The Lord’s Assembly

Something to chew on…

The assembly really is not just a congregation, not just the coming together of people for services, meetings, conventions, etc., but the bringing together of individual heart exercise in the appreciation of the Lord Jesus in such a way that the Father can see His Son’s features expressed in human lives. That is the true nature of assembly life…

…each brings his own apprehension and appreciation of the Lord Jesus and all are united together in the assembly, the Father can look down and see the various features of His Son. That is the testimony of Jesus on earth: that is Christ tabernacling among us. As each one follows on to know the Lord in private, personal life history, so new discoveries are made of the virtues and values of God’s Son, and these are brought together in assembly life. When we have made such new discoveries of the grace of Christ we can come together with other children of God and speak and sing together of what we have proved experimentally in a living way and so we become a collective and corporate representation of the house of God.

T.A.S.

You can read the entire article here.

A Flipped Script?

If a follower of Jesus considers the ‘church in general’ to be ‘worldly’,  shouldn’t they be able, then, to change many of  Jesus’ sayings about the world and apply them to the ‘church in general’?

“You are the light of the church. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden”.

“Woe to the church for temptations to sin!  For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes”!

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole church as a testimony to all (denominations?), and then the end will come”.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole church and forfeit his life”?

“He was in the church, and the church was made through him, yet the church did not know him”.

Likewise, could it be that as we are seeing such massive numbers of people leaving behind institutional Christianity,  shedding their religion in search of real Life, that we might find more sincere and authentic ’saints’ in ‘the world‘ than we would, typically, in most church services?

I know that I’m making a bit of stretch in my second paragraph especially, but I don’t think that it is unreasonable to believe that this could, one day, become the reality unless something shifts dramatically in the way institutional Christianity, as well as other smaller Christian movements, believe and practice The Faith.

Just something to consider.

Update: My Personal Top 11

In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t written much here in a while.

I’ve been consumed.

Life can be very demanding sometimes, ya’know? But it can also be very rewarding.  There is something to that…, something holy.

It would take me a while to write about my more current thoughts and experiences….so that’ll have to wait for the time being.

Instead, I’m going give you some links to what I currently believe to be my most important writings from this blog:

Here are the first three installments of a study on Romans 6,7, and 8:

Don’t You Know?

Death and Remarriage

The Law is Good

(There is more to come in this series, so please stay tuned!)

Here is a little poetry:

All in the Family

This is basically my take on living the Christian life in general (not that I have ever done it, of course…)

Us or Him…?

An open letter to my most favorite denomination:

(This one almost didn’t make the cut, but I believe that it is still very relevant indeed!)

OPEN LETTER

Here is a two part admonition against being triple minded:

Be-think-do

Be-think-do-2

What is ‘the world’ anyway?

What Is the World 1

What is the World 2

What is the World 3

Thanks for reading…and please feel free to leave any comments!

Death and Remarriage

Recently, I posted a message using the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome .  If you have never read that portion of scripture, do yourself a favor and read it.  It contains some rather life changing insights.

By the way, if you haven’t read the post that I’m referring to please check it out (if you feel so led, of course). You just might come away blessed.

Either way, here is a brief recap of the message:

In Romans 6, Paul was explaining how a person is always either under the influence and authority of the sin (as translated in the Young’s Literal Translation of the bible)–

which is simply the exchange of the reign of God in the heart for self-reign, as proposed by the serpent….,which ultimately leads to the death…(If you want to know more about this ‘original sin’ and it’s consequences, read Genesis 3.)

or…

…they are under the influence and authority of God which ultimately leads to eternal life (aka The Kingdom of God).

Anyway, in Romans 6, Paul goes on to explain how those who have been baptized into Christ should know that they have been baptized into His death–that they, themselves, were included with Christ in His death– and that they should therefore consider themselves to be dead to the sin. They are in a position of freedom based on Christ’s death, a position which they should have understood at baptism.

Main point?

By the death of Jesus we have been delivered from the kingdom of the sin!

SET FREE.

However Paul doesn’t stop there. Instead he wants the believer to see that not only are they free from the authority of the sin by the death of Christ, but that just as Jesus Christ rose from the dead and now lives unto God Himself, we should also consider ourselves to be ‘alive unto God’ and available for His service.

