. You can read the post and following comments here. I didn’t want to hijack Jay’s comments with a long reply so, this post. My thoughts on the subject….

The first thing that comes to my mind is that it would be a mistake to only continue to think in terms of “church of Christ” boundaries. If the mission of churches is to make Christ known, we begin with heavy limitations on what can be accomplished if Restoration Movement doctrine and history are the boundaries we plan to work in.

Secondly, just looking at what has already happened with “progressive” churches tells us what is possible for the future. Perhaps the most progressive of churches of Christ are Oak Hills in San Antonio. This great church, led for many years by Max Lucado, is reaching thousands for Christ. They have I think five mission churches that they planted and support. The largest coC congregation is Richland Hills Church of Christ on the north side of Ft Worth. Here you can see what drives them and has driven them to where they are today by reading their mission statement. I doubt that any Christian would disagree. About nine years ago a church of Christ preacher named Toby Slough had a vision of a church that would reach thousands for Christ in the DFW metroplex. He resigned his pulpit job and with a few friends who caught his vision they began Crosstimbers Church with the first meetings at a dude ranch. You can read about them on their “about us” section of their website. They now have three locations and are reaching thousands with the saving message of the good news about Jesus. These are only three of scores of churches with Restoration Movement roots that have decided to make the gospel more important than anything else, even their heritage.

Francis Chan is a Calvinist who planted the Cornerstone Church in Southern California. They have also planted three other churches and a Christian school. They are touching their communities in tangible ways and leading people to Christ and discipleship. If you go to their website and click on “Communities” tab and then on “Purpose” you will see the heart of who they are. Matt Chandler, a Reformed Baptist, leads the Highland Village Church in North Texas. Every Sunday thousands gather to hear solid Bible teaching and to experience spirited worship at three locations. Lives are being transformed by the hundreds by the saving message of Jesus.

I could go on and on naming Southern Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Bible Churches, Assembly of God, Christian, community Churches and the list is endless. I have pointed out a few churches that I have some personal knowledge of. These churches are as diverse as the listings of churches in the Yellow Pages in a large city. They represent a wide variety of views on theology and doctrine, and they also represent a variety of mission models. However, the thing that is common to them all is that they make much of Jesus. They keep first things first!

Any church where the pure truth about what God has accomplished in Jesus for sinners is not in competition with tradition, worship style, or some other hobby horse, is likely to grow as helpless and broken people find new life in Christ. Sadly, in far too many churches of Christ announcing the number of the invitation song in advance is just as important as what the preacher says from the word of God. Paul said the gospel is of first importance! The name “church of Christ” might be important but if it is as important to you as the gospel you are wrong. The response to the gospel and good works are very, very important but not as important as the gospel.

I promise you this. If your church’s history, a cappella singing, doing the Lord’s Supper a certain way, or anything else competes for first place on your list of priorities you are in trouble. Every church that faithfully keeps Jesus at the center of their teaching, worship, and work will reach those for whom Christ died. Those who don’t keep Him at the center will go through the motions each week and eventually die. Many are dead already and just don’t know it.

There is nothing sinful about having doctrinal distinctions. That is why there are so many different kinds of churches. It is sinful to allow those less important distinctives to put a damper on the saving message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and what that means to sinners and saints alike. Those churches, no matter the brand, who do not keep Christ at the center will become less and less irrelevant and a minor irritation for those who do.

I sincerely wish that all of us who name Jesus as Lord would share the attitude of Paul the Apostle who rejoiced when Christ was preached without regard to the man or the motive. The fact that Christ is being made known should make joy rise in our hearts.