Increasing Love and Godly Behavior – Part 1

Posted by Chris on October 24, 2004 under Sermons

One of our stated goals as a church family is to increase love and godly behavior. Here are a couple of questions: First, why would we want to strive for that? Answer: It is important to making disciples and being disciples. We just won’t be true disciples if we are unloving and ungodly. Second, how can we increase in love and godly behavior? Do I just will myself to love everyone? Do I commit myself to more good deeds to prove I care? Do I have to love more people? Sometimes it is hard to love the people I do know. These are good questions. Response: We might increase love and godly behavior when we realize that they are more than just good deeds or good will – they are the tangible evidence of our eternal life emerging into our life even now. They are visible elements of God’s saving power at work in us.

Jesus made the connection among behavior, eternal life, and love on a certain occasion when an expert in the Jewish law asked him two important questions (Luke 10:25-37): His first question, a very common question for a rabbi, was "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" I sort of hope that if an expert in the law asked me a question I would do just what Jesus did – defer it to the expert: "You’re the scholar here," he says. "You’ve studied Scripture, what do you think?" The expert comes back with an answer Jesus himself has given as the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18)
Now notice that Jesus doesn’t regard this sort of love as just a warm feeling or a compassionate tear in the eye. He regards it as a directive for action and a principle for behavior – "Do that and you will live." Now wasn’t that simple? With two verses and six words Jesus has given the answer to eternal life.

But can it really be that simple? I mean couldn’t this instruction to "do that" be mistaken for works-righteousness? And I think I know how to love God (there was a little more detail there) but how do I love my neighbor and what neighbors are we talking about here. What exactly are my obligations to other people?
That’s just how the expert saw it. Wanting to justify himself he couldn’t accept the simplicity of Jesus’ answer. So he asked his second question – "Who is my neighbor?" There, that will teach Jesus to make such comprehensive statements! I mean really, we can’t go around acting as if there isn’t some sort of exception. Life just isn’t that simple. The scripture says neighbor and not just "love everybody," so it cannot be an absolute. We need to define neighbor, yes?

Love your neighbor as yourself. Who is my neighbor? Jesus answers this question with a story …
Once there was a certain man traveling the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Now as we all know, it is a dangerous route and a hideout for bandits. And as you might expect he is ambushed, beaten, stabbed, and robbed – stripped of all his belongings and left for dead. He will die if someone does not arrive to help him.

Now along comes this priest riding along on his donkey. He notices the unfortunate victim but passes by on the other side of the road. Perhaps he thinks the man is a Gentile or that his disregard for the commands of God has led him to this state. It might be a ruse and this is just an attempt to get me over there by the high grass and robbers will attack me. He mulls this over until he is on down the road. Meanwhile the certain man is still there and He will die if someone does not help him.

Now there comes a Levite walking to Jerusalem to do his service in the Temple. He sees the man and passes by on the other side. Perhaps he thinks the man might be dead and it wouldn’t do for him to defile himself by touching a dead body – not that he’s squeamish after all since he deals with the sacrifice of animals – but if he is defiled then who will fulfill the service in the Temple? What can be done if the man is dead? Meanwhile the certain man is still there and He will die if someone does not help him.

Now at this point in the story, we are just waiting for the hero to arrive. Jesus must have offended the expert of the law and any other faithful Israelites listening by making the next traveler a Samaritan. Samaritans have no respect for God’s law. They have no respect for the temple. They are the result of intermingling between Israelites and Assyrians. They claim to be descendents of Abraham but their history and behavior proves otherwise. Everyone in Jerusalem recalls the acts of terror and destruction Samaritans have committed. It wasn’t too many years before Jesus told this story that Samaritans defiled the temple with pig blood and vandalism. That’s an attack that not only destroys, but also creates panic – it is symbolic. Jesus should know what sort of people these Samaritans are. The Samaritan woman he spoke to at the well (John 4) had been married four times and was living with a man who wasn’t her husband. Just before this Q & A with the expert in the law he and his disciples traveled through Samaria and no one offered them hospitality simply because he was on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 9). That was so offensive that James and John asked if Jesus wanted them to call down fire on the Samaritans as if they were Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s your average Samaritan for you.

But back to the story Jesus says (and I can’t believe he’s saying this) that a Samaritan comes along and he has compassion for the man so he stops, makes bandages from his own garments, uses oil and wine (his provisions for his journey) to medicate the man’s wounds, takes him to an inn (where he is very likely unwelcome), pays the bill and leaves some sort of item on credit to insure that he will pay the bill should it go higher.
So, going back to the original question that prompted this story, Jesus has a "neighbor question" of his own – "Which of these three appears to have been a neighbor to the one who was robbed?" The expert of the law – no doubt quite offended by the way the story turned out with a Samaritan cast against type – answers without soiling his lips with the "S" word. "The neighbor to the man who was robbed is the one who showed him mercy."

Two Responses – It is important to notice these two responses. They go back to our two questions earlier. The response of the expert is: "The one who did mercy." Sure, that’s bad grammar, but that’s how it is in the original language. And that fits with Jesus’ response to the response that addresses both the question "Who is my neighbor?" and "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus’ response: Go and do the same.

• Does Jesus answer the question of the expert about who is my neighbor? (No) He invalidates the question. If one has love characteristic of eternal life, one does not choose one’s neighbor, one chooses to be a neighbor.
• Christ-like love does not ask "Who is my neighbor?" Rather, it is active. ("Go and do the same.")

Doing mercy and love and good deeds aren’t so we will get saved. We do what we are. Sometimes there is too much distinction made between doing and being – If I ask you what you do you don’t say: "Well, let’s see on Monday I fixed a brake line and before that I changed an oil filter, and then replaced a water pump." No you say, "I am a mechanic." I understand what you do when you tell me what you are. That’s the way it usually works. So why can’t we get the idea that saying "I am a disciple of Jesus. I am a Christian. I am a child of God" sorts out what we do? We love because he first loved us. We behave in a godly way because we share in his divine nature. Growing in the understanding of our life in Jesus helps us understand what we should do, otherwise we are stunned into inaction …

This teaching of Jesus became something I experienced one Saturday in Scotland. A few of us there for a mission campaign were walking down a road in Glasgow – in a pretty rough part of town. As we were on our way, a drunk was thrown out of a bar into the road in front of us. It would have been almost comical if it hadn’t been for the fact that the old alcoholic got up from the ground with a bloody nose. He cursed the bar owner, and not being able to stand he slumped down to the sidewalk and sat next to a garbage can. A human being, thrown out with the trash! As we walked on not wanting to get involved with the intense drama, one of my companions, a new Christian, said "Shouldn’t we help that fellow?" (That’s the problem with new Christians – they are just so naïve and haven’t learned how to justify themselves). Seeking to justify myself I pointed out that the man was a drunk and he had probably done something really wrong to get thrown out a bar. Besides that, I was thinking to myself, I need to get back to work on my sermon because I am preaching on a text I just recently studied, Luke 10 and the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I learned a valuable lesson through this living parable. If I have to ask "who is my neighbor?" then I do not understand love. Not the sort of love for neighbor that flows out of love for God and the eternal life we enjoy as a result of God’s love for us. After all, if we have been so blessed as to inherit eternal life from our Father who loves us, shouldn’t we be willing to increase – to grow in love and share that love with others?

Conclusion (Increasing Love and Godly Behavior – They go together for Christ-like love is active) – Who do you identify with today – in both these stories.

1. Can you identify with the priest and Levite? – (Or me in Scotland). We can never justify our inheritance of eternal life by obeying a long list of laws or by limiting our obligations with a short list of neighbors. Both attempts are contrary to love (the love of God)
2. Can you identify with the victim of robbers/or the drunk or every broken person you encounter? – Their only hope is that others will be merciful neighbors who come with the grace to heal and restore – isn’t that what Jesus did?
3. Can you identify with the Samaritan or with the naïve Christian who wants to be like Jesus – It isn’t one’s class, nationality, training, or theological affiliation that justifies. What justifies us is love acting in mercy – doing mercy. Being a neighbor.

