The following comments apply to chapter 23 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. The chapter starts with the prayer of Christ in John 17 and discusses the serious issue of division in the church.
In discussing chapter 22 on fellowship, we said that John 17:20-21 expresses the hope of Jesus that the fellowship of the church would be all that it should be. If it is, then the unity Christ prayed for will be prevalent. In full unity, the church is easy to identify worldwide. It stands as an example for the world and is the ultimate endorsement of the teachings of Christ.
As Baxter notes, the apostles gave numerous warnings to the church about staying on track, remaining together in heart and mind, and not listening to any harmful ideas that would surely come from church members and leaders who, for whatever reason, were motivated to change the church from what it should be to what they wanted it to be.
Paul's message to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 included the advice to take heed and watch over the church, because grievous wolves would come and ravage the fellowship. Galatians 1:8-9 includes the famous passage in which Paul says that if he or an angel from heaven presented to the church a different gospel than the one first delivered to them, let that individual be "anathema."
This word is explained in most commentaries as meaning "accursed." It combines the Koine Greek terms ana and thema. Ana means lifted out, separate, outside, and to some extent against. Thema refers to the theme, group, faith, fellowship, or belief of the church. In other words, whoever preaches such a false gospel should be considered as outside of the fellowship (and blessing) of the church.
Of course 1 Timothy 4:1-3 includes a well known passage saying that people would face the temptation to turn aside to myths, seeking what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Peter 2:1 has a stern warning about false prophets and false teachers, and 1 John 4:1 begins with the apostle's advice to prove the spirits, not simply taking for granted that everyone will be motivated to teach the truth of the gospel.
In spite of all the earnest efforts evidenced by these verses, and in spite of all that is recorded about what Paul did to combat division and factions in the church, departures did occur in later years. Baxter lists several of them, ranging from doing away with the plurality of elders to a heirarchical structure to changing the age and method of baptism to using different names and different add-on creeds to govern the church.
Baxter then outlines some noble efforts to reform the church, but those efforts were not quite far reaching enough to bring back the new testament church that the Lord established. Later, in different places and at different times, groups formed with the goal of actually restoring the church. Those groups, which were often unaware of the others like them, finally succeeded in restoring the church, and the response was tremendous throughout the nineteenth century. Although there have been struggles to keep the restoration movement intact, it remains the modern version of the church that Jesus died for, to this day.
One more thing Baxter emphasizes that is very important is that in what we call the restoration church or the Lord's church, we do not go back to any nineteeth century preacher to trace the origin of the church. We go back to Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of the Christian faith. A hallmark of restoration churches is that nothing newer than the New Testament is used as a guide to govern the church. All we need is there in God's word. We just need to teach the Bible, or as first uttered in Jeremiah 6:16, "ask for the old paths." That puts us in good stead with the prayer of Christ for unity and the earnest plea of the apostles.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Fellowship
The following comments apply to chapter 22 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. This chapter is all about fellowship, specifically what it means to be in fellowship within the church.
Koinonia, the Greek word for fellowship, is often translated as "partnership," as in a business partnership. In the New Testament it can mean participation, partnership, sharing, or fellowship.
We all know that we can find different types of fellowship in many places, based on just about anything we can think of. Often these relationships can fade or turn out to be shallow. When we come to Christ, we see that the church has a rich fellowship, and we want to take part.
Based on my own experience, I would say that people first approach fellowship in Christ by asking what they can receive from it. Then, they might progress to asking what they can give to it. Eventually, they begin to ask how they can grow in their ability to participate. After some time, they will be thinking about where they stand in relation to the fellowship of Christ, hoping to remain inside of it.
In John 13:34-35 Jesus said that the way people could identify his followers was if they have love for one another. That statement is very much addressed to the nature of fellowship as a way of life in the church and a way of seeing when the church is what it should be.
The prayer of Jesus in John 17:20-21 is often taught simply as a prayer for unity, but it really points to the need for full fellowhip in the church. Full fellowship brings unity, and when there are problems with fellowship, unity is at risk.
In Galatians 6:2, Paul sums up the task of fellowship when he says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." This is fellowship. When he says in Galatians 3:28, "You are all one [man] in Christ Jesus," he encourages Christians to get over any form of division within the church, even the circumstantial ones, such as Jew vs. Greek, slave and free, or male and female.
The church was to stand together as one. If the church is as one man, that man would be a godly man, single-minded in his purpose and character. In this way unity is essential to fellowship.
In 1 Peter 4:7-8 the apostle uses a phrase that is also used by James, when he encourages church members to be fervent in their love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. This is a major function of fellowship, because if one member is not all that he or she should be, the fellowship can support that person in working through and overcoming their weaknesses and dealing with sin.
