The following comments apply to chapter ten of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. This chapter covers a third major portion of the work of the church, benevolence.
"Each day I'll do a golden deed by helping those who are in need. My life on earth is but a span, and so I'll do the best I can--the best I can." This is the first verse of an old hymn that someone just told me the other day was one of their favorites. The song book we use in our congregation has it included under the title, A Beautiful Life. I can't think of a better way to sum up the attitude this lesson attempts to create in us.
To understand the nature of benevolence, we really have to absorb the events of the life of Christ and try to resolve in our minds what He did in His ministry and why. He helped people, and there is just no getting around that. Our faith must include the way we respond to the needs of others. We not only want to share what we know and build up the church, but we want to help others.
Baxter includes in this lesson the story of the good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-35. Someone who was well versed in the law asked Jesus, technically speaking, who his neighbor was. Jesus told the story and then asked the man which of the potential helpers in the story proved to be a neighbor to the one in need. The obvious answer is the one who had mercy and helped him. At this point our Lord could have given a three point sermon on why that answer was correct, but instead He simply said to go and do likewise. The answer then presents a few questions for us. Who needs our help? Do we consider ourselves their neighbor?
Baxter mentions some other teachings but says that the message of Jesus in Matthew 25 about the time of judgment would be sufficient by itself to point the church and its members in a big way toward benevolence. The saved are welcomed into heaven because, having done good things for the least of those in need, they honored the Lord. The condemned are those who have chosen to abstain from such activity. This is very serious and requires us to search our souls to see where we stand.
Are we really a helper? Do we really share what we have? I remember going in on a lawn mower one time with a member of the church, after having read that the early church had all things in common. Even that took a toll on me, because my idea of lawn mower maintenance and his son's idea were two different things. I was frustrated by that, but I understood the circumstances. How much bigger do our hearts need to grow to actually have compassion on those in situations we cannot completely understand? More importantly, what is our role in their lives?
Baxter mentions a lot of needs people have and how we might be able to help. He points out that scripture does not spell out exactly what the method is. We have to use our best judgment. Helping those in need opens closed doors and can bring people to the Lord. It allows us to show that Jesus is our example of unselfish service. Many individual decisions must be made on this topic, but we must keep in mind the fact that benevolence is a major thrust of the work of the church.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The Work of the Church - Edification
The following thoughts accompany chapter 9 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God, dealing with the second major task of the church, edification.
"Open my eyes to what You know, so I can stretch, so I can grow." Those are the words of a hymn that depicts the singer praying for the Lord to provide spiritual insight. Wouldn't it be great if people spent more of their time seeking that kind of thing? Another song says, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." People who give themselves to the Lord come saying that they want to learn, grow, and develop spiritually. Then the question becomes, do they want to continue pursuing those things for the rest of their days?
What Baxter says in this chapter about the sheer mass of secular, non-spiritual activities tending to crowd out spiritual growth is extremely significant. The responsibility of the family of God is to counteract spiritual inertia, no matter what the reason for it, and to promote spiritual growth in the members. That, says Baxter, is the second of three major tasks of the church, the task of edification, known in scripture as equipping the saints.
There are numerous passages in the New Testament to show the desirability of growth and maturity, or to show the problems that come from not incorporating those qualities into one's character. The saying is taught, "If you are not growing, you are dying," and here we can see the truth in it. Followers of Jesus should be well acquainted with the parable of the sower, as found in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, because we are in it. Someone has sown the teachings of Christ into our hearts, and now the struggle is to bring those teachings to fruition. Daily cares, the illusions of life, and our own spiritual shallowness must be overcome so that the soul may prosper in God's sight.
What are the best tools to help us in t6his task of producing a bumper crop of spiritual fruit? Baxter suggests five things that the church should use.
Do you think your congregation is working in all these areas for the good of its members? Can you point to experiences of your own in all five areas? Maybe you can, and now you see them all as the means of your edification.
"Open my eyes to what You know, so I can stretch, so I can grow." Those are the words of a hymn that depicts the singer praying for the Lord to provide spiritual insight. Wouldn't it be great if people spent more of their time seeking that kind of thing? Another song says, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." People who give themselves to the Lord come saying that they want to learn, grow, and develop spiritually. Then the question becomes, do they want to continue pursuing those things for the rest of their days?