Maybe you don’t want to identify with a Samaritan and you can’t recall what it was like to be a naïve Christian. Fine, can you identify with the author and perfecter of eternal life – Jesus? Didn’t the Samaritan just do what Jesus would do? And didn’t Jesus do love and godly behavior. He did, and it got him nailed to the cross, but it also got him raised from the tomb. Here’s how we increase love and godly behavior – those of you who’ve been baptized and those who would be – I want you to know that when you were/are submerged into Christ you were/are baptized into his death and live with the hope of being resurrected. God’s love and his behavior live in you.

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 24 October 2004

Seeing This World As God Does – Part 2

Posted by David on October 17, 2004 under Sermons

Genesis 1 declares God acted. God brought this world and life into existence. In a more detailed account, Genesis 2 gives some of the details about God’s action in crowning His creation with man and woman. The Bible literally opens with God acting.

In Genesis 3 evil reacts to God’s action. God brings human life into existence. Evil deceives human life. When God brought human life into existence, nothing stood between God and the human life forms He created. When God looked at His completed creation, He could say, “It is very good!” (Genesis 1: 31) When evil deceived Eve and Adam followed her into deception, a humanly irreparable separation immediately occurred between God and the humanity He made in His own image. As evil continued to deceive people, the chasm between God and humanity increased. Finally, God looked at the people originally made in his own image and regretted that He made humanity (Genesis 6:5,6). God went from saying His completed creation was very good to regret in only 6 chapters!

This war between good (that comes from God–James 1:17) and evil (that comes from the devil [Satan], the great deceiver–John 8:44) repeatedly is emphasized in scripture. For example, God through Moses acted in seeking to produce the nation of Israel in the exodus (Exodus 3:16-22). Evil through Pharaoh reacted against God’s purposes (Exodus 5-11). God acted in giving the new nation of Israel the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). Evil reacted against God by having the golden calf made as an idol (Exodus 32:1-8). God acted in bring the adults delivered from Egypt to the borders of Canaan (Numbers 13:1-20). Evil reacted against God in the report of the ten Israelite spies who discouraged the Israelites (Numbers 13:21-33). When Israel was established in Canaan, God acted in trying to build a relationship of remembrance with Israel (the book of Judges). Evil acted against God by turning the hearts of the Israelites to a family of gods known as the Baal worship (the book of Judges). Much later, God acted by sending Jesus (John 3:16,17). Evil reacted against God by deceiving God’s people and having them reject Jesus (John 6, 8). God acted through Jesus’ teachings and miracles. Evil reacted against God with the crucifixion (Matthew 27). God acted through Jesus’ resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10). Evil reacted against God by declaring the resurrection either did not occur (Acts 17:32), or by deceiving early Christians about the meaning of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15).

The world has changed, but the war between good and evil continues. This war is occurring in our lives this very moment. Seeing the world as God sees it means we must learn to discern between good and evil. The only way to avoid Satan’s deception is to allow God to help us discern between good and evil. If we are going to see the world as God sees it, we must see the war. We must understand how easy it is to be deceived in our own lives.

To see the world as God sees it, we must accept two basic realities.

1. Reality one: no one can live in this physical existence and not be touched by the war between good and evil.
   1. For a long time we Americans lived in the conviction that wars could not touch us.
      1. “Wars are something that are fought somewhere else, not here in our country.”
      2. Then 9/11 happened, and we were forced to realize that wars can be fought here, also.
      3. With the realizations of 9/11, we were introduced to a new kind of fear–the fear of being the battleground.
      4. While we do not want to be the battleground, we now understand that much more is involved than what we want.
   2. No matter how devoted to good we think we are as a person or as a group, if we live in this world our lives will be touched (changed!) by the war between good and evil.
      1. Even if it were possible to do no evil, a person who never did evil would still suffer as a result of the war raging between good and evil.
      2. We must not be deceived into thinking that the key to avoiding the war is embracing good–if you live in the world, the war between good and evil will involve your life in direct ways.
      3. Only one person [Jesus] lived in this world and did no evil.
         1. That truth figures prominently in the message of the book of Hebrews.
            Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
            Hebrews 7:26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens …
            Hebrews 5:7-9 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation
         2. Though Jesus was without sin–committed no form of evil–he still was touched by the war between evil and good.
            1. Though he did not sin, he still dealt with temptation (see Matthew 4:1-11).
            2. Though he did not sin, he could be discouraged by those who did not understand (see Matthew 16:23).
            3. Though he did not sin, he still experienced physical need (see John 4:1-7).
            4. Though he did not sin, he could experience loneliness and weakness (see Matthew 26:36-46).
            5. Though he did not sin, he experienced surrender, pain, and death (the crucifixion of Jesus).
         3. In a true sense, we could say that Jesus was the ultimate casualty in the war between good and evil!
      4. Never be deceived into thinking or believing that if you were “just good enough” your life would not be victimized by the war between good and evil!

2. Reality two: our lives are touched by the war between good and evil in many ways.
   1. Everyone of us suffers the consequences of this war in many ways.
      1. We can be touched by evil as the consequence of someone we do not even know who is involved in evil.
         1. There are many ways to illustrate this truth; it is a common reality in this physical world.
         2. Consider this illustration: you have a 17 year old child you are close to and who is an all around good child.
            1. In a nearby city there is a drug dealer you do not know and have never heard of.
            2. A teen you have never met, never heard of, decides he wants to try some meth for the first time.
            3. He makes the purchase from the drug dealer, takes the meth, gets high, and starts driving.
            4. Eventually he drives to the Fort Smith area.
            5. Your 17 year old is driving somewhere.
            6. The teen high on meth hits your child’s car and kills your child.
            7. In no way are you involved in the evil that transpired, but you suffer greatly because of that evil.
      2. We can be touched by an evil that exists in our lives that we have not as yet identified.
         1. Let me call to your attention a statement found in 1 John 1:5-10.
         2. The particular statement is found in verse 9:
            1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
            1. I understand this to be written to Christians–John includes himself in the “we” of verse five, and chapter 2 makes it evident he is writing to “my little children.”
            2. The whole section (1:5-10) is powerfully encouraging because it declares Christians will make mistakes and perfection is not a condition of forgiveness. There is a workable, livable solution for our mistakes and imperfections!
            3. Stated simply, if we will confess to God things we know that are wrong as we realized those wrong things, God will not only forgive the things we confess, but will forgive us of everything–all unrighteousness.
            4. If we will accept responsibility for our mistakes, God will even forgive us of things we do not yet understand to be wrong–even though those things are evil!
         3. Everyone of us has evil in us that we have not yet recognized–we do not even realize that the evil is evil.
            1. Because the evil is forgiven does not mean the consequences which result from the evil are eliminated!
            2. Sometimes we endure the consequences of forgiven evil!
         4. Again, that is easily illustrated.
            1. A person sees no evil in living with someone.
            2. As a result of living with someone, a pregnancy occurs.
            3. Because the level of commitment is often low in live-in arrangements, the father-to-be leaves when he hears about the pregnancy.
            4. After the fact, the mother-to-be learns living together is evil, does what scripture says to do to repent, and is serious in her faith.
            5. Is she forgiven? Yes!
            6. Does the pregnancy vanish with the forgiveness? No!
      3. We can be touched with the consequences or evil by yielding to a temptation that we know is evil before involvement ever occurred.
         1. We do something wrong for whatever reason.
            1. We knew it was wrong before we were tempted, when we were tempted, and after we sinned.
            2. But for whatever the powerful motivations were, we knowingly did wrong.
            3. No matter how we react to what we did, we will still endure the consequences of the evil we committed.
         2. This, too, is easy to illustrate.
            1. If anyone of the church leaders in this congregation committed adultery in a moment of temptation, we would have serious consequences to endure.
            2. Did the person know adultery was wrong before the temptation? Yes!
            3. Did the person know adultery was wrong during the adulterous act? The person may have refused to think about it, but, yes, that was known.
            4. Did the person know adultery was wrong after the adultery? Yes–we usually refer to that as “guilt.”
         3. Will the person pay consequences? Absolutely!
            1. Relationships with the congregation will be damaged.
            2. Their marriage will be damaged.
            3. Positions will be ended.
            4. The person’s life will be affected.
            5. Even if forgiveness occurs, there will be unavoidable consequences.