Second main point?

By the resurrection of Christ, we have been transferred into His Kingdom!

IN HIS KINGDOM.

At this point I would like to keep tracking with Paul so as to see how the Holy Spirit led him to further develop his thoughts on the new relationship in Christ. This study will not be as “interactive” as the last one. Instead I will be using cross references from other area of scripture to help broaden our understanding of what he is saying here.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Moving along to the next chapter, Paul is taking a different angle. He is shifting his focus away from the sin/God dichotomy and opening it up to the law/Christ dichotomy.

In this instance, Paul is going to show us why the believer can live according to and in union with Christ rather than living according to and in union with the law.

On to Romans chapter 7…..

Or do you not know, brothers  —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?

In this very first verse, Paul is stating that a person is bound to the Law so long as they live. In this passage, he is simply echoing the word of His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Read them as recorded in Mathews Gospel account (5:17-20):

`Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets — I did not come to throw down, but to fulfill;

for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass.

`Whoever therefore may loose one of these commands — the least — and may teach men so, least he shall be called in the reign of the heavens, but whoever may do and may teach [them], he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.

`For I say to you, that if your righteousness may not abound above that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye may not enter to the reign of the heavens.

Now those were Jesus’ own words as spoken to his disciples. In light of them, let’s keep tracking with Paul:

Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.

Now we have the specific example that Paul was led to use;

The Law of Marriage.

Once again, Paul is not coming up with any new doctrine concerning the law nor the law of marriage. Instead, Paul’s thought is in total harmony with what Jesus has already shared with His disciples  (as in Matthew 5:31-32):

`And it was said, That whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing of divorce;

but I — I say to you, that whoever may put away his wife, save for the matter of whoredom, doth make her to commit adultery; and whoever may marry her who hath been put away doth commit adultery.

Now don’t let the “whoredom clause” throw you off. Jesus said that it was a legitimate reason to put away ones wife.

In that instance, she doesn’t need her husbands help to make her an adulteress– she has done a fine job of it herself already!

Paul, once again, is in harmony with Jesus on the matter:

Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

The only difference between what Jesus shared and what Paul shared is that  while Jesus makes it clear that the law remains intact ‘…till that the heaven and earth may pass away’ , Paul informs us that there is one way and only one way to be free from the law:

DEATH.

Likewise, my brothers,

you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Can I get an amen!?

Once again, Paul is referencing the union that we share in and with Christ Jesus.

In Romans 6, we discovered that by the death of Christ, we died to sin. This death to sin allows us  freedom from it’s rule over our lives, and the resurrection of Christ affords us a new life which we may now live unto God.

And for what purpose?

“… the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life”.

And now in this first section of Romans 7, we see how that, through the body of the crucified Christ, we have died to the law–not simply to be free and single to wander aimlessly–but so that we might be joined to Another, that is the Risen Christ!!

And for what purpose?

“…that we may bear fruit for God”.

Now to let Paul finish out his thought:

For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

Here, Paul is describing what life experience is like when we are…

a) “in our flesh”

b) with our “sinful passions” which are…

c) “aroused by the law”.

resulting in…

d) they  worked “in our members” to produce “death”.

There is always some kind of fruit.

I love it that Paul has no reservations about stating the fact that the sinful passions of the flesh are aroused by God’s law!!

…and it’s not that the law is a bad thing, it’s that there is something ‘bad’ in our mortal bodies, something which we inherited from Adam….(but we’ll get to that later).

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.

Alas, Paul’s thought comes to a beautiful climax where we discover that since we died with Christ in baptism, and have been set free from law (which is the strength of sin), we may now serve…

IN THE NEW LIFE OF THE SPIRIT!!

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this last verse! In times past I have somehow gotten caught up in a viscous cycle which went something like this:

Now that I am a Christian I should be able to serve the law and fulfill the written code (rather it be the commands of Moses, Jesus, Paul or anyone else)….I desire to ‘do the right thing’, but I continually find myself doing the very things that I shouldn’t….

Again, it’s not that the written code is a bad thing.

No, it’s a holy thing….