What Baxter says in this chapter about the sheer mass of secular, non-spiritual activities tending to crowd out spiritual growth is extremely significant. The responsibility of the family of God is to counteract spiritual inertia, no matter what the reason for it, and to promote spiritual growth in the members. That, says Baxter, is the second of three major tasks of the church, the task of edification, known in scripture as equipping the saints.
There are numerous passages in the New Testament to show the desirability of growth and maturity, or to show the problems that come from not incorporating those qualities into one's character. The saying is taught, "If you are not growing, you are dying," and here we can see the truth in it. Followers of Jesus should be well acquainted with the parable of the sower, as found in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, because we are in it. Someone has sown the teachings of Christ into our hearts, and now the struggle is to bring those teachings to fruition. Daily cares, the illusions of life, and our own spiritual shallowness must be overcome so that the soul may prosper in God's sight.
What are the best tools to help us in t6his task of producing a bumper crop of spiritual fruit? Baxter suggests five things that the church should use.
- Elders - Hebrews 13:7 and 17 show that the leadership and spiritual-mindedness of elders is good for the members of a congregation. The general observation is correct that elders do what Christians should do, and committed Christians do as elders do in many ways. Therefore, elders help not only by being responsive to spiritual needs, but by upholding Christian principles.
- Worship - Where do we get worship from? We put it together from scriptural example, but we do it with a purpose, and that purpose is growth--edification. Congregational, small group, and personal private worship all play a part. Baxter correctly emphasizes that the significance of worship becomes apparent when we look back on our lives and take stock of our activities.
- Teaching - 2 Timothy 2:2 and Titus 2:1 describe the church very well. Baxter comments that Christianity is a teaching religion, and neglect results in serious problems.
- Association - When we think about how the apostles were able to propagate the church worldwide, all we have to do is look back to the time when they were in close association with Jesus and one another to see where their strength came from. We grow by association with our fellow church members, with Christians from other times, with Christ, and with God. Thus we avoid conformity with the world and are transformed by the renewing of our minds, as in Romans 12.
- Suffering - What? How did this get in here? Whatever kind of Christlike approach we can bring to times of suffering and sorrow helps greatly in allowing God to use our trials to refine our spirit, just as pure gold must be refined by fire. Discipline comes to us as God shapes our attitudes, and it comes as we properly apply those attitudes, even in the worst of circumstances. Hebrews 12 says that God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. Suffering then becomes not so much a fate as a means to a glorious end with Christ in heaven.
Do you think your congregation is working in all these areas for the good of its members? Can you point to experiences of your own in all five areas? Maybe you can, and now you see them all as the means of your edification.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Work of the Church - Evangelism, Week 2
Christians the world over are excited about restoring the New Testament church, and our time spent searching the scriptures convinces us of many things we should do to keep alive the nature and purpose of the church. As we think about that, we need to ask ourselves what should be restored. The more we study and reflect on the Bible, the more definitive the list becomes, until we start to get an image of the church as it should be.
One remarkable characteristic of the early Christians is their urgency in taking the news of Christ to an uninformed world. We have discussed how they continued in this effort until the entire known world had been traversed by evangelistic church members holding out hope for a better, more meaningful life and a home in heaven with the Lord.
Ivan Stewart wrote a book in 1974 called Go Ye Means Go Me. In the preface he explains that he was in the Navy, stationed in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Badly shaken by the experience, he later turned to God for help and strength. He found himself leading Bible studies and worship services during his tour of duty. Thus began a lifetime of working with people to teach them the gospel.
In chapter one of the book, Stewart says the "great commission" in Matthew 28:18-20 is surely great, but it is really the New Testament commission, not just a message for the immediate hearers who surrounded Jesus on that day. Stewart says that, as we get busy restoring the church, the urgency of evangelism is something we should be restoring. Has it been restored? If not, what can be done to light the fire so it burns brightly again?
Stewart then takes his readers to 2 Corinthians 5, where we read about church members who say, "...knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men," because "...the love of Christ controls (constrains, compels) us." Stewart explains that the strong force referred to in this passage is not some oppressive sense of obligation but the kind of compelling love that causes a mother to charge into a burning building to save her baby--compelling, constraining, controlling love!