The understanding that the war between good and evil is real has direct impact on the meaning of the gospel (good news). The good news IS NOT “if you devote your life to good you will never suffer because evil exists.” That is a great deception from evil that will destroy your faith the first time you endure serious suffering because of something evil!

The good news (gospel) is this: the suffering caused by evil in this physical world can not take you away from God! Evil in this world can hurt you, but it cannot destroy you!

Romans 8:38,39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proclaiming a Biblical Worldview – Part 2

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Last Sunday we considered what a worldview is. We recognize that everyone has a worldview. We also recognized that in the shifting and conflicting worldviews that are available in our culture (modern vs. postmodern) there is a different option for Christians – a biblical worldview, that sees the world how God sees it. God gives us a new set of lens’ that enable us to see the world clearly.

Today, staying with the metaphor of the lenses, we might consider this: How do we get those lenses and what exactly do things look like through them (what are the characteristics of a biblical worldview)? I have to say from the start that developing a biblical, or Christ-like, worldview isn’t something that happens instantly. Unlike Lenscrafters, we cannot get our new view in an hour or less. However, the good news is that it is simple to enter into the way of life that cultivates and proclaims this worldview. This is a process, not a prescription, because we have to learn to believe and act like our Lord Jesus. And learning to be like Jesus isn’t a matter of studying a handbook; it is an apprenticeship in which we learn the craft of true living. For we don’t simply learn about Jesus as if he is some historical person, we learn from him for he is living and rule as Lord. When we come to Jesus and receive the kingdom rule of Christ through faith and baptism, our "lenses" are reshaped in his presence as we worship him, we come to know him as we spend time being nurtured in Christian community, and we become like him as we actively serve others in the spirit of Christ doing what he would do.

Developing and proclaiming a biblical worldview is a lifelong discipline, but we begin somewhere. So for our worship today, let’s begin where Jesus began when he proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of heaven. The Beatitudes are Jesus’ proclamation of the good news of God’s future rule invading the present. Jesus pronounces blessings and issues a summons to see the world from heaven’s vantage point. He calls us to a way of belief and practice that cuts against the grain of the worldview of the fallen world. Listen carefully to the Beatitudes as a proclamation of a very different way of life not just good news for the unfortunate or proverbs of good basic morals. This is a declaration about the way God is making a new creation …

Read Matthew 5:1-12

This new creation has serious implications for you and me. [Illustration] There’s a sinful order to this present world that is fading away and decaying. And like most of the world, you and I have formed some of our worldview on this order of things. But there’s a new order of things emerging into this world. It’s the way of things that will ultimately endure. It is the order of the world that will prevail. And we are called to actively develop a worldview that shapes our belief and action around this new order of creation. The Beatitudes are the proclamation of a kingdom worldview and we are called by the promise of God’s blessings to be reoriented and changed to adopt this worldview.

And to properly hear this proclamation let’s take a moment to consider how challenging this new worldview really is. First, think about who is blessed. Think about those adjectives without their gilded, sanctified context. Who blessed? Those who are … poor, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting, merciful, pure, peacemakers, persecuted. It is not our typical image of blessed. It doesn’t fit the worldview of our age nor does it fit the worldview proclaimed by many churches! We might expect to say that those who are blessed are successful, content, confident, satisfied, determined, benevolent, influential, and respected. [Have you ever thought that leaders in the church ought to be poor, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting, merciful, pure, peacemakers, persecuted? Could these be qualifications for elders? Characteristics of the minister a church wants to hire? Are these characteristics of a purpose-driven life?] These adjectives and blessing can only be reconciled by the wisdom of the cross and a kingdom worldview. The wisdom of our world and the worldview of our culture cannot connect these.

The Beatitudes indicate four fundamental characteristics of a biblical worldview that enable us to see the world and live in the world "perfectly." These characteristics are trust in God, hope of God’s Rule, love for God and others, and the peace of God. (Note to reader – I am indebted to two excellent sources for this outline: J. Brownson, et al, Stormfront: The Good News of God, Eerdmans, 2003; and R. Lischer, "The Sermon on the Mount as Radical Pastoral Care," Interpretation 41(2002): 157-183.)

Trust in God – Blessed are the Poor in Spirit and the Meek
In God We Trust! Do we? It runs counter to the worldview of this age: we trust in rights, laws, influence, status, success, and the security and power of wealth (even some of our principles about stewardship are rooted in a trust in the accumulation of wealth rather than trust in God – A church I knew kept it’s wealth in a savings account for years without contributing to much of anything).
Poor? Really? Doesn’t poor in spirit mean something other than wealth? Yes, but it certainly includes those who are limited in the resources of wealth. Maybe the fact that we don’t think the Beatitudes apply to us shows how our worldview is skewed.
Meek? Is anyone really meek anymore? Sure it suits pilgrims and Amish, but can that truly be respected in our media-based, image-driven age?
Churches are sometimes driven to be successful and relevant in the eyes of the world. Seminars and products in the Church growth field promise ways to attract new members and provide something for everyone. These are not nefarious schemes to undermine the church. There are many good motives and intentions, but how many church growth resources invite us to become poor in spirit so we might receive the kingdom of God? It is a subtle distortion of the worldview that creates this problem. When we strive to be like Jesus we see him taking a different path – He had all the power of heaven and earth at his command, but he trusted in God and did not take advantage of that power and wealth. He was poor in spirit.

Hope of God’s Rule – Those that Mourn and the Merciful
In the kingdom we have hope because the worst things are never the last things. A biblical worldview doesn’t deny that we mourn. Perhaps this is how our worldview is so different from the world. [Prov. about wisdom and mourning] Our culture medicates with idle entertainment and pleasure: "We want our MTV!" We spend time basking in the glow of ever-growing television channels. We watch or go to sporting events to purge our emotions. We seek thrills in any number of socially acceptable addictions – shopping, soft-porn magazines and websites that don’t have to be sold in the adult section. These quick thrills are for people trying to escape the reality of hurt and disappointment. They are all ways of insulating ourselves from the disappointment and suffering of the world. And we deny ourselves healing because we do not mourn. The Christian worldview on Mourning is unique because it leads to hope The worldly worldview by contrast is hopeless.
As a minister, people ask me how I can function in tragedy and sorrow: "I guess you are trained to do that?" they ask. Not really! In fact, there’s no secret technique. My training is the development of the Christ-like worldview that reshapes my view of reality. We grieve -but not like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn over the brokenness and death and pain in the world, but we are blessed for we shall be comforted by God.

Mercy cannot survive or exist without hope. Look at the way people responded to 9/11. Those without hope cannot let go of the event. They hate rather than forgive. Something has to be done about evil, but the Christian worldview hopes for God’s justice, and is not satisfied by our temporary substitutes. Mercy and hope take courage and strength.
In history and cultures mercy is often viewed as immoral – As our culture loses hope in God’s Rule and hope for nothing more than our own authority, we lose mercy. In our cut -throat culture of business and government, we call it competition, politics, or aggressive success.
To see the world like Jesus does means that love and hope cast out fear. We are not afraid to show mercy, for we know that we have received mercy under God’s rule. And we are not afraid to admit that we mourn because we know that God’s rule does not shame those who mourn, but offers comfort.