But we’ll get into all of that in the next installment of this series.

Till then, walk under His grace, and not under the law.

~Peace~

A People’s History of Christianity

 

I’m about halfway through this gem of a book which I picked up after reading Mikes post about it.

It’s really good so far. It’s incredibly interesting to see the variations and similarities in how Christians, over the years, interpreted and expressed their faith in Christ.

From chapter eight;  Devotion: Speaking of Faith  author Diana Butler Bass gives an account of one Katharina Schütz (ca. 1498-1562) which reads as following:

“She believed that speaking out is necessary for Christian devotion, that proclaiming truth demonstrates love of God and neighbor– especially if ones neighbor is spreading falsehoods.

 ’To keep silence is not patience. To suffer is patience,’

…she wrote.

‘By keeping silence I give him grounds to continue in his trumped up lies, and that, in my judgement, is against brotherly love.’ 

 For Katharina, not to speak the truth was to support error.”

So very true, Katharina, so very, very true.

Don’t you know?

The Lord began to show me some things recently.

He directed me to Romans 6.

He knew that I had ‘gotten’ some of this before, but He also knew that I needed more clarity.

Let me try to communicate it here with you. I’m going to try writing it in a conversation style as sometimes it helps to take the overtly “doctrinal” edge off.

I would love any feedback or interaction. 

(St. Paul’s words are in red, and my commentary will be in black.) 

 

What shall we say then?

 Are we to continue in the sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!

Sorry I’m late. Sounds like your in the middle of some pretty deep stuff here. I think I know what you are saying though. Just because God is gracious enough to cover our selfish actions, failures, mistakes and rebellions doesn’t mean that we should possess an attitude which presumes that we may still behave in those same old patterns.

As you say, “May it never be!”.

But honestly, Paul, while I agree with you, I must admit that I struggle with this quite a bit. I feel like I don’t really “get it”, ya know, like…I feel like I’m missing something…..

Would you mind….

 How shall we who died to the sin still live in it?

What!?

What do you mean, Paul, that we have died to the sin?!

The message that I heard was that it was Jesus who died to pay the price for my sins and that all that I needed to do was to believe that, turn from those things that I knew to be wrong and then commit my life to Him…and then, it was also important to get baptized after that too…

(I wonder what  “the sin”  thing is all about anyway…)

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

No, I did not really know that before, Paul.

The minister who baptized me said something about dying to self and being raised in new life, but I really had no idea what he was talking about.

Like I said, I thought he just meant that now, since I had already ”been saved” that I needed to simply turn from all of the things that I knew to be wrong. What you are saying though is that, somehow, by being submerged into the water, that I should also recognize my own submergence into the very death of Christ Jesus (?)

Hm. That’s different.

We “have been baptized into His death”…

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into the death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

So, you mean that since we were united through baptism with Jesus into His death that we should also, like Jesus, walk in new life?

 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Yes, that says it even better.

So what you are saying, Paul, is that there is much more to Christianity than the cross of Christ….much more than just believing that he died for our sins…

You are saying that there is a certain ”newness” of life that we are called to walk in now and even a resurrection which we may look forward to as well.

I think I get it but would you mind breaking it down for me. I’m a bit slow sometimes.

knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that the body of the sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to the sin;

Okay, so there is something that we should have known that wasn’t really clear to many of us.

“…our old self was crucified with Him…”

Whatever it is that is our ‘old self’, it was crucified when Jesus was crucified, and this was done in order to do away with the body, the whole matter,of  the sin so that we would no longer be  slaves to the sin.

So the whole point of Jesus’ crucifixion was to do away with our old self therefore freeing us from the dominion of the sin.

So you are saying, essentially, that the death of Jesus works to set us free.

for he who has died is freed from the sin.

Yes!! Free from ‘the sin’!!

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

I see. If we were united with Him in His death, then we are also united with Him in His Life!!

knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

Okay,  so there is something else that I need to know;

Since Christ has risen from the dead, He will never die again. Death has no mastery over Him.

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

So, having died to sin once for all, he now lives His life to God…

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Whooooaaa. Wait a minute…..