In 1 Corinthians Paul strikes a blow against factions and divisiveness that had arisen in the church. He does his best to rid the church of it. He discusses that differences are needed, and that one body part would not say to another that it is not needed or is inferior. He then goes on to say that love is the most excellent way, going to great lengths to point out that love is more durable than the spiritual gifts that caused such discussion in the church. He leads the Corinthians to the conclusion that fellowship will save the church from ruin and reach the lost.
Charles Swindoll notes that fellowship included all believers, held them together, and met their needs. He says that believers today can paddle around near the shore of their relationship with other Christians, or they can venture out into the sea, where the currents are stronger and the risks are greater. It takes personal sacrifice and involvement to make a true commitment to fellowship, but it is worth the risk.
Author Larry Deason says that for mutual ministry to occur, there must be covenant, community, communion, and commitment, with equality of position and diversity of function.
Fellowship can be nurtured or neglected. It can be finely tuned to do God's will, or it can be broken. Baxter notes that there is only one method of discipline for the church to use when fellowship is broken, and that is to withdraw fellowship from one who is in the wrong. Church discipline is difficult, because it can be hard to know where lines should be drawn in some situations. Yet, the godly man must take a stand.
Broken fellowship can be the result of individual wrongdoing or doctrinal mishandling by an entire group. In any such case, the goal of the church is to restore fellowship by helping those in the wrong to see their mistake and ask for forgiveness. God wants all to come to repentance, and so does the church. Therefore, if someone is said to have broken fellowship with the church, it is accurate to say that they took themselves out of the fellowship, not that the church would abandon them or their souls.
Despite Paul's efforts to rid Corinth of divisiveness, it is said that the seeds of division planted in those days when the fellowship of the church was broken in several ways have grown up into the many types of churches that teach various things that are opposed to Biblical teaching today. That draws a sharp focus on love, commitment, and unity for us to consider when talking about fellowship.
Koinonia, the Greek word for fellowship, is often translated as "partnership," as in a business partnership. In the New Testament it can mean participation, partnership, sharing, or fellowship.
We all know that we can find different types of fellowship in many places, based on just about anything we can think of. Often these relationships can fade or turn out to be shallow. When we come to Christ, we see that the church has a rich fellowship, and we want to take part.
Based on my own experience, I would say that people first approach fellowship in Christ by asking what they can receive from it. Then, they might progress to asking what they can give to it. Eventually, they begin to ask how they can grow in their ability to participate. After some time, they will be thinking about where they stand in relation to the fellowship of Christ, hoping to remain inside of it.
In John 13:34-35 Jesus said that the way people could identify his followers was if they have love for one another. That statement is very much addressed to the nature of fellowship as a way of life in the church and a way of seeing when the church is what it should be.
The prayer of Jesus in John 17:20-21 is often taught simply as a prayer for unity, but it really points to the need for full fellowhip in the church. Full fellowship brings unity, and when there are problems with fellowship, unity is at risk.
In Galatians 6:2, Paul sums up the task of fellowship when he says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." This is fellowship. When he says in Galatians 3:28, "You are all one [man] in Christ Jesus," he encourages Christians to get over any form of division within the church, even the circumstantial ones, such as Jew vs. Greek, slave and free, or male and female.
The church was to stand together as one. If the church is as one man, that man would be a godly man, single-minded in his purpose and character. In this way unity is essential to fellowship.
In 1 Peter 4:7-8 the apostle uses a phrase that is also used by James, when he encourages church members to be fervent in their love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. This is a major function of fellowship, because if one member is not all that he or she should be, the fellowship can support that person in working through and overcoming their weaknesses and dealing with sin.
In 1 Corinthians Paul strikes a blow against factions and divisiveness that had arisen in the church. He does his best to rid the church of it. He discusses that differences are needed, and that one body part would not say to another that it is not needed or is inferior. He then goes on to say that love is the most excellent way, going to great lengths to point out that love is more durable than the spiritual gifts that caused such discussion in the church. He leads the Corinthians to the conclusion that fellowship will save the church from ruin and reach the lost.
Charles Swindoll notes that fellowship included all believers, held them together, and met their needs. He says that believers today can paddle around near the shore of their relationship with other Christians, or they can venture out into the sea, where the currents are stronger and the risks are greater. It takes personal sacrifice and involvement to make a true commitment to fellowship, but it is worth the risk.
Author Larry Deason says that for mutual ministry to occur, there must be covenant, community, communion, and commitment, with equality of position and diversity of function.
Fellowship can be nurtured or neglected. It can be finely tuned to do God's will, or it can be broken. Baxter notes that there is only one method of discipline for the church to use when fellowship is broken, and that is to withdraw fellowship from one who is in the wrong. Church discipline is difficult, because it can be hard to know where lines should be drawn in some situations. Yet, the godly man must take a stand.
Broken fellowship can be the result of individual wrongdoing or doctrinal mishandling by an entire group. In any such case, the goal of the church is to restore fellowship by helping those in the wrong to see their mistake and ask for forgiveness. God wants all to come to repentance, and so does the church. Therefore, if someone is said to have broken fellowship with the church, it is accurate to say that they took themselves out of the fellowship, not that the church would abandon them or their souls.