This week we are going to mention several ways for the church, and for us as members, to reach out to others. Stewart takes us to Paul's farewell to Ephesus, particularly Acts 20:20, to show that visiting people at home is a time-tested way of getting people interested in spiritual things. Lately we have compartmentalized it by calling it personal work, but I'm not sure there was much of a distinction in the early church. Paul simply says they declared the message, "...publicly and from house to house."
Stewart then gives a quick scan of New Testament verses to show the biblical concept that the urgency of the need to be on the Lord's side is the same as the urgency to help people get there. As we discuss our outreach and the different forms it can take, let's remember that urgency in these matters is a proven characteristic of Christians.
One remarkable characteristic of the early Christians is their urgency in taking the news of Christ to an uninformed world. We have discussed how they continued in this effort until the entire known world had been traversed by evangelistic church members holding out hope for a better, more meaningful life and a home in heaven with the Lord.
Ivan Stewart wrote a book in 1974 called Go Ye Means Go Me. In the preface he explains that he was in the Navy, stationed in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Badly shaken by the experience, he later turned to God for help and strength. He found himself leading Bible studies and worship services during his tour of duty. Thus began a lifetime of working with people to teach them the gospel.
In chapter one of the book, Stewart says the "great commission" in Matthew 28:18-20 is surely great, but it is really the New Testament commission, not just a message for the immediate hearers who surrounded Jesus on that day. Stewart says that, as we get busy restoring the church, the urgency of evangelism is something we should be restoring. Has it been restored? If not, what can be done to light the fire so it burns brightly again?
Stewart then takes his readers to 2 Corinthians 5, where we read about church members who say, "...knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men," because "...the love of Christ controls (constrains, compels) us." Stewart explains that the strong force referred to in this passage is not some oppressive sense of obligation but the kind of compelling love that causes a mother to charge into a burning building to save her baby--compelling, constraining, controlling love!
This week we are going to mention several ways for the church, and for us as members, to reach out to others. Stewart takes us to Paul's farewell to Ephesus, particularly Acts 20:20, to show that visiting people at home is a time-tested way of getting people interested in spiritual things. Lately we have compartmentalized it by calling it personal work, but I'm not sure there was much of a distinction in the early church. Paul simply says they declared the message, "...publicly and from house to house."
Stewart then gives a quick scan of New Testament verses to show the biblical concept that the urgency of the need to be on the Lord's side is the same as the urgency to help people get there. As we discuss our outreach and the different forms it can take, let's remember that urgency in these matters is a proven characteristic of Christians.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Work of the Church - Evangelism
These comments supplement chapter 8 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. Chapter 8 is the first of three chapters on the work of the church, this one covering evangelism.
What is evangelism? One definition says it is the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The Koine Greek root word meant something like "I bring a good message," or "the good bringing of a message." In Greek and Latin New Testaments this root word is used for our word, "gospel." In the church today, we can say it means carrying the gospel message to others or seeking to win souls to Christ.
What motivates Christians to practice evangelism? We have shown in our class discussion that Christ left His followers with this same mission and instructed them to teach others not only to become followers but also to become teachers. He said, "...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you," and He had just commanded them to go into all the world and preach the gospel. So begins the unending chain of self-perpetuation in the church.
The heroic efforts of the early church to evangelize the entire known world were neither accidental nor incidental. The early Christians acted with purpose in obedience to a concerted set of directives from the Lord Jesus Himself. It is important to see that their actions were not undertaken once and for all, like Christ's sacrifice on the cross, but over and over for every individual or group who would hear their teaching.
If we are looking for an example to follow in the story of the early church, study reveals to us that the Christians were entirely convinced that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Because of that, they adopted the lifelong pursuit of reaching the lost. Forgiveness of their own sins, rather than being the final conclusion of faith, was the beginning of true and happy service to the cause of Christ.
It is useful to acknowledge that not every group claiming to follow Christ today adopts the view that evangelism is important. Such a view gives outreach a different rational and takes away much of its biblical substance. In recognizing that unfortunate fact, we can face the task of evangelism and accept it as our task, the work of the church. Having that decision made is one of the first signs of true understanding of Christ's message and the mark of developing maturity in a Christian.