Love for God and Others – Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness and the Pure in Heart
Jesus gives us the core of biblical teaching and that’s a central characteristic of a biblical worldview. Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the Greatest Commandment. God sent Jesus so that we might be reconciled to him and Jesus sends us so we might also be reconciled with one another. See what Jesus said about righteousness: "Be perfect (or complete) like God is perfect." Later in the sermon he describes this radical call to righteousness. It is more than following the rules. In fact if all you’ve ever heard are the rules, then Jesus will take it a step further: The problem isn’t just murder, but the anger that is the seed of murder and the opposite of love. The problem isn’t just adultery, but the lust that objectifies others and uses people. The problem isn’t just keeping the law with regard to divorce, but losing the love that is the basis of marital relationship. The problem isn’t the legality of a binding power of an oath, but the dishonesty that doesn’t respect others and doesn’t honor God.
Righteousness is rooted in building the proper loving relationship with God and one another. How practical is this as the basis of our worldview. It can change the relationships between human beings, men and women, husbands and wives, friends and enemies. Beatitudes are communal!
But for our righteousness to be God’s perfect righteousness we have to seek his face. We want to be pure in heart. Self-righteousness is hypocrisy because it isn’t concerned for anyone but self. It is arrogant puffed up and rude. We know we are better than those who don’t keep the rules. That sort of thinking comes from the wrong worldview. In the Kingdom purity is devotion to God even before devotion to self – that’s the single eye Jesus teaches us to have. That the eye that will be blessed, for with it we will see God!

Peace of God – Blessed are the Peacemakers and the Persecuted
This is at the core of Making Disciples. In making disciples, or evangelizing, we are not recruiting new members for the church! (I once encountered this statement in the church – "If we have budget problems then we need to get busy with evangelism – it is the best way to increase membership and contribution." Often the statement is made that crassly, but I think that recruitment and survival of the church is what motivates us.) This is why our worldview has a lot to do with evangelism. Are we trying to grow the church, or are we pursuing the cause of God’s peace? With a biblical worldview we believe that God grows the church and he preserves it. We see ourselves as Peacemakers and we are instruments of Peace. Paul viewed his ministry of making disciples like this: 2 Corinthians 5:16 – So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
When we realize how sinful we all are then the way to peace is made clear and we call everyone to be reconciled to God. Of course the peace of the rule of King Jesus threatens the values and ways of the world. They are in rebellion and that creates conflict. Proclaiming a biblical worldview is dangerous. As someone once said, "Living out the Beatitudes will get you killed." Closing charge Matthew 7:24-29 – Hearing and doing (Wise man and Foolish man) What foundation will you build your life on this week?

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 17 October 2004

Seeing This World As God Does – Part 1

Posted by David on October 10, 2004 under Sermons

The declared purpose of this congregation is “making disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve others.” Basically a disciple is the follower of a teacher. A disciple knows and is not ashamed to acknowledge his or her ignorance. Religiously, the objective of a disciple is to destroy his or her ignorance about the purpose of life in order to learn how to live.

The elders have encouraged us to personally adopt five (5) goals as we pursue the purpose of making disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve others. One of those personal goals is this: we proclaim and live by a biblical world view.

What is that? What is a biblical world view? That is a complex, complicated goal. It is a good, godly, worthy goal. However, it is a complicated goal. To simplify that goal without compromising the objective of the goal, I would state it this way: “I am dedicated to learning how to look at everything in life and this world as God looks at it.” How does God look at being single? How does God look at marriage? How does God look at being a wife? How does God look at being a husband? How does God look at being a mother? How does God look at being a father? How does good look at having a job? How does God look at love? How does God look at loyalty? How does God look at truthfulness? How does God look at honesty? How does God define godliness? How does God define sin?

When we talk about a biblical world view, we are talking about how God looks at everything that occurs in life in this world–not just about how God looks at “church.” Nothing is off limits! We literally are talking about how God looks at each thing that occurs in our lives.

We can respond by saying, “Just read the Bible. It is by knowing the Bible that we will discover and develop a biblical world view.” I certainly agree! Yet, I also understand that it is not as simple as that statement makes it sound. The first major challenge we encounter is distinguishing between the times (historically) and the message (God’s ways). If you are tempted to think this challenge is real simple, let me give you a couple of examples.

Example one: from Genesis into Acts, the sacrificial system was a prominent part of worship. Cain and Abel offered sacrifices when they worshipped. Noah offered sacrifices when he left the ark. The tabernacle was the site of sacrificial worship. Later, the temple was the site of sacrificial worship. When Jesus was presented as a baby at the temple, sacrifices were offered for him (Luke 2:22-24). When the 3000 were baptized in Acts 2, they went to the temple every day (Acts 2:46). The apostles went to the temple (Acts 3). Paul, at the request of the Jerusalem elders, took four men to the temple to take a vow and paid for the offering of a sacrifice for each one of them (Acts 21:17-26). This same Paul said we were to offer our bodies as a “living and holy sacrifice” (Romans 12:1,2). Jesus is presented to us as our sacrifice (Hebrews 13:11-13). Christians exist to be God’s spiritual house (temple) to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). What role does the offering of sacrifices serve in Christian existence?

Example two: Matthew 26:30 states they concluded the occasion when the Lord’s Supper was instituted by singing a hymn before leaving for the Mount of Olives. Should we accept that as an example of the way to conclude communion? My understanding is this is the way the Passover meal was concluded. Is this the conclusion of the Passover meal, the conclusion of communion, or the conclusion of both? Should we look at it as an example?

Too often people have oversimplified the challenge of separating first century culture from the eternal message of God.

1. At the core of a biblical world view is the living, creator God.
   1. The Bible begins (Genesis 1) with the living Creator God bringing life in this world into existence.
      1. Immediately scripture declares that if we are to accept a biblical world view, we must look at ourselves as the product of the creator God.
         1. We are not the result of chance or an accident.
         2. We are the result of intelligence using incredible power.
      2. If we are nothing more than the result of accidental happenings, our purpose becomes purely selfish.
         1. If we are the result of chance happenings, we have every reason to be selfish.
         2. If we are the result of nothing more than coincidences, we have no real reason to be moral in conduct or ethical in decisions.
         3. If everything that exists, exists only as a series of opportune accidents, nothing has been lost, and there is nothing to regain.

2. One of the ancient questions in human existence is this: did humanity make God or did God make humanity?
   1. If you think this is a modern question asked only in the relatively recent past by science and philosophy, consider some readings. The first I call to your attention is found in Isaiah 44:6-20.
      “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'” Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame. The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
      1. Isaiah writing in the voice of God declares that the entire concept of idolatry is too ridiculous to be taken seriously.
      2. If one compares the concept of god in idolatry in contrast to the reality of God the Creator, he or she is struck by how little they have in common.
      3. In the idolatrous concept of god:
         1. Divinity is disinterested in humanity.
         2. Divinity has its own set of diversions that gods pursue, and being interested in human affairs is not one of those diversions.
         3. Humans must get the gods’ attention before the gods will get involved in human affairs.
         4. Even when humans succeed in getting the gods’ attention, the gods can do more to hurt you than help you.
         5. Thus the concept of worship is humoring the gods to keep them happy.
      4. In the Creator God:
         1. The Creator God is always interested in people because (1) they exist by His decision and action and (2) people originally were made in His image and likeness.
         2. God is never distracted from the realities of human existence.
         3. Humans do not have to get the Creator God’s attention, but the creator God seeks to get humans’ attention.
         4. The Creator God is a source of help and strength to humans.
         5. The objective of worship is to declare faith in, dependence on, and appreciation of the Creator God.
      5. The idea of taking a piece of wood, making a fire to warm yourself and using the fire to cook your food, and then taking to remainder of the wood to fashion a voiceless, powerless image you call god and call upon it for deliverance is totally foreign to the concept of the living God Who creates.
   2. A second reading I call to your attention is found in Jeremiah 10:1-11.
      Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, “Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them; For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. “They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good.” There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion–their idol is wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation. Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
      1. An enormous problem through the centuries is found in people being afraid of things that are not gods, that do not exist, and that neither hurt nor help people.
      2. Jeremiah observes that idols are just a piece of wood taken out of the forest.
      3. They were made by people who crafted them.
      4. They are clothed and decorated by people.
      5. They are fastened down by people.
      6. They are transported by people.
      7. These gods exist because people made them.
      8. Not so with the Creator God–He exists if no one acknowledges his existence.
   3. Allow me to share one more brief reading with you.
      Joshua 24:2,14-15 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
      1. If anyone ever had reason to place confidence in the Creator God, the people of ancient Israel did–the Creator God delivered them from slavery and brought them into existence as a nation.
      2. Our reading is part of a speech Joshua gave Israel late in his life.
         1. “Your ancestors worshipped idols–the gods beyond the river.”
         2. “You face an immediate choice: will you worship idols from your past, or will you worship the Creator God?”
         3. “If your choice is to worship idols, pick any god you choose; it does not matter and will make no real difference.”
         4. “But my family has made our choice–we will honor the Creator God who brought us into existence.”