Despite Paul's efforts to rid Corinth of divisiveness, it is said that the seeds of division planted in those days when the fellowship of the church was broken in several ways have grown up into the many types of churches that teach various things that are opposed to Biblical teaching today. That draws a sharp focus on love, commitment, and unity for us to consider when talking about fellowship.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The comments in this segment refer to Chapter 21 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. This chapter covers some important information about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as taught in the Bible, and what the position of the church should be.
First let me say that I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament were real and miraculous. I believe that God has worked in miraculous ways at certain times, and that He has the power to do His will in miraculous ways at all times. Yet, I do not believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are active in the church today.
I once had an extended discussion with someone who described my position on the matter as not believing in miracles. I hope that by reading the paragraph above, you will see that I do. So, how can someone who believes in what is written in the New Testament say that miracles have ceased? Is it just a position we choose and then develop elaborate logic to defend it? Do we have the Holy Spirit, as promised in Acts 2, or do we not? And, if we do, why not the miraculous gifts?
The nine gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. In the very next chapter, 13:8-13, Paul says that they will be done away with, and other things will go on instead. John, in John 20:30-31, shows their purpose, that we might believe in Jesus, and in believing have the abundant life. The Christian who is educated by God through the Bible knows what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, knows their purpose, and also knows when they were manifested.
There are only two sources of miraculous power in the church. One is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which happened only twice and for a good purpose each time. The second is the laying on of the apostles' hands. As long as they were around they could provide other church members with miraculous abilities by laying on hands, but those people could not pass on the abilities. Therefore, when the apostles were gone, the ability to pass on miraculous gifts disappeared.
1 Corinthians 13:8-11 shows that the miraculous gifts would cease, provided that we properly understand that "when the perfect comes" does not refer to the end time but refers to the establishment of the church in its maturity and the completion of the New Testament. If you think it refers to the end time, then you see no reason why miraculous gifts should have ceased.
Yet, this passage only mentions a few of the gifts. Also, it says that the manifestation of the gifts would cease, but life would go on and other things would be continued. That can't be the end time. For example, faith, hope, and love would remain, yet at the end time faith will be sight and hope will become realization. There will be no need for faith and hope at the end time, but they will remain when the perfect comes, according to Paul's inspired and authoritative writing.
It is good to view miraculous gifts as a type of scaffolding for the church. Once a building is complete, scaffolding is taken away, because it is no longer needed. With the New Testament written and canonized and the church in fully complete existence, the scaffolding that is the miraculous gifts is no longer needed to point the way to Christ.
God has done other things like this. He created a man, and then He created no more men. After Adam and Eve, people reproduced and populated the earth. He will not do the same thing for me that He did for Adam. He caused Jesus to be born of a virgin, yet neither I nor anyone else has reason to think that he might have provided such a birth for us or would do it for our children.
Modern teaching on miraculous gifts varies from group to group, but God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33). Christians should respect and revere the miraculous gifts, but all Christians should be of one mind that they have ceased.
Above all, we in the church need to fully and completely lay claim to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, in the measure that exists in all Christians, knowing that we are blessed not only with the hope of eternity, but with the wonderful blessings of today because we have the Holy Spirit working in our lives now and accomplishing many great things for us in the present time. No one who claims to have miraculous powers can take that away from us.
First let me say that I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament were real and miraculous. I believe that God has worked in miraculous ways at certain times, and that He has the power to do His will in miraculous ways at all times. Yet, I do not believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are active in the church today.
I once had an extended discussion with someone who described my position on the matter as not believing in miracles. I hope that by reading the paragraph above, you will see that I do. So, how can someone who believes in what is written in the New Testament say that miracles have ceased? Is it just a position we choose and then develop elaborate logic to defend it? Do we have the Holy Spirit, as promised in Acts 2, or do we not? And, if we do, why not the miraculous gifts?
The nine gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. In the very next chapter, 13:8-13, Paul says that they will be done away with, and other things will go on instead. John, in John 20:30-31, shows their purpose, that we might believe in Jesus, and in believing have the abundant life. The Christian who is educated by God through the Bible knows what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, knows their purpose, and also knows when they were manifested.
There are only two sources of miraculous power in the church. One is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which happened only twice and for a good purpose each time. The second is the laying on of the apostles' hands. As long as they were around they could provide other church members with miraculous abilities by laying on hands, but those people could not pass on the abilities. Therefore, when the apostles were gone, the ability to pass on miraculous gifts disappeared.
1 Corinthians 13:8-11 shows that the miraculous gifts would cease, provided that we properly understand that "when the perfect comes" does not refer to the end time but refers to the establishment of the church in its maturity and the completion of the New Testament. If you think it refers to the end time, then you see no reason why miraculous gifts should have ceased.