Baxter calls attention to 1 Timothy 3:14-15, in which Paul refers to the church as the pillar and ground or support and foundation of the truth. Here again not every one knows what we mean by "the truth," but let us just say it is the message from God to humanity, as given by Jesus and personified in Him as well. The church holds it up and holds it out to the world. This image of pillar and ground should make a deep impression on us all as followers of Jesus. What have we done, what can we do, what will we do to hold out the truth of God for others to receive? We know this from the New Testament: It involves activity, not just a state of mind.
Mid McKnight helped a lot of Christians learn how to teach the gospel to others in his lifetime. In his book, Journey to Eternity, he says that over the years the church has become to church-building-centered. He says, "When we rediscover personal evangelism, we will have uncovered the life-giving element of the church in the first century." Those of us who have been in the church for some time can think of many examples to show how much more joy there is in bringing others to the Lord, helping to save them, building up the body of Christ, and making good use of all we know about our Creator.
There is a list of examples of organized evangelistic efforts at the end of this chapter in Baxter's book, ranging from nationwide broadcasts to summer camps to bus ministries. It will be good for us to look at them all, maybe add some of our own ideas. We can talk about which ones we might want to work on, and which ones our congregation can most advantageously use. Any discussion of evangelism should be permeated with thoughts of what a great privilege it is to be the people who are entrusted with this magnificent task.
What is evangelism? One definition says it is the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The Koine Greek root word meant something like "I bring a good message," or "the good bringing of a message." In Greek and Latin New Testaments this root word is used for our word, "gospel." In the church today, we can say it means carrying the gospel message to others or seeking to win souls to Christ.
What motivates Christians to practice evangelism? We have shown in our class discussion that Christ left His followers with this same mission and instructed them to teach others not only to become followers but also to become teachers. He said, "...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you," and He had just commanded them to go into all the world and preach the gospel. So begins the unending chain of self-perpetuation in the church.
The heroic efforts of the early church to evangelize the entire known world were neither accidental nor incidental. The early Christians acted with purpose in obedience to a concerted set of directives from the Lord Jesus Himself. It is important to see that their actions were not undertaken once and for all, like Christ's sacrifice on the cross, but over and over for every individual or group who would hear their teaching.
If we are looking for an example to follow in the story of the early church, study reveals to us that the Christians were entirely convinced that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Because of that, they adopted the lifelong pursuit of reaching the lost. Forgiveness of their own sins, rather than being the final conclusion of faith, was the beginning of true and happy service to the cause of Christ.
It is useful to acknowledge that not every group claiming to follow Christ today adopts the view that evangelism is important. Such a view gives outreach a different rational and takes away much of its biblical substance. In recognizing that unfortunate fact, we can face the task of evangelism and accept it as our task, the work of the church. Having that decision made is one of the first signs of true understanding of Christ's message and the mark of developing maturity in a Christian.
Baxter calls attention to 1 Timothy 3:14-15, in which Paul refers to the church as the pillar and ground or support and foundation of the truth. Here again not every one knows what we mean by "the truth," but let us just say it is the message from God to humanity, as given by Jesus and personified in Him as well. The church holds it up and holds it out to the world. This image of pillar and ground should make a deep impression on us all as followers of Jesus. What have we done, what can we do, what will we do to hold out the truth of God for others to receive? We know this from the New Testament: It involves activity, not just a state of mind.
Mid McKnight helped a lot of Christians learn how to teach the gospel to others in his lifetime. In his book, Journey to Eternity, he says that over the years the church has become to church-building-centered. He says, "When we rediscover personal evangelism, we will have uncovered the life-giving element of the church in the first century." Those of us who have been in the church for some time can think of many examples to show how much more joy there is in bringing others to the Lord, helping to save them, building up the body of Christ, and making good use of all we know about our Creator.
There is a list of examples of organized evangelistic efforts at the end of this chapter in Baxter's book, ranging from nationwide broadcasts to summer camps to bus ministries. It will be good for us to look at them all, maybe add some of our own ideas. We can talk about which ones we might want to work on, and which ones our congregation can most advantageously use. Any discussion of evangelism should be permeated with thoughts of what a great privilege it is to be the people who are entrusted with this magnificent task.
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