3. A biblical world view includes a correct concept of the Creator God because we can correctly understand ourselves only through a correct understanding of the Creator God.
   1. I call your attention to two facts.
      1. When Paul spoke to a highly idolatrous, elite group in Athens at the Areopagus, Paul began with a correct view of the Creator God.
         Acts 17:23-31 “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
      2. The second point is this: the reason as Christians we seek re-creation in Christ is because we were made aware of what we lost in our original creation, and we want to move in the direction of what God made.
   2. However, it is only what the Creator God did for us in Jesus Christ that permits us to be re-created as His people (see Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:10, 11).

The accuracy of the way you view the Creator God will determine the role you give Jesus Christ in your life.

Proclaiming a Biblical Worldview – Part 1

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Our purpose as the West-Ark Church of Christ is to "Make Disciples for Jesus Eager to Serve Others." That means that all of us are called to be disciples as well as make disciples. There are five values or qualitative goals that we strive for in everything we do as a congregation. The first is that we will focus daily on Jesus and his cross. The second is that in every way possible we want to proclaim a biblical worldview. Proclaiming a biblical worldview, however, assumes that we, as disciples, have a biblical worldview. And this of course raises the question, "What is a worldview?"

Definition of Worldview – A worldview is the composite set of presuppositions, beliefs, and values a person possesses that shape how he or she sees reality and determines how he or she will act. A worldview informs the way a person thinks and acts. It is the lens through which people perceive and understand reality.

• Everyone has a worldview that determines how he/she sees, perceives, and understands life. Not all people are able to articulate all or even some elements of their worldview. (Worldviews may be embedded).

• A worldview is, by its nature, comprehensive. That is, it covers all aspects of life, both internal and external. It influences thought and action. It involves mind, body, and spirit and it involves every dimension of life – i.e. the entire "world"

• Culture and environment contribute to the formation of worldview. That contribution can be deliberate (intentional) or embedded.

A person’s worldview can be changed into a different worldview. Christians/disciples should desire to have their worldview transformed into a biblical worldview. The revelation of God through his word and through Jesus Christ deliberately seeks to shape our worldview. [This is why focusing on Jesus and his Cross is more that a meditative exercise – it is a transforming event. See last week’s sermon]

Demonstration of Worldview and Differences in Worldview – One of the ways we sometimes become aware of this concept of worldview is by encountering very different worldviews. Some years ago my wife and I were in London. We were waiting to get into the theatre and when tickets were available there were three of us and only two tickets. So my wife and sister-in-law got to go into the theatre and I waited for them. I walked around the town and spent some time with individuals who have a very different worldview. I met a young man named Stephen from Scotland who really didn’t appear all that different from some of my friends in Scotland, but Stephen lived on the streets of London. As we walked through London I noticed how very different my worldview was from his. In London they have public restrooms that you have to pay to use. When we went past a public restroom he was about to jump the turnstile to enter. The attendant was shouting at Stephen. I took out a handful of change saying, "Wait, I can pay for this." Now Stephen shouted, "Hey don’t waste that money on the loo." He grabbed the change and jumped the turnstile going into the restroom with the attendant shouting.

All of that did not fit my worldview. First, that one should have to pay to use the restroom. Second, that what was pocket change to me was a treasured resource to Stephen and not to be wasted when stealing or breaking the rules was convenient.

But you do not have to go to another nation or culture to experience these differences in worldview. David Chadwell pointed out in his sermon last week that there are different worldviews in tension in our own culture. Some of us have a basic assumption or at least can recall when institutions like government were held in high regard and trusted. But for some of us, we have never known a time when government was not under suspicion. Some of us remember when credit was rare and jobs were even rarer. Some of us have never known anything but great prosperity in our nation. Different experiences like these shape different worldviews. But there are also forces at work that create major shifts in worldview. This goes beyond personal worldview and involves cultural or collective worldviews, which of course affect all of us individually.

We are experiencing in our culture the tension, or shifting, from one predominant worldview to another. The two worldviews in tension are the modern worldview and the postmodern worldview. The "modern" worldview is not all that modern. It developed in the Western world throughout the 17^th century and remained current through the 20^th century. You may read about the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment period. This is the context in which the Modern worldview develops.

This worldview is based on four "pillars" that were major shifts from the pre-Modern worldview before the age of reason:

1. Nature and reality can be explained apart from God. Since reason and investigation could explain the natural process of the world around us, God is no longer necessary as an explanation for reality. That’s not to say all scientists since the age of reason are atheists. No, some scientists and philosophers attempted to make a reasonable case for the existence of God. We can’t go into all the history, but just understand that with the modern worldview the possibility of understanding reality apart from God is now quite real. The classic example of this involves astronomer Pierre Simon de la Place (1749 – 1827). He presented his book on celestial mechanics to Emperor Napoleon who remarked "I find it strange that in your entire work you make no reference to God." Pierre Simon de la Place replied, "Sire, I no longer have need of that hypothesis."
2. Scientific Knowledge is inherently good. We are better off because of scientific advancement. Every advance in science improves the quality of life. The Modern worldview has an optimistic outlook on better living through scientific advancement.
3. Reason is the Basis of Morality. Rather than an external standard of right and wrong, sin and righteousness, morality was defended as being expedient or reasonable. Lack of character or morality was not a spiritual deficiency but a lack of knowledge. The solution was more education. Moral problems could be solved with the application of reason.
4. Human Progress is Inevitable. The modern worldview has a high view of human nature and potential. There is an optimism about overcoming social and political problems. (Star Trek future)

During the 20^th century and into this century we are recognizing more and more that the modern worldview is giving way to the postmodern worldview. Under the weight of experience the limits of the pillars of the modern worldview were collapsed …

1. The postmodern worldview accepts the possibility of God or gods. This is not just true in religion, but also philosophy and science. There is the allowance that there is more to the universe than all we can perceive or experience. (But note that this doesn’t always equate to the Christian view of God!)
2. Scientific knowledge may be used for good or evil. Think about the incredible advances in science during the 20^th century. Atomic power, information technology, genetics. Our experience has taught us that there is no guarantee that these developments are inherently good. They may bring benefit, but they may also create disaster. It all depends on how they are used.
3. Individual is basis of morality. Reason was never a very good basis of morality. That’s not to say that morality is unreasonable. But restricting morality to reason deprived morality and ethics of its spiritual and divine elements and now the door is wide open to all standards of morality. There just isn’t any agreement anymore and morality is seen as relative. My moral base may not be reasonable to you – but it is mine and it is not yours to judge. The modern worldview made reason the only absolute but it couldn’t hold the title – now the "king" has been knocked off the hill.
4. Humanity has failed to eradicate so many social and political problems. We have been humbled and we are no longer optimistic about human progress. World War 1 really destroyed this pillar. Then World War 2 finished off the remains. Now there is pessimisim about the future of humanity (Sci-Fi dystopias)

It is hard to describe what the Postmodern worldview is really about. Mainly, it just isn’t modern!

One creative way to describe the change is to say that if the Modern worldview viewed the world scientifically through the lens of the microscope and telescope, the postmodern worldview views it through a kaleidoscope – a random, multi-colored, ever-shifting image that looks different to everyone who picks up the scope.
Which worldview is best? Neither, they are both limited and they represent the major worldview we find ourselves in. Since they are limited they are subject to shifting and change.