Yet, this passage only mentions a few of the gifts. Also, it says that the manifestation of the gifts would cease, but life would go on and other things would be continued. That can't be the end time. For example, faith, hope, and love would remain, yet at the end time faith will be sight and hope will become realization. There will be no need for faith and hope at the end time, but they will remain when the perfect comes, according to Paul's inspired and authoritative writing.
It is good to view miraculous gifts as a type of scaffolding for the church. Once a building is complete, scaffolding is taken away, because it is no longer needed. With the New Testament written and canonized and the church in fully complete existence, the scaffolding that is the miraculous gifts is no longer needed to point the way to Christ.
God has done other things like this. He created a man, and then He created no more men. After Adam and Eve, people reproduced and populated the earth. He will not do the same thing for me that He did for Adam. He caused Jesus to be born of a virgin, yet neither I nor anyone else has reason to think that he might have provided such a birth for us or would do it for our children.
Modern teaching on miraculous gifts varies from group to group, but God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33). Christians should respect and revere the miraculous gifts, but all Christians should be of one mind that they have ceased.
Above all, we in the church need to fully and completely lay claim to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, in the measure that exists in all Christians, knowing that we are blessed not only with the hope of eternity, but with the wonderful blessings of today because we have the Holy Spirit working in our lives now and accomplishing many great things for us in the present time. No one who claims to have miraculous powers can take that away from us.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Holy Spirit
This segment accompanies chapter 20 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. It is an overview of the information that is found in the Bible about the Holy Spirit. It is important that this be a Bible lesson and not just some modern religious teaching. The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons within the whole of the Almighty God, yet people use the name of the Holy Spirit to teach any number of things that are not biblical.
In Baxter's book, it is easier to read chapter 20 backwards. The a modified version of the conclusion is a good place to start. There are different measures of the power that the Holy Spirit has to give. We can count four such measures in the Bible. Jesus possessed the power of the Holy Spirit without measure, so that's one level.
The apostles on the day of Pentecost and Cornelius and the people in his household were visited by the Holy Spirit in the baptismal measure, the only two instances ever. The apostles laid hands on some church members, who received the power of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous measure, although those people could not pass on that measure of the Holy Spirit's power to more and more people, so that measure along with its purpose in establishing the church passed into history.
The only unqualified promise to any and every Christian is that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will prevail in a measure of power that we might call the normal or ordinary measure. So, after the apostolic age, no person has had the power of the Holy Spirit without measure, none has had that power in the baptismal measure, and none has had it in the miraculous measure.
The Holy Spirit is a lifetime friend and guide to the Christian. We can be fully satisfied with and humbly grateful for the ordinary measure of the working of the Holy Spirit, because of all the wonderful things that involves.
Some of those things include giving evidence of our son-ship in the family of God which is in Christ Jesus; giving us strength in our everyday living; helping us to pray, since we do need that help many times; producing good fruit in our lives, because of that indwelling; giving us a reason to seek after a godly life; giving us a great sense of hope; and providing for us a guarantee of eternal life for faithful Christians.
Just as the love of the Father is still active, work of the church goes on, and the ministry of Christ goes on, the work of the Holy Spirit continues throughout the church today. With so much to be thankful for, we can lay claim to just what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit and still never use up all the blessings He brings into our lives.
In Baxter's book, it is easier to read chapter 20 backwards. The a modified version of the conclusion is a good place to start. There are different measures of the power that the Holy Spirit has to give. We can count four such measures in the Bible. Jesus possessed the power of the Holy Spirit without measure, so that's one level.
The apostles on the day of Pentecost and Cornelius and the people in his household were visited by the Holy Spirit in the baptismal measure, the only two instances ever. The apostles laid hands on some church members, who received the power of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous measure, although those people could not pass on that measure of the Holy Spirit's power to more and more people, so that measure along with its purpose in establishing the church passed into history.
The only unqualified promise to any and every Christian is that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will prevail in a measure of power that we might call the normal or ordinary measure. So, after the apostolic age, no person has had the power of the Holy Spirit without measure, none has had that power in the baptismal measure, and none has had it in the miraculous measure.
The Holy Spirit is a lifetime friend and guide to the Christian. We can be fully satisfied with and humbly grateful for the ordinary measure of the working of the Holy Spirit, because of all the wonderful things that involves.
Some of those things include giving evidence of our son-ship in the family of God which is in Christ Jesus; giving us strength in our everyday living; helping us to pray, since we do need that help many times; producing good fruit in our lives, because of that indwelling; giving us a reason to seek after a godly life; giving us a great sense of hope; and providing for us a guarantee of eternal life for faithful Christians.