So…, since Christ died (once for all) and now lives His life to God, we should likewise consider ourselves to have died with Christ, and alive unto God as well.

Those who have been baptized into His death are resurrected with His life.

So far then, by Christ…

WE ARE DEAD TO SIN AND ARE ALIVE UNTO GOD!!!

Now that the issue of new life is established…what’s next?

Therefore do not let the sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

Okay, let’s take this one slow.

Therefore…….

 …since we are alive unto God, as we have just established, there is a matter of reign within our mortal bodies which needs to be both understood and established.

We begin with what should not have authority:

THE SIN.

The sin has a desire to be lord in our mortal bodies; “…it’s   lusts..”

So those lusts, those sinful desires that we sometimes have…., it looks like you are saying that they are not our own.

I believe that you are saying that “the sin” has certain lusts within our mortal bodies. If those lusts are not truly ours but rather they belong to the sin which is in our mortal bodies, then we have no reason nor obligation to obey it’s lust.

We are free from that old master through the death of the body of Jesus’ flesh, a death which we also died in.

Not only are we no longer alive to the sin, but since Christ was raised from the dead and now lives unto the Father…..

…so do we!!!

and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness;

So then we are to see the members of our bodies as instruments which we “present”…., which we “offer up” to one form of reign or the other…. 

There is still a choice between living unto the sin which exists and has passions within these mortal bodies on earth, or living unto ‘our Father who is in Heaven’ and who has a Living Spirit within us with His own desires.

And we see here that we should not “offer up” our instruments to the reign of the sin. To do so would make the members of our bodies to be instruments of unrighteousness.

We know that we do not want that, and like you say, we must  “not go on” doing that.

but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead,

YES! Let’s get back to the whole living unto God part!! This is who we should present ourselves to!! After all, He has raised us from death to life!!!

The sin has never offered us  anything near that good!! 

“Here we are Lord, to be and do as you please.”

This should be our heart attitude to our New Loving Master.

…and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Yes! YES!!… Of course!!

We are now alive to God, and are therefore to be exercised in righteousness to God!!!!

This is all so wonderful! But how can we know that sin will not overtake us?

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

That’s right!!

The law has no more power over us, because we are already dead! Remember? We died with Christ!!!!

The law can only expose sinfulness and work to bring about death, but we have already died ….AND…IN CHRIST WE ARE HIGHLY FAVORED BY GOD!

WE ARE ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!!

>>>but wait a second….

if we are absolutely free, then we can do whatever we want….right? I mean if it’s true that we are totally free, then we can imbibe, from time to time, in those behaviors that, well….are sinful, right?!

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?

May it never be!

Oh! Okay, I’m listening….

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey,

Whoa. That’s deep, brother.

But more than just deep, that is true.

So then that desire that I just expressed to partake in bad behavior…., that was a temptation to serve the sin, wasn’t it? 

And what you are saying is that we are always either a servant to one or the other….

…either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Wow. This is all getting kinda heavy though, Paul….

But thanks be to God that though you were servants of the sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became servants of righteousness.

I’m glad you put it that way. We   “were”   slaves of the sin, but now we have become obedient from the heart…

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

Yes. A contrast between the old and the new. I like how you say, “So now..” .

Wherever we may find ourselves at this moment, we may now present our members as slaves to righteousness; a righteousness which leads to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.

Amen! Our life was death….

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

…and Now our death, in Christ, has worked out for life!!!

So then it is as I am obedient to my new Master that I experience the joys of eternal life! 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What? Wait a minute. You just made a clear distinction between wages and a free gift.

So on one hand the old master sin gave us what we earned, what we worked for by pursuing his desires, and the end of those things brought us death. On the other hand, the new Master, God, gives to us freely because He is Love and that is His nature. The result of this new relationship works out as eternal life.

 One way is obedience from a sense of duty while the other is obedience from a heart which is being changed by God Himself.

Either way, we become conformed to the image of our master.

Death….or Life? 

I know which one I want.

Amen, Paul. I’m really glad that you took the time to explain all of this.

(And yet I just know there is more….)

The Need to Exercise Judgment-Part Two: Discerning Authoritarianism

In the last post of this vein, I spent a good deal of energy looking into what judgment is really all about and how it is a vitally important practice for the spiritual health of the believer.