The real question is: "Why does any of this matter?" Does my worldview matter? I think it matters because as disciples of Jesus Christ we need to know that our worldview is not dependent on the reigning worldview of our culture or age. Our faith is not dependent on the Modern worldview. It will not die in the postmodern worldview. We have a worldview that endures through every shift and change in cultural worldview …

In the midst of confusion or concern over what we shall do we can develop a worldview that is consistent with Christ and the revelation of God through Spirit and Word. In other words a Biblical Worldview. And it matters because if God’s enduring revelation shapes our worldview then it shapes our belief. And our belief leads to proper practice and healthy identity.

Christianity and Judaism are unique in that they call for the right belief (orthodoxy) assuming that the right belief with shape the proper behavior and practice (orthopraxy). In fact, God often criticizes Israel, as Jesus did the Pharisees, for practicing religion right without believing right (hypocrisy, white-washed sepulchers)

Israel and the Worldview of God
Deuteronomy 6 Belief in the one true God was the basis for whole devotion. The worldview of Israel was critical to their behavior and their identity.

Once the Gentiles were gathered into Israel after Jesus, the importance of worldview was even greater.

1. In worship – in the presence of the One God that Israel declared, the One God that has revealed himself in Jesus Christ – in worship we offer our whole self. We are being shaped by God’s view of the world. And that "changes our mind" …
2. Renewal – that’s what we do in worship as we come together in worship. Transformation of mind/belief from the pattern of this world to a renewed worldview. And it doesn’t end in worship – it continues to our life among the different worldviews. It continues as a pinpoint of light in our kaleidoscope world. We need to continue to hear the "Shema" to Israel. Jesus said it was the core of a biblical worldview. And it shapes our actions so that they are conformed to God’s will …
3. Is change/transformation of mind really that important? We need to be aware just how little what we say we believe agrees with the world as understood by science and technology, commerce, law, politics, or the arts – or the world as it is understood by many of our neighbors. Think about it! Jesus says that the core of law and prophets, the greatest commandment is to love God and neighbor – to commit so completely to God that we live as very different people. That’s not necessarily the worldview of our culture. Proclaiming a biblical worldview is counter-cultural. So, to what worldview do we conform? The renewal of our mind allows us to know God’s will. But if our minds are not renewed, we do not. What worldview do we have? That’s the worldview we will proclaim

How important is this? – Barmen -living differently with a different View of reality can have serious implications
Almost immediately after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Protestant Christians faced pressure to conform the Church to the ideology of Hitler and the Nazi Party, this included expulsion of Jewish Christians from the ordained ministry and adopting the Nazi “Führer Principle” as the organizing principle of church government. In general, the churches succumbed to these pressures, and many Christians embraced them willingly. The pro-Nazi “German Christian” movement became a force in the church. They glorified Adolf Hitler as a “German prophet” and preached that racial consciousness (Volk) was a source of revelation alongside the Bible.

But some Christians in Germany opposed the encroachment of Nazi ideology on the Church’s proclamation. At Barmen, this emerging “Confessing Church” adopted a declaration drafted by which expressly repudiated the claim that other powers apart from Christ could be sources of God’s revelation. The 1934 Barmen Declaration was a call to resistance against the theological claims of the Nazi state.

excerpt from Barmen Declaration …

IN VIEW OF THE ERRORS of the “German Christians” … we confess the following evangelical truths:
1. “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

We reject the false doctrine that the Church could and should recognize as a source of its proclamation, beyond and besides this one Word of God, . . . other events, powers, historic figures and truths as God’s revelation.

In Nazi Germany, the German Church accepted National Socialism. Their focus was on what they did – not on what they believed. They even took as their symbol the cross with a swastika in it.

“German Christians” (Deutsche Christen) marched to a worship service at the Berlin Cathedral while SS guards stood at attention. At the lead were members of the movement in uniforms, followed by pastors. Their banners –designed to resemble the Nazi party’s “national flag”– placed the swastika at the center of the cross.

But the confessing church dissented. Some Christians who dissented –like the Protestant pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Roman Catholic priest Bernhard Lichtenberg– were arrested and executed in concentration camps. They did something very different why? Because of what they believed vs. what the German Church believed. Because those different beliefs and worldviews shaped what people did and what the German Church was doing was dangerous. In one worldview, Christ alone rules. In another, the swastika blots out the center of the cross.

This story of what happened in Germany of the 1930’s may seem a bit extreme to us. But next week I want to show you why a Biblical Worldview and our proclamation of such a world view matters just as much to us – right here in Western Arkansas in the early 21^st century.

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 10 October 2004

God and the Cross Are Still There

Posted by David on October 3, 2004 under Sermons

For a moment, let me take you back to the months preceding the Babylonian captivity of Israel in the latter part of the Old Testament.

First, I call to your attention physical conditions. The Jewish people were living a secure, good life. The temple Solomon built was standing in Jerusalem. The priests were doing “the right things” in “the right way” as they conducted sacrificial worship. Business was great! Money flowed and people lived “the good life.” Situations were so prosperous and opportunities for business so abundant that successful people struggled to endure “doing nothing” on the Sabbath. They could not wait for the Sabbath to be over so they could get back to making money. It was increasingly profitable to be dishonest. Lying and cheating were just a part of “doing business.” The more they made they more they wanted to make. Life’s number one priority was to support a good lifestyle. As far as they were concerned, they had a powerful king who successfully made good alliances. Life was good, and nothing was going to change that!

Second, I call your attention to the prophets. Basically, there were two kinds. The first kind told people what they wanted to hear. “Life is good! Life will continue to be good! God is happy with us the way things are! Anyone who tells you differently is a liar! Nothing will change!” The second kind told people everything they enjoyed was coming to an abrupt end. “Jerusalem will fall! The temple will be destroyed! Your “correct” worship makes God sick! Your personal values are totally distorted! You love things and use people! Soon you will be slaves and your ‘good life’ will be just a memory.” These prophets were deeply resented by the leaders, the king, and those who lived the “good life.”

Third, I call your attention to what happened. Jerusalem fell. Their powerful alliances with other nations proved ineffective. The temple was looted and destroyed. The priest had nowhere to conduct sacrificial worship. Starting with the powerful and the influential, the surviving Jewish people became slaves. The more they tried to improve conditions, the worse conditions became.

Fourth, I call your attention to the question. The question: “What happened?” That question was expressed in many ways. “How could God let this happen to us?” “How could God let His temple be destroyed?” “Did not God know the priest would not have a place to offer sacrifices?” “How could God desert His people and let them suffer such deplorable conditions?” “Sure, we made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of things wrong, but we are not as evil as the people who conquered us. How could God let people who are more wicked than we are destroy us?”

Listen to a comment made by Paul to the Christians at Corinth.
1 Corinthians 10:1-6 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

My paraphrase of Paul’s point would be this: “Never think that God has so much invested in us that He will ignore the evil of rebellion.”