Just as the love of the Father is still active, work of the church goes on, and the ministry of Christ goes on, the work of the Holy Spirit continues throughout the church today. With so much to be thankful for, we can lay claim to just what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit and still never use up all the blessings He brings into our lives.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Giving - Stewardship
The comments below accompany Chapter 19 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. Although the chapter title varies from the previous four, the discussion is about giving as one of the five acts of Christian worship in which we participate on the first day of every week.
The church needs to teach the right attitude toward material things. People who come to Christ from the world outside all too often have the wrong attitude. Also, church members either drift in their thinking or have not seriously looked at where they stand--or where they should stand in Christ Jesus--regarding material posessions. Matthew 6:19-33 is a great place to start on the study of stewardship.
In this chapter, Baxter shows that there are two basic attitudes. The wrong one says my things are mine, bought and paid for with my effort, and I will see about giving some part back to God. The right one says all things belong to God, and how I use them makes up a big part of my spiritual life. Therefore I wll use a necessary portion while giving as I have prospered, as I am able, and as I joyfully make my plans to do (Psalm 24:1).
For just a moment, take stock of your image of a person who was faithful to God in the time when Jesus lived, or perhaps before that. There are quite a few circumstances we tend to take in stride. Yes, they gave one-tenth of everything they produced and everything they earned. Yes, they made purchases for animal sacrifices to God. Yes, they also made material sacrifices to join in the pilgrimages and observances of special days on the Jewish calendar. Yes, they left their land idle one year out of seven. Yes, they forgave debts.
If this is part of being faithful to God, where is its counterpart in Christianity? If we look for an example in the early church, we see that what people had gathered or accumulated for themselves was no longer important to them, but the welfare of the church and those who were being helped by the church was important. When I review those passages, the term esprit de corps comes to mind. Followers of Christ were laying their trophies down, because of their excitement, joy, and convction that God had come in the flesh to guide them into all truth, and they were going there together, sharing all things, bearing one another's burdens, and providing for those in need.
This image is a far cry from begrudging a small amount for the contribution each week. That in itself should teach us a lot about giving. God loves a cheerful giver, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:7. In our spiritual growth, we need to understand the cheer in giving. That is the path to the right attitude in stewardship.
So, we find that giving had its place in the activity of the early church, and as it compares to the material sacrifices made by God's people under the old covenant, it is worship to the Christian. Even though much of what we read about giving in the church is in response to specific needs that arose, we can put together from scripture that giving should be periodic, personal, proportional, preventative, and purposeful. That is a good framework that will keep our stewardship healthy.
Jesus made two statements that ring in our ears when we discuss stewardship and giving. One is from His instructions to the disciples in Matthew 10:8, "Freely you received; freely give." The other is from Luke 6:38 following the beatitudes, "Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." The tone of these directive statements gives us the confidence that Jesus is looking for joyful generosity in His followers.
Baxter includes a few paragraphs carrying this spirit on through life and into the death and estate management of a Christian. As we grow spiritually into the right attitude toward stewardship, this aspect of it will become clear to us. Many people die having accumulated more than is needed for the care of themselves and their loved ones. We must not forget the work of the church in this last aspect of our lives.
The discussion of stewardship can be expanded into many lessons. Paul M. Tucker has done just that with a study book called Christian Stewardship. It would be wonderful if Christians would submit to this instruction, and if young people in the church could understand its principles. Yet, as with any number of problems the church faces, problems with attitudes toward material things can only be changed by teaching the truth and demonstrating that we care. If we teach and learn these things, we will certainly be blessed in "good measure."
The church needs to teach the right attitude toward material things. People who come to Christ from the world outside all too often have the wrong attitude. Also, church members either drift in their thinking or have not seriously looked at where they stand--or where they should stand in Christ Jesus--regarding material posessions. Matthew 6:19-33 is a great place to start on the study of stewardship.
In this chapter, Baxter shows that there are two basic attitudes. The wrong one says my things are mine, bought and paid for with my effort, and I will see about giving some part back to God. The right one says all things belong to God, and how I use them makes up a big part of my spiritual life. Therefore I wll use a necessary portion while giving as I have prospered, as I am able, and as I joyfully make my plans to do (Psalm 24:1).
For just a moment, take stock of your image of a person who was faithful to God in the time when Jesus lived, or perhaps before that. There are quite a few circumstances we tend to take in stride. Yes, they gave one-tenth of everything they produced and everything they earned. Yes, they made purchases for animal sacrifices to God. Yes, they also made material sacrifices to join in the pilgrimages and observances of special days on the Jewish calendar. Yes, they left their land idle one year out of seven. Yes, they forgave debts.
If this is part of being faithful to God, where is its counterpart in Christianity? If we look for an example in the early church, we see that what people had gathered or accumulated for themselves was no longer important to them, but the welfare of the church and those who were being helped by the church was important. When I review those passages, the term esprit de corps comes to mind. Followers of Christ were laying their trophies down, because of their excitement, joy, and convction that God had come in the flesh to guide them into all truth, and they were going there together, sharing all things, bearing one another's burdens, and providing for those in need.