At this time, I would like to exercise a bit of discernment in the area of….

authoritarianism.

Authoritarianism is a very widespread problem in the church today. It is essentially the result of unbroken individuals who muscle (or talk) their way into a leadership positions among groups of believers.

There are recognizeable traits to look for which are indicative of authoritarian tendencies in someone.  Let’s look over a few of them, shall we?

One is that the leader will often preach on and magnify the virtues of humility and submission while at the same time making their own agenda loud and clear to the “faithful flock”.

This is manipulation at it’s best as it uses the truth to propagate what is essentially a lie.

Another is that once they establish their alpha position, they will impose their own ‘unspoken’ laws upon you in order to fulfill their agenda. These laws will  typically be taught in the form of sermons or messages and they will be ‘backed’ by brief excerpts of biblical text.

One of these laws is known as ‘the law of silence’ and could be written like this:

“Thou shalt not question my authority nor my judgment. Mine is the way and the only way and If thou hast any issues with me or my ministry, take them to the cross or leave in silence!”

And the second which is like it, goes like this:

“Thou shalt sweep any and all offences under thine rug, for there is no good nor evil, but only Christ!”

One can only imagine all of the other ‘laws’ that hang from just these two.

I realize that these are tricky because, well, what they impose on you is “biblical”. Furthermore, these are just a couple of examples from a vast array of abusive authoritarian methods.

But let me tell you a secret:

Just because something is biblical, doesn’t mean that it’s right.

You can make the bible say anything that _you want_ to make the bible say, and that is exactly what an authoritarian leader does.

Now hear me me out: I do believe in spiritual authority. It exists…..but It’s not what we so often believe it to be.

It’s not a certificate of accomplishment.

It’s not length of years in ‘the ministry’.

It’s not the skill of oration.

It’s not the knowledge of the bible.

It’s not the tone or volume of the voice.

It’s not the carefully crafted sermon or message.

It’s not the charisma or personality.

{However, it can be expressed in any and all of these things…}

Authentic Spiritual authority is present only to whatever degree  that the living  Christ is  expressed  in and through the thoughts, words, and deeds of the believer.

In other words; authentic Spiritual authority is Jesus Christ.

Paul lets it be known that there are some  (and today many) who take the Logos of God and use it in the wrong manner. In the passage below, Paul is referring to teachers who try to sell their twist on God’s revelation to unsuspecting victims:

2 Cor. 2:17

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

I have issues with this first example, but for me, for now, that’s just not my drum to beat (although I hope someone starts beating it soon….). it is rather with this next example that I am presently concerned. Read how Paul makes a clear and obvious connection between dishonesty and the improper handling of God’s Word:

2 Cor. 4:2

But (we) have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

It’s this kind of misleading that I’m bothered with today. It’s a very big problem.

While I’m not quite sure as to what kind of mishandling Paul was referring to in this letter to the Corinthians, I do believe that it is safe to say that whenever the Word of God, be it the scripture or the revelation, is used in a dishonest manner, a manner which is crafty or decietful, it inevitably causes harm to the Lords people.

All too often, gifted men of God turn their hearts away from the living and active Jesus in order to pursue the lusts of their flesh and the pride of life.

Sometimes it’s for money, but it’s always about power.

Recently In a brief conversation about church leadership, a dear brother reminded me of a passage in Hebrews which speaks of submitting to ‘those who have the rule over’ you, and ‘who watch over’ and ‘give account for you’.

Here is the text–

Hebrews 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

I needed to be reminded of this principle. Honestly, I believe in submitting to those with authentic spiritual authority. To not do so would be a sure indicator of a prideful spirit on my part. I will submit, but I tell you the truth:

My Standard is very, Very high.

Why?

Because my standard is Gods standard.

We need more than the text which states that we are to submit. We also need to be reminded of the other stuff that is being said in those passages, the stuff that is an important part of the context. Not only that, but we also need to be taught what these principles really mean.

Here is a similar exhortation just a few passages prior–

Hebrews 13:7

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

Let’s look at the definition for “those who rule“ .