Last week Joyce and I visited the San Francisco area.
1. We had a wonderful time for many reasons.
   1. The temperatures were wonderful, and the sun shone every day.
   2. The flowers were breath-taking.
   3. Seeing family and friends again was wonderful.
   4. And we also thoroughly enjoyed playing tourist again.
   5. People were friendly and helpful everywhere we went.
2. But as is true with me virtually everywhere I visit, there were some things that captured my attention and overwhelmed me.
   1. There were some things that overwhelmed me with the church.
      1. Joyce and I visited that area seven years ago, and on this visit we worshipped with the same congregation.
      2. Seven years ago there were two congregations within a mile of each other; now there is one (I have no comment to make on what that means because I do not know the circumstances).
      3. Because of difficulty locating our bus, we were a little late for Bible class.
         1. We were graciously welcomed (this is a very friendly congregation!).
         2. We went to the auditorium class (the auditorium seats approximately 500 people) to join four (4) people in Bible study; last time the auditorium was about 1/3 full for class.
         3. For worship, the auditorium was approximately 1/3 full with the majority of people assembled above retirement age; on our last visit it was well over 1/2 full with a more diverse mixture of ages.
      4. These observations are in no way intended as a judgmental evaluation (and they may not even be an accurate assessment), but merely an observation that changes are visible in our culture and in the church.
1. To me, there are two major, visible groups within the church: those who see our world through the eyes of loyalty to an institution, and those who regard institutions as dangerous.
   1. First, consider Christians who view our culture primarily through eyes of loyalty to institutions (which likely includes at least 50% of those assembled here this evening).
      1. Consider the institutional view of the world:
         1. Bottom line: “people should respect authority.”
         2. Government may go in the wrong direction, but people must respect the government as an institution.
         3. A corporation may be misguided, but people must show loyalty to a corporation (don’t bite the hand that feeds you).
         4. Marriage should be preserved even if you are miserable in your marriage because you need to preserve the institution of the home.
         5. The church needs to be respected and supported as an institution; do nothing that would weaken the institution.
      2. There was a time when institutions were basically good, were basically people focused, and basically had the best interest of people at heart.
         1. When World War II began, there was no exodus to Canada to avoid the draft.
         2. If the government said it, it was to be obeyed and trusted.
         3. A person could spend his entire work life with one company and retire with confidence that the company would take care of him.
         4. No matter how bad a marriage was, rarely would divorce occur.
         5. Whatever it took to protect the institution of the church, you did it; faith in Jesus Christ could not and must not be separated from the institutional aspects of the church.
   2. Do you realize that Christians under the age of 40 never consciously lived in a period of time when institutions were good?
      1. Just think about it.
         1. The older of them remember the Watergate break-in (1972), the resignation of Spiro Agnew (73), and the resignation of Richard Nixon (74).
         2. Their war of reference is Vietnam, not World War II–and they remember that war in critical views.
         3. Their parents lived through the collapse of some of the great corporations (like the telephone company) at a time when jobs stopped existing for a lifetime.
         4. Their skepticism became cynicism with fiascoes like Enron when corporate greed ruined the lives of many people.
         5. Whereas their grandparents endured almost any degree of dysfunction in marriages or any abuse or neglect in a home, their parents would not tolerate suffering in a marriage or home–so the divorce rate rose and many of them were children in single-parent families or blended families.
         6. The combination of birth control becoming easily available and the hurt of failed homes made living together arrangements attractive.
         7. The decline of Christian morals and values in the American society reinterpreted the understanding of what was acceptable and good.
         8. They have seen all the divisions in the church, all the control tactics in congregations, and all the stances that were more about theological issues than about God’s interaction with people.
            1. They have seen the suffering caused in the name of “being faithful to the church.”
            2. They have seen the ungodly attitudes in the power plays in the church.
            3. They have witnessed godly men and women subjected to hurt.
            4. Often to them the institutional aspects of today’s church are a symbol of what is wrong with the church.
      2. To many of those under 40, institutions are the symbol of all that is wrong and dangerous in our culture and in our world.
         1. This group is looking for meaningful relationships–which have been in short supply in their life experiences.
         2. Their concept of relationship and the institutional concept of relationship are distinctly different.

2. I want you to consider two of Jesus’ concepts and make one point from each.
   1. Begin by considering this understanding:
      1. Jesus was not what the Jews expected–they regarded a crucified King over a spiritual kingdom as too ridiculous to be seriously considered, and the first century Jewish nation was more isolationist and institutional than we ever dreamed of being.
      2. The pagan environment of the first century world was horrible by Christian standards–homosexual affairs, adulterous affairs, and divorce laden, drunkenness, exploitation of people. Paganism regarded a resurrected Savior and living for a world to come as stupid. They also were very institutional in focus.
      3. These two thoughts from Jesus were extremely unpopular concepts in the first century world, a world that respected power and control.
   2. First, I call your attention to a parable given to help explain the nature of God’s kingdom. It was embedded in a series of parables that illustrated the nature of the kingdom God was to establish–Matthew 13:33.
      He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
      1. The kingdom will spread by contagion.
      2. It will not be quick, but it will be steady.
      3. Point: if the kingdom is to achieve God’s purposes, there is no substitute for Jesus’ cross and God being the focus of the Christian’s personal life.
         1. It is not a matter of the success of the institution.
         2. It is a matter of the personal commitment of the individual.
   3. Second, I call your attention to a parable in this same set of parables on the nature of the kingdom–Matthew 13:47-50.
      Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
      1. The kingdom will contain all kinds of people–any “fish” can be caught by the “net.”
      2. The “sorting” is God’s responsibility, not ours.
      3. Point: the church will never be “perfect” on this earth–that is the reason there will be a “sorting” in judgment.
         1. God did not give us the mission of “keeping the church pure.”
         2. God gave us the mission (1) of personally belonging to Christ and (2) calling others to Christ.

All of us have seen unthinkable changes in this society and culture in the last 60 years. Things those of us above 50 regarded as permanent were clearly not permanent. Now change is occurring more rapidly than ever.

Most of us will live to witness and experience changes we never thought could occur. It is possible many of us will live to see a time when the American church is no longer an institution with buildings, and property, and the structure many are so familiar with today. That is not a prediction, but a statement of possibility.

If what we consider the unthinkable occurs, we desperately need to remember one thing: the cross of Jesus and God still exist. Our faith is in Jesus’ sacrifice and God, not an institution. Our hope is in Jesus’ death and God’s resurrection. No change will ever remove that if it is the focus of our personal existence.

Daily Focusing on Jesus and the Cross – Part 2

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

I want to begin by sharing with you some sad and disappointing information about a certaincongregation of the Lord’s church. I won’t name the congregation, but it is one that most of uswould know …
This congregation in danger going through a major split. Some of the reasons for the split concerncontroversies over worship. Divisions within the membership are playing out in the worship andsome are introducing disruptive practices into the worship. Others are altering the practice of theLord’s Supper.
Of course the problems go beyond worship. There are doctrinal controversies. Some of theleaders in this congregation have been advancing unbiblical views of baptism. The doctrinalcontroversies are closely associated with moral controversies. The congregation has becomewoefully tolerant of certain forms of sexual immorality and their teaching on divorce and marriageis not consistent with biblical teaching.
As one might expect, such a congregation is suffering from people who are separating intofactions. These factions are centered around the teaching and ministries of well-known teachers inthe brotherhood. This conflict is threatening to tear this highly visible congregation asunder.

Perhaps it is best that you know the name of the congregation I am speaking about. The church Ihave described is the first-century church in Corinth. We know about it from Paul’s letters. Paulheard about the problems in this congregation from those who were a part of it. In fact, he wasone of the well-known teachers who had a following in this church (and Paul was not supportiveof it). The root of the problem in the Corinthian church was their attempt to adopt and conform toexpectations of their world. Paul’s prescription for the ailing church in danger of destroying itselfin its attempts to conform to the accepted wisdom of the day is to return their focus to Jesus andthe cross. The Word of the Cross gave the Corinthian congregation life and Paul hopes that thepower of the word of the cross will not electrocute the church, but that it will shock their spiritualheart back to life …

1 Corinthians 1:18-31
The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved itis the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence ofthe intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is thephilosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in thewisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him God was pleased through thefoolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs andGreeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews andfoolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ thepower of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Consider your own call, brothers andsisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many wereof noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose theweak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and thedespised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one mayboast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdomfrom God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Letthe one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