This image is a far cry from begrudging a small amount for the contribution each week. That in itself should teach us a lot about giving. God loves a cheerful giver, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:7. In our spiritual growth, we need to understand the cheer in giving. That is the path to the right attitude in stewardship.
So, we find that giving had its place in the activity of the early church, and as it compares to the material sacrifices made by God's people under the old covenant, it is worship to the Christian. Even though much of what we read about giving in the church is in response to specific needs that arose, we can put together from scripture that giving should be periodic, personal, proportional, preventative, and purposeful. That is a good framework that will keep our stewardship healthy.
Jesus made two statements that ring in our ears when we discuss stewardship and giving. One is from His instructions to the disciples in Matthew 10:8, "Freely you received; freely give." The other is from Luke 6:38 following the beatitudes, "Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." The tone of these directive statements gives us the confidence that Jesus is looking for joyful generosity in His followers.
Baxter includes a few paragraphs carrying this spirit on through life and into the death and estate management of a Christian. As we grow spiritually into the right attitude toward stewardship, this aspect of it will become clear to us. Many people die having accumulated more than is needed for the care of themselves and their loved ones. We must not forget the work of the church in this last aspect of our lives.
The discussion of stewardship can be expanded into many lessons. Paul M. Tucker has done just that with a study book called Christian Stewardship. It would be wonderful if Christians would submit to this instruction, and if young people in the church could understand its principles. Yet, as with any number of problems the church faces, problems with attitudes toward material things can only be changed by teaching the truth and demonstrating that we care. If we teach and learn these things, we will certainly be blessed in "good measure."
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Worship - Supper of the Lord
The following comments accompany Chapter 18 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. This chapter discusses the Lord's supper as one of the five elements of Christian worship.
At some point in history the word "communion" became a complete substitute for the idea of observing the Lord's supper. Someone said to me once that he didn't need to attend worship, because he could have communion with God in his home. I knew what he meant. The word "communion," while still referring to the Lord's supper, had come to mean a different thing, something that could be done anywhere, in a variety of ways. Maybe he had an answer for this too, but I wondered how he could take part in the Lord's supper by himself at home, by his own choice, while his church presumably met to take part in it together. Of course that doesn't make sense. We come together to break bread in the supper of the Lord. We commune, but we do it by observing the supper.
Have you ever wondered how the bread and fruit of the vine happened to be in the presence of Jesus when He instituted the Lord's supper? They were part of the passover meal that was prepared for Jesus and the disciples in the "guest chamber where [they] should eat the passover." The meal consisted of a roasted lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and a drink referred to as fruit of the vine. When Jesus made His points about the bread being His body and the wine being His blood, he used only two of the items. Because these two relate back to the statements made by Jesus on that occasion, these are the elements of the Lord's supper.
The bread is without yeast. The drink is grape juice, wine, or wine with water. No one can authoritatively make a case for one meaning or the other in the phrase, "fruit of the vine," but there are some good reasons to minimize or avoid alcohol content in the observance.
We cannot find a place where Jesus said how often to observe the Lord's supper. It is in the example of the early church, in places such as Acts 20:7, that we see it observed every first day of the week, and we fail to find it observed on any other weekday. Yet, the fact that it is mentioned as a reason the church came together does not make it the only reason they met.
People have commented or behaved as if the Lord's supper was the entire sum of our worship. Perhaps it is also because Jesus said directly, "Do this in remembrance of me." Surely, of all the elements of worship, it can be the most intensely personal and central act of worship. Yet, to discount the other things we do in worship and put this element on a higher pedistal can lead to a legalistic approach, in which we touch base on one thing while ignoring other important--and necessary--things.
There is a retrospective purpose for the Lord's supper, because we do it in Christ's memory. Truly it is a living monument to a life and a sacrifice greater than any other one can name. Also there is a prospective purpose for it. We look forward to the Lord coming again, and as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, we proclaim His death "until He comes," looking forward to that day.
A lot of prayers have been lifted up through the years about whether we will eat and drink the Lord's supper "in a worthy manner." Baxter points out that the passage in 1 Corinthians 11 that mentions this does not refer to some recent deeds that are wrong but what the person should and should not do while taking the Lord's supper. Not thinking of Jesus and His sacrifice for us is what the passage warns against. Having a problem with sin might cause someone to need to straighten it out before participating, but Baxter rightly remarks that such a person then needs to take part, to be strengthened by receiving what the Lord's supper provides to a person.
It is only when the practices of the church began to be "modernized" in denominational doctrine that the Lord's supper became anything other than a weekly observance. The Biblical stand is to take part in it on the first day of every week, and that is what the church should uphold. Baxter writes that it calls us back to the central facts of the Christian religion, and that is so very true. May the church continue to honor this practice, "until He comes."