Lexicon Results

Strong’s G2233 – hēgeomai

Part of Speech

verb

Outline of Biblical Usage

1) to lead

a) to go before

b) to be a leader

1) to rule, command

2) to have authority over

3) a prince, of regal power, governor, viceroy, chief, leading as respects influence, controlling in counsel, overseers or leaders of the churches

4) used of any kind of leader, chief, commander

5) the leader in speech, chief, spokesman

I like what  ”1)a ” says.

“They lead by going before“.

They are further along, not only in general experience, but in following the Lord Jesus. They have gone first.

They are not simply talking the talk, but they are also walking the walk.

They are not simply talking about the race, but they are finishing the race!!

“Ordination” doesn’t cut it.

“Titles” can be just mere words.

“Revelation” is limited.

“Apostolic Succession” fails.

But wait!… there is more!!

Look at what STRONG’S says about “over you” in this same passage:

Lexicon Results

Strong’s G5216 – hymōn

Part of Speech: pronoun

1) of yours

Of mine?

You mean…. not those who are lording over

me, but rather those who belong….. to me?!

So we could accurately interpret this passage to read in the following way:

“Remember those  who are further down the Path, those who are yours, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, and whose faithfulness is proven by their conduct”.

This means that we have something of a right to assess those whom would desire to lead us in spiritual things.

Please read carefully what I’m about to say here:

The writer of those passages was, in the first place, writing to an actual group of people in a particular historical event. There was a very specific context for all that was said in that letter (this is true for all of the New Testament epistles).

At best, we can only presume to know and understand what that exact context was. Otherwise, we end up reading into the inspired scripture our own biases, philosophies or worse; our own agendas.

We must be extremely careful in how we read, teach, and apply.

While I believe that the scriptures are inspired and vital to the present life and welfare of the church, I also believe that the word of God is to be rightly divided.

It’s not that the scripture has no practical/spirtual value. Of course it does.

But even so, I believe that ultimitely the place of scripture is to help guide us into personal relationship with Jesus Christ whom, by His Spirit, writes His ways on our hearts.

The bible as “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”, I think kind of misses the mark.

Moving along…

Paul says to test everything, hold to the good and eschew the evil. This includes teachings, doctrines, sermons, messages, etc…

So then, based on the handful of scriptures that we have looked at thus far, we may conclude the following concerning the kind of person in the church that we should be persuaded by:

1) They lead by example and the proof is in their conduct.

2) They truly care for and watch out for your soul.

3) They are accountable.

4) They don’t peddle Gods word.

5) They are honest.

6) They are sincere.

That’s a pretty tall order, friends… but it’s an order which needs to be filled by anyone who seeks to be, or is appointed as a ‘leader’ in God’s community.

My advice to you, dear reader, is that if the character and disposition of your ’spiritual leader’ doesn’t harmonize with the above,…. then don’t follow.

Seek the Lord.

Pray for an example.

Does such a person even exist?

Yes, His name is…

Jesus Christ,

the same yesterdy, today and forever…

and…

He is known by His fruit.

(And we wonder why that little line is written in the middle of those texts about “leadership”.)

Too many dear saint’s have been swept up into the deception of men who talk the talk, and yet who do not walk the walk. What troubles me about this is that it continues under the mind wrenching guise of ’spiritual authority’.

It must come to an end.

Brokeness is the key to Spiritual authority.

If you want to become the greatest, you must become the least.

(To be continued…..)

The Need to Exercise Judgment

Philippians 1:9-11

…And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all judgment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Hebrews 5:12-14

…For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

I Corinthians 5:12

…For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges  those outside….

I Corinthians 6:2,3

…Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

I Corinthians 6:4-11

…So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

Do you not know that the unrighteous  will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

This is a subject which I admittedly write about with much ‘fear and trembling’.

Why?

Primarily because I honestly feel as if I know so very little about it. Beyond that, (but still, mostly because of that), I don’t want anyone to misunderstand what it is that I’m trying to communicate here.

Hopefully I will be able to clearly articulate what it is that has been weighing heavily in the back of my mind for the last couple of years…, and hopefully I can do it with sufficient grace and tact.

Help me Lord.

