Building Our Own Church

There has always been the danger of identifying the Christian church with the church organization. Membership in one has been equated with membership in the other. Now virtually no one has carried this idea to the extent of total identification. There is always some idea that a person, though technically a member of the organization, could be not a member of the true church. But we can fall into the idea that being part of the organization means we are Christians, or growing Christians, if we do not obviously blow it. There is no basis for this in Scripture. It was the error of the Jews, who thought that because they were part of the nation, they were in good standing with God (Romans 9:6-13; 2:25-29; John 8:37-47). Further, Scripture universally rejects the claim that our outward show of religiosity commends us to God (Malachi 1:10; Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 23:1-12). Now entwined with this is the question of whether participation in the sacraments is necessary for salvation. I am convinced that it is not (Romans 4:9-12; Luke 23:39-43; John 3:18). But in response to those who think it is, I point out, "I have been baptized. I take the Lord's Supper. Do I qualify?" And often I am told I have not received it from the right people or in the right way or believing in the right theory. That is, I have not received it from the right organization. Which has no basis in Scripture at all.

But we can react to this by making salvation highly individualistic. Salvation and growth in Christ are seen as something purely between me and God. And the church organization is merely a resource to help me in this. Again, no one usually takes this to the full extreme. But we can start to see the church as simply a club we join, which we can organize any way we want to. And we can exclude anyone who does not meet our standards or fit into our program. We can also require those who are in the group to conform to our ideal if they want to stay in.

Often, as Evangelical Christians we waffle between these extremes trying to find the right balance. May I suggest an alternative? We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:7-9; Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5). As a result we are incorporated into His body (1 Corinthians 10:16,17; 12:12-27; Ephesians 2:11-22). This body is what Christ works through to accomplish His purposes on earth (Ephesians 4:15,16; Colossians 2:19; Romans 12:3-8) as He works through the lives of the various members (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:28,29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). This body is to be organized (Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 4:11,12; 1 Corinthians 14:40). But this is the expression of the body and should not be confused with the body. The church is not an organization or a club but the mystical assembly of all true believers through all time, and it transcends whatever organization we are in .

A Touch of Humor - The Contribution

How far should we cater to the aesthetic opinions of other believers (whether or not they contribute $5,000 a month)? Where do we draw the line?

Old Erich Proverb - Obedience

Obedience to God does not necessarily consist in great deeds, but in consistent small choices to do what is right.

A Voice from the Past - Athanasius

So, since the common Saviour of all has died for us, no longer do we the faithful in Christ now die as before according to the threat of the law, for such condemnation has ceased. But as corruption has ceased and been destroyed by the grace of the resurrection, now in the mortality of the body we are dissolved only for the time which God has set for each man, in order that we may be able to 'obtain a better resurrection'. For like seeds which are sown in the ground we do not perish when we are dissolved, but we rise again as plants, since death has been destroyed by the grace of the Saviour.

Athanasius, 293-373 AD, De Incarnatione, 21:1-9 (Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione, translated by Robert W. Thomson, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1971, p. 185)

How should a Christian view the resurrection? How should it affect how we live our lives?

The Pusher Machine

Professor Epignosis invented the pusher machine. It was a very useful item. It could be used to move heavy objects and remove structures from their current location. He sold one to his neighbor Joe, who wanted it to remove tree stumps. One week later Joe got in an argument with his brother-in-law Bob. Joe became angry and grabbed his pusher machine. He pushed Bob all the way across the street and flat on his back. As more people bought pusher machines they found more uses for them. Some put a pusher machine on wheels and used it for transportation. Others put pusher machines underneath a platform and made a flying machine. It was also found useful for pushing down enemy armies and pushing over their defenses. Pusher machines became miniaturized and were used to power all sorts of useful gadgets. This changed people's lifestyles so drastically they could not imagine living without them. There were also more powerful pusher machines, which had a myriad of heavy industrial uses. These became very useful in warfare for killing large numbers of people. The most powerful machines became so destructive it was thought they could annihilate all humankind.

As pusher machines became basic to society, great effort was put into making them. And those who knew how to make the machines were respected by all and their opinions were highly valued, even in areas that had nothing to do with the machines. Many even held that the universe came into being as a result of naturally occurring pusher effects. But some began to question the supreme value of the machines. They noted how devastating they could be in warfare. They pointed out how the machines made it possible for people to change beautiful wild country into man-made eyesores. Also, large amounts of natural resources were used up to build the machines. Some even began to see the machines themselves as evil. As a result, society divided into two competing groups: those who favored unrestrained use of the machines and those who wanted the making and use of the machines at least curtailed. The one side claimed the others made a living off the machines and were only after profits. The others claimed their opponents were strange anti-pusher fanatics and wanted to go back to lifting things by hand.

The government called together a large conference and invited the most knowledgeable people on both sides. After many hours of discussion, both sides remained adamant on their positions and seemed unable to break the deadlock. At this point a young man named Martin, who was an assistant to one of the delegates, being naive and inexperienced, stood up and began to speak. "Is the problem really the pusher machine?" he asked. "Isn't the problem really us? The machine merely allows  us to do what we want to do more effectively. Maybe we need to consider what we really should be doing." He was hooted down by both sides.
   

Nothing Can Separate - Romans 8:38,39

The Reports of Our Death

It is not uncommon to encounter the idea that Christianity is an old, worn-out belief that is about to pass away. But we need to beware of too easily believing our opponents' propaganda.  Traditional historic Christianity has been around for almost 2000 years. In that time there were many occasions where it looked like it would vanish from the earth. It did not.

The Roman emperors tried to wipe out this strange new sect. It did not work, and Christianity was so indestructible the emperors ended up endorsing it. The next attack was from within, by those who took the, humanly more reasonable, position of denying Jesus was God. At one point, with the assistance of the emperor, it looked like this belief would gain permanent dominance, but it fell apart and traditional Christianity reasserted itself. Then the Roman empire fell and was conquered by people who were either pagans or also shared the belief that Jesus was not God. But there arose those who held to God's truth and revitalized the faith. Then came the threat of Islam, which conquered much nominally Christian territory and looked like it might conquer it all. In the middle of the Middle Ages, the corruption of the church and the influx of humanistic philosophy looked like they would overthrow the Christian faith. The same problem existed before the Protestant Reformation. We see the same thing repeated at the time of the Enlightenment and with the rise of a secular world view in modern times. But the Christian faith weathered all these storms. Also, Communism thought to wipe out all Christian belief, and though it is still around, it has continually failed in the attempt.

We see these repeated crises and the fact that God has brought us through. We also see that the state of the Christian church at these times was often far from perfect. In fact, it was frequently part of the problem. But God still brought us through. I do not want to excuse our refusing to deal with our problems. But we do not need to achieve a perfect church for God to preserve us. Also, what turned things around were key individuals rising up to stand for the truth. These were often, though not always, obscure individuals who God used to make a difference. Now I am not claiming there will be some quick, immediate turn-around to our present situation. Much less do I want to speculate on whether this is the time of the end. But I do need to note that God has shown the ability to preserve His church, His people, through difficult times. Even from a secular viewpoint, Christianity seems to have an uncanny tendency to persist in spite of genuinely threatening situations. When stamped out in one place, it pops up again somewhere else. So I think neither we nor our opponents should be too quick to assume Christianity is dying and the prognosis is certain. For we believe in a God who raises the dead.