At some point in history the word "communion" became a complete substitute for the idea of observing the Lord's supper. Someone said to me once that he didn't need to attend worship, because he could have communion with God in his home. I knew what he meant. The word "communion," while still referring to the Lord's supper, had come to mean a different thing, something that could be done anywhere, in a variety of ways. Maybe he had an answer for this too, but I wondered how he could take part in the Lord's supper by himself at home, by his own choice, while his church presumably met to take part in it together. Of course that doesn't make sense. We come together to break bread in the supper of the Lord. We commune, but we do it by observing the supper.
Have you ever wondered how the bread and fruit of the vine happened to be in the presence of Jesus when He instituted the Lord's supper? They were part of the passover meal that was prepared for Jesus and the disciples in the "guest chamber where [they] should eat the passover." The meal consisted of a roasted lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and a drink referred to as fruit of the vine. When Jesus made His points about the bread being His body and the wine being His blood, he used only two of the items. Because these two relate back to the statements made by Jesus on that occasion, these are the elements of the Lord's supper.
The bread is without yeast. The drink is grape juice, wine, or wine with water. No one can authoritatively make a case for one meaning or the other in the phrase, "fruit of the vine," but there are some good reasons to minimize or avoid alcohol content in the observance.
We cannot find a place where Jesus said how often to observe the Lord's supper. It is in the example of the early church, in places such as Acts 20:7, that we see it observed every first day of the week, and we fail to find it observed on any other weekday. Yet, the fact that it is mentioned as a reason the church came together does not make it the only reason they met.
People have commented or behaved as if the Lord's supper was the entire sum of our worship. Perhaps it is also because Jesus said directly, "Do this in remembrance of me." Surely, of all the elements of worship, it can be the most intensely personal and central act of worship. Yet, to discount the other things we do in worship and put this element on a higher pedistal can lead to a legalistic approach, in which we touch base on one thing while ignoring other important--and necessary--things.
There is a retrospective purpose for the Lord's supper, because we do it in Christ's memory. Truly it is a living monument to a life and a sacrifice greater than any other one can name. Also there is a prospective purpose for it. We look forward to the Lord coming again, and as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, we proclaim His death "until He comes," looking forward to that day.
A lot of prayers have been lifted up through the years about whether we will eat and drink the Lord's supper "in a worthy manner." Baxter points out that the passage in 1 Corinthians 11 that mentions this does not refer to some recent deeds that are wrong but what the person should and should not do while taking the Lord's supper. Not thinking of Jesus and His sacrifice for us is what the passage warns against. Having a problem with sin might cause someone to need to straighten it out before participating, but Baxter rightly remarks that such a person then needs to take part, to be strengthened by receiving what the Lord's supper provides to a person.
It is only when the practices of the church began to be "modernized" in denominational doctrine that the Lord's supper became anything other than a weekly observance. The Biblical stand is to take part in it on the first day of every week, and that is what the church should uphold. Baxter writes that it calls us back to the central facts of the Christian religion, and that is so very true. May the church continue to honor this practice, "until He comes."
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Worship - Songs, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
The following comments are to accompany Chapter 17 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. This chapter is on singing as one of the five essential parts of Christian worship.
I can't let this opportunity go by without saying what great joy it brings to me that singing somehow got to be something we do every time we worship God. I love music and singing, and I look forward to singing in church. It is one of those things for which I am always thankful.
My path to the church is an interesting one. Just before I met the people who taught me to believe in Jesus, I had been working for months restoring some old recordings from the Smithsonian for a grant project. They documented the lives of people who lived in the Okefenokee Swamp and rarely ventured outside.
The usual practice of the swamp dwellers was to sit on their porches at night and sing hymns entirely a capella. Imagine my surprise not too long after that to find a church that also kept this practice to honor the example of the early church and the directives in scripture, using a capella singing exclusively in worship.
We find authority in scripture for singing, and we should do what we see is called for, skipping--or we might say avoiding--any extra things that are not called for. So, we sing with enjoyment and with purpose in worship, and we don't feel compelled or pressured to make a production out of it or play one or more instruments.
We do feel compelled to obey God, and that's really what it's all about. Studying the New Testament, we come to the conclusion that singing was exemplified, encouraged, and reqested, only with voices, by God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the apostles. The writing of historians also supports the conclusion that the church used a capella singing.
Having said all that, I will add that I hardly ever spend much time making speeches about the exact right way to sing. We should learn it and practice it in the interest of restoring the New Testament church, but perpetuating an endless argument about it causes us to completely lose focus on the value of singing in worship. The worship of God is a human activity, not a mathematical formula that can be distilled into ones and zeroes by scientific management. I firmly believe there is some room for expressiveness in the song service, although we all understand that there are some things we will do and some things we won't do, out of respect for God.