In the Christian world there are universal catch phrases that have been derived from  sayings which can, in fact, be traced back to the four gospels. Some of these sayings are attributed to Jesus Himself. Others are attributed to Paul, Peter, James, etc… or other writers of what we currently refer to as the bible.

Again, these sayings are widely recognized among  the whole of the “Christian community”, — but, some ‘circles’ emphasize them more so than others. And to be fair, I suppose that there are some who do not emphasise them at all!!

This selection of preferred sayings  could be referred to as “The Higher Way” teachings…or something to that effect.

I’m not going to quote, word for word, the scriptures from which these ‘higher way principles’ spring forth, but instead I’ll paraphrase and leave the bible study up to you.

“Turn the other cheek.”

“Suffer the wrong.”

“Take it to the cross.”

“Submit.”

“Take the higher road.”

You get the idea?

I want you, dear reader, to know that I do understand and agree with the gist of what these statements imply. Especially when they are understood in their proper context. After all, they are truly inspired.

To me they say, essentially, “Don’t stoop to the level of the wicked, and in maintaining your faith, dignity, grace and character in the midst of hard times or mistreatment, you might reveal the heart of God to your fellow man, and potentially even change their heart”.

However, what troubles me is the fact that there is another side to spiritual law, one which is equally as valid but recieves much less airplay.

While The Higher Way obviously leans towards the Way of Mercy, the other way, which I am referring to now, leans more towards…

The Way of Judgment.

Of course I recognize and accept the reality of these two maxims, mercy and judgment(and everything in between), being fully manifest, exercised and reconciled (or fulfilled if you prefer) in the Person and work of Jesus the Messiah, and so it is therefore, for that very same reason, that I believe that this should also be the case in and through His people in this present time.

Not only do I believe that both facets should be realized and expressed but they should also both be expressed and realized in their proper time….

His time.

You see, there is a place for judgment among those who are called out.

Judging from what I read in the New Testament,  (no pun intended) there is a much higher standard of life for those within the church than those without. From what I can tell, at the present time, we should leave judgment of those who do not profess Christ to the Lord Himself, and thank God for that.

In spite of what you may be thinking right now, I have no desire to become a “sin sniffer”.

However…

Ironically, I do believe that we are called to use careful discernment when it comes to those of us who do profess to be ‘brethren’ (or  ’sisteren’) in Christ.

I know that statement will not settle well with everyone. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that the word judgement has been both mishandled and misunderstood.

“Don’t Judge Me, Man!”

See, I think ‘Judgment’ has gotten a bad rap.

But c’mon, it’s necessary for the spiritual health of the individual believer as well as for the corporate church. In fact, I believe that it is necessary for the overall welfare of the world.

Look again at Paul’s prayer for the church in Philipi:

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment,
that ye may approve things that are excellent, and that ye may be sincere and without offense until the Day of Christ,
being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

You see how judgment is directly linked to fruitfulness?

Okay, now take a closer look at the “J” word.

See?

Now that wasn’t so bad,… was it?

It’s not all about condemning people for being ‘wrong’! It’s about seeing things for what they truly are!!!

For good measure, let’s take another look at a portion from the letter written to the “Hebrews”…. I want to be sure that I’m not misunderstood in the direction that I’m going with this post.

Hebrews 5:8-14

Although (Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

There is a lot being said there, folks.

There is certainly a place for ‘milk’, and to be honest, I think that historically speaking, the church at large has not done a very good job in nourishing the Lords people in the milk of the Word the way that they should. The (over)reaction to this, of course, is the super milky theology which is so prevelant today.

You see, there are many “out there” (and yes, I have been caught up in it myself) who speak of the sinfulness of ”partaking of the ‘wrong tree’”, the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And in a sense, this caution against our partaking of that particular tree of knowledge is valid,  as it was also for Adam and Eve.

However….

There is a difference between what Adam and Eve did in the garden and what those who are growing up in the Lord are called to do by their Heavenly Master.

Adam and Eve suffered from a classic (or the most classic) case of disobedience to God. They could have eaten from any tree in the garden, including the tree of life, and yet they chose to do the one single thing that God warned them not to do.

That sneaky snake told Eve that she if she would just go ahead and eat it, then she would become wise like God.