So, let's move on to the positive things in Baxter's chapter. He starts by mentioning that in Matthew 26:30 Jesus and the disciples sang, giving the early church the example that we follow today. A topic that can become quite fascinating is what song Jesus and the disciples sang after the last supper, before going to the Mount of Olives. Many scholars say that because the Great Hallel was an integral part of the closing of the Passover observance, it is most likely the selection. Psalms 113 to 118 are Hallel (praise) verses, apparently sung from memory. If it was the Hallel, we would know another major part of what was said (sung) at the last supper.
Some scholars say that it might have been a new, perhaps shorter hymn more closely fit to the occasion. The reason they suggest that is because the group sang this hymn at the end of their supper, not the main Passover rites, and this could mean that Jesus intended to keep singing a part of worship in His church, and therefore might have done something different from the ordinances of the old covenant.
Regardless of what they sang, it is of great importance that we see Jesus singing as the events began to unfold that would lead Him to the cross. We also see the disciples singing, even though this time was rather sorrowful for them. Truly that set the tone for the church.
When Paul and Silas sang in prison, Acts 16:25, we see that singing was very much like prayer, something Christians turned to as a way of dealing with whatever came their way. Writings of Paul and James show us the purposes of singing in worship and what our task is when we sing. We teach, we admonish, we exhort, we praise, we adore, we give thanks, we dedicate ourselves, and we sing directly to God and to Christ. That's a lot to do, so it is no wonder we often spend the second highest amount of time in our worship on singing.
Nearly everyone wishes they could sing better, but it's great and it helps our worship when we give up thinking about that and just let our songs go up from the assembly in a way that is pleasing to God. One of our greatest blessings as a part of the family of God is that we will never have to quit, ever.
I can't let this opportunity go by without saying what great joy it brings to me that singing somehow got to be something we do every time we worship God. I love music and singing, and I look forward to singing in church. It is one of those things for which I am always thankful.
My path to the church is an interesting one. Just before I met the people who taught me to believe in Jesus, I had been working for months restoring some old recordings from the Smithsonian for a grant project. They documented the lives of people who lived in the Okefenokee Swamp and rarely ventured outside.
The usual practice of the swamp dwellers was to sit on their porches at night and sing hymns entirely a capella. Imagine my surprise not too long after that to find a church that also kept this practice to honor the example of the early church and the directives in scripture, using a capella singing exclusively in worship.
We find authority in scripture for singing, and we should do what we see is called for, skipping--or we might say avoiding--any extra things that are not called for. So, we sing with enjoyment and with purpose in worship, and we don't feel compelled or pressured to make a production out of it or play one or more instruments.
We do feel compelled to obey God, and that's really what it's all about. Studying the New Testament, we come to the conclusion that singing was exemplified, encouraged, and reqested, only with voices, by God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the apostles. The writing of historians also supports the conclusion that the church used a capella singing.
Having said all that, I will add that I hardly ever spend much time making speeches about the exact right way to sing. We should learn it and practice it in the interest of restoring the New Testament church, but perpetuating an endless argument about it causes us to completely lose focus on the value of singing in worship. The worship of God is a human activity, not a mathematical formula that can be distilled into ones and zeroes by scientific management. I firmly believe there is some room for expressiveness in the song service, although we all understand that there are some things we will do and some things we won't do, out of respect for God.
So, let's move on to the positive things in Baxter's chapter. He starts by mentioning that in Matthew 26:30 Jesus and the disciples sang, giving the early church the example that we follow today. A topic that can become quite fascinating is what song Jesus and the disciples sang after the last supper, before going to the Mount of Olives. Many scholars say that because the Great Hallel was an integral part of the closing of the Passover observance, it is most likely the selection. Psalms 113 to 118 are Hallel (praise) verses, apparently sung from memory. If it was the Hallel, we would know another major part of what was said (sung) at the last supper.
Some scholars say that it might have been a new, perhaps shorter hymn more closely fit to the occasion. The reason they suggest that is because the group sang this hymn at the end of their supper, not the main Passover rites, and this could mean that Jesus intended to keep singing a part of worship in His church, and therefore might have done something different from the ordinances of the old covenant.
Regardless of what they sang, it is of great importance that we see Jesus singing as the events began to unfold that would lead Him to the cross. We also see the disciples singing, even though this time was rather sorrowful for them. Truly that set the tone for the church.
When Paul and Silas sang in prison, Acts 16:25, we see that singing was very much like prayer, something Christians turned to as a way of dealing with whatever came their way. Writings of Paul and James show us the purposes of singing in worship and what our task is when we sing. We teach, we admonish, we exhort, we praise, we adore, we give thanks, we dedicate ourselves, and we sing directly to God and to Christ. That's a lot to do, so it is no wonder we often spend the second highest amount of time in our worship on singing.
Nearly everyone wishes they could sing better, but it's great and it helps our worship when we give up thinking about that and just let our songs go up from the assembly in a way that is pleasing to God. One of our greatest blessings as a part of the family of God is that we will never have to quit, ever.
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