You see, Adam and Eve did partake of that forbidden tree, and they did become like God…..

…and they did die.

(hmmmmm….)

And you know what? There are a million and one things that we could say about all of that…., what all of it means or doesn’t mean, how it plays out, etc… (and I hope to explore that train of thought here more sometime….) But let’s be honest for a moment here…

Us human beings get more than just a bit defensive when our erroneous behavior is called into question. Heck sometimes even when the word sin is mentioned!

Go on.

Just admit it.

Were all the same.

We sometimes find ourselves doing the very things that we ought not, but it is because of the error within that we find ourselves doing them!

Something in us simply loves to make us do those things!!

In this present age of such heavy ‘Grace’ theology, there are many groups and individuals who would go so far as to say that ’sin’ (or ‘error’) does not even exist for those who believe in Christ.

If you are one such person…..

you need your bubble popped.

You see, to ’sin’ or to ‘err’ means simply to do that thing which you should not do. Generally speaking, it is to do something which is un-loving. More specifically, it is what happens when we assume self reign rather than submitting to the government of God.

It is to walk in darkness.

It is to walk in a false identity.

But here is my point:

There are offences and sometimes those offences  come about when we operate according to our old nature. The result?

DEATH.

“But all things are lawful!!”

Yes, but not all things are good.

This is something that we need to be mindful of….but it’s difficult when even the word ‘good’ is seen as a curse!! You see, there are some Christian circles that, in over-reaction to legalism, have deemed the words “good’ and “evil” as being, ironically enough…… evil.

Paul, however, makes no such assumptions:

…Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good….

…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good…

…So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil….

You see, Paul knew the difference between good and evil and he wanted the same discernment for all of Gods people.

Some will say, “No, no, Paul want’s us to know the difference between life and death…”.

Well, that’s true also. But life and/or death are merely the outworking, the fruit, of good and evil.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a champion for freedom and liberty! If you have read my thoughts here for any length of time, you might even think that I lean too far ‘left’ for your tastes.

I don’t want anyone telling me what to eat, drink, watch, read, say, or anything else….

However…

Neither do I want to lay any stumbling blocks before the feet of my brothers and sisters.

Which is more important; Me having my way in destroying your conscience, or me, if I truly posess any authentic Spiritual maturity, exercising God given self control?

I guess this is the issue.

Stumbling blocks.

I suppose  if we could write up a formula for ‘getting along’ among ourselves, it would read something like this:

1. Love others the way you would want to be loved….

2. And if (when) others don’t do that for you,  you can let it go (take it to the cross) or you can let them know and still offer forgiveness….

3. And if (when) you fail in  loving them,  repent and hope that they will let it go, or let you know and  they may offer forgiveness to you.

After all, have we not all received such great forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Now that I’ve shared all of this, I want you, Dear Reader, to know that ultimately,  I do confess that I fully realize that mercy triumphs over judgement, and I thank the Good Lord for that. However, this mercy can sometimes take the shape of a brother or sister who, in the spirit of Meekness, is able to restore one who has gone out of the Way and fallen into darkness.

The Lord doesn’t give us more than we can bear. Sometimes you have to speak up….

Sometimes you have to call somebody out on an issue….

Sometimes you have to be the unpopular prophet.

And let me give you some advice on the matter:

Bear what you can bear…

But do not wait too long to address a matter that needs addressing.

It can fester and swell and get real ugly when it finally does pop.

I’ll be posting again soon on how higher way teachings can be used inappropriately resulting in harm to the spiritual condition of the Lords people.

In the meantime, I pray the Lord search our hearts….

and I pray we seek His ways above our own.

Peace.

Prickly Heat Telethon (Part 1)

Dr. Tod Bolsinger interviews N.T. Wright

I am increasingly impressed with what brother Wright has to say to the Body of Christ.

If you have time, especially if you are unfamiliar with Bishop Wrights work, take a few moments to listen in:

 

{By the way, I have been working hard to cook up an actual post of my own…..which is currently stewing on the proverbial back burner.

I want to serve it up hot and fresh, but not until it’s seasoned just right….with the meat falling off the bones (hopefully no one will choke!!).}