The Word of The Cross

1. It is foolishness to those who are perishing(1:18)
   1. It “thwarts” established assumptions – It thwarts our understanding and assumptions. Itnullifies the wisdom of this world. It confounds our best understanding and greatest achievements(Just as God did at Babel — Genesis 11). It sets aside our pretensions and our expectationsbecause they are often flawed and imperfect. And because of this …
   2. It is counterintuitive to our way of knowing the world. Thus, those who are invested in worldlywisdom do not understand the cross. The cross is too risky. It says that those who lose their livesgain it — that is counterintuitive to a world that believes in “survival of the fittest.” The cross istoo humiliating. It says that the greatest is the servant of all and the least shall be first — that iscounter-intuitive to a world that believes that “might makes right” and that it is not “what youknow but who you know.” And those are just some of the ways the Word of the Cross thwartsour knowledge, but it can also upset our deep-seated, gut-level, spiritual convictions …
   3. It also confounds our sensitivities and assumptions. We like to think that God should onlybehave in certain ways, but the Cross shows us that our mysterious God will not be defined byour expectations …
2. To those who want signs and wisdom … (1:22-23)
   1. It is scandalous and offensive — Paul said that Jews demand signs. They want spiritual proof.They believed that the Messiah should come in a display of divine authority, not weakness andshamefulness. God is shamed and defiled? He endures a curse? What will the gentiles think? Butthe cross is not politically correct, it is brutal and not cleaned up. The cross does not conform toour religious sensibilities. When Mel Gibson set out to make The Passion of the Christ, he wasdedicated to being as honest with the scandalous and offensive nature of the crucifixion. Andguess what, people were offended! Not just those who decried it as anti-Semitic, but alsoChristians who believed the display was too gory. For those reasons and many more we mustrecall that the word of the cross is indeed scandalous — a stumbling block. It forces a decision foror against God and his way of salvation. At times the Word of the Cross and the implications ofthat word confront our religious sensibilities and make us decide …
   2. It is moronic and foolish — Paul said the Greeks demand wisdom. They wanted logical proof.They believed in certain categories and criteria and God in Jesus did not fit those. Why wouldGod die? Why would he sacrifice himself to save others? How can the death of a man condemnedas a rebel and bandit save the world? Why do we need saving? Alexandros graffiti – Christianitywas not understood in the first-century. It was viewed as a religion for reprobates and lowerclasses. It was ridiculed.
      
      “Alexandros worships his god”
      First century Roman graffiti.
      Click here to view photo.

   3. In recent times there are many who believe that Christianity is a religion for the unlearned andweak-minded. [Karl Marx — Religion is the Opiate of the masses.] We drain the power from thecross and our gospel when we try to conform it to science or philosophy or the prevailing wisdomof our culture. That doesn’t mean that our faith is unscientific or non-philosophical or that itdoesn’t dialogue with culture — but it does mean that the Word of the Cross tests science andphilosophy and culture, not the other way around …
3. To those being saved it is the power of God (1:18)
   1. It has the power to destroy other powers. The word of the cross reveals something thatshakes the foundations of all other powers. It proclaims and represents a God doing something sounique that every influential power and principle is redefined.
   2. It has the power to create new reality It is redefined because a new reality is created. It hasthe power to transform not only us as individuals — but the world as we know it. All systems ofpower, all structures of relationship, all ways of thinking … And the Word of the Cross recreatesall over again the “new world” created by the event. For like all words …
   3. Words have that power to create and destroy and recreate.
      1. The words “It is terminal” can change life
      2. You’re fired” — (trivialized on Apprentice — it just means you are off the show) — thesewords can change reality for someone
   4. How is it power? It is an apocalyptic event —
      1. Nothing is the same now that this has happened.
      2. There is rhetoric about the political shifts due to 9/11. It has become a decisive event — pre9/11 and post 9/11.
      3. Is it any wonder why our calendar systems used BC and AD — a new rule is in effect!

   The Word of the cross like all words has a power to change — but the word of the cross is notbound by our definitions … in fact it confounds and unsettles the definitions we think are soimportant and so stable …

4. It redefines everything
   1. Our past and future: The Corinthians needed to look back at who they were when God calledthem. It is God’s modus operandi to work with those we overlook and reject in our earthlywisdom. Why do we let our past define us when the word of the cross redefines our past? Whoamong us can truly secure our future? All the best planning and work can be undone in seconds.What wisdom secures the perfect future? Why do we let our efforts for the future define us whenthe word of the cross defines our future?
   2. Our worth and identity: The Corinthians were divided. They were finding their identity inhuman leaders and the acceptable things of this world. Their identity was based on theirphilosophies. What about our divisions and categories? [In 1832, Racoon John Smith proposedunity between the Campbell churches and the Stone churches. Mentioning some of the terms andissues that divided them he said, “Let us then, my brethren, be no longer Campbellites orStoneites, New Lights or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights. But let us come to the Bible andthe Bible alone, as the only book in creation that can give us all the Light we need.”] But nowalmost 200 years later, what terms separate us? Is that the Word of the Cross? What about ourbackgrounds and our status? What makes us wise? What gives us power? On what basis do wefind unity — The Mac Pruitt story — There’s a VP at Dow come to visit a union man — Thosewho are being saved have a worth and identity that seems foolish to the world.
   3. Our values and allegiances: Those who are being saved have allegiance to God even when itis risky and seems foolish.
      1. Carl Spain — race and ACU’s policy not to admit African American students pre 1961 — “Dowe fear Jim Crow more than we revere Jesus Christ?”
      2. Jim Elliot — Through the Gates of Splendor “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannotkeep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Having the Mind of Christ (see Jeremiah 9:23-24)
“Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in hisriches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORDwho is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things.” — Jeremiah9:23-24

Believing in the Word of the cross is the first challenge. But conforming to it and living it out isthe greater challenge. Accepting the very different Word of the Cross is the first challenge, havingthat mind of Christ is the next challenge — and both require the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

The Tightrope Walker — A man walked a tightrope across a windy ravine very slowly but madeit. People gathered around and that tightrope walker asked the crowd, “Do you think I can crossthe ravine again?” There was great applause and every one shouted their confidence in the man.Then he asked, “Well, who then will go with me as I carry you on my shoulders?”

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 3 October 2004

Focus On Communion

Posted by David on September 26, 2004 under Sermons

Matthew 26:36-46
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

1. Yielding to God’s will often involves human struggle.
   1. God’s purposes often are accomplished at the price of human suffering.
      1. While God always seeks our highest good, in the moment of struggle we humans are often consumed by dreading our struggle instead of the good that will be produced through our struggle.
      2. Jesus the man certainly knew the price of human struggle through personal experience.
         1. He did not want to die.
         2. He did not want the responsibility of the pain in crucifixion or the responsibility of causing God’s purpose to become reality.
      3. Yet, we can easily see why Jesus succeeded where many of us often fail.
         1. While he did not wish to die, he did not let the reality of immediate pain and suffering cause him to lose his focus.
         2. He was very open and direct with God–“Let this cup pass from me.”
         3. Yet, in his openness he was totally submissive–“Your will be done.”
         4. The essential thing: God’s purposes be achieved, not his feelings be supreme.
   2. It is likely that a Christian’s moment of greatest weakness is the moment when we are tempted to place our feelings above God’s purposes.
      1. Communion celebrates the fact that Jesus did not do that.
      2. He truly understands the temptation to do that, but he did not do that.
      3. So as we eat the bread, we gratefully remember the fact that Jesus yielded to God’s purposes and glorify God for pursuing those purposes at the cost of the death of His son.

   Prayer of thanksgiving for Jesus’ body. Serve the unleavened bread.

   1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
   But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

2. Parts of this scripture are used frequently to focus attention on the basic purposes of communion given by Jesus himself.
   1. We commonly want Christians to focus on the original nature of communion.
      1. Thus we read verses 23-26 to emphasize the early focus of communion.
      2. That certainly is not incorrect, but it often misses the problem in the church of Corinth.
         1. Some Christians were coming earlier [likely by invitation] to share in a full meal [similar to what we would call a “pot luck” meal].
         2. Some Christians were coming later [which was typical in Roman meals] to share in a partial meal.
         3. Some well-to-do Christians left drunk from eating and drinking too much.
         4. Some poor Christians left hungry having very little to eat.
      3. Remember that this letter began with Paul condemning the congregation’s division.
         1. When they gathered for communion, their gathering emphasized their division, not their oneness in Christ.
         2. Paul said, “I cannot even call what you are doing communion.”
         3. Why? The focus is not on a form problem, but a purpose problem.
         4. Their communion did not accomplish the purpose of communion. It was Satan’s purposes, not God’s purposes that were emphasized.
      4. The problem was not in the fact that communion was a meal.
         1. Jesus instituted communion at a meal.
         2. Acts 2 places emphasis on Christians eating together to affirm their oneness.
         3. The problem was not that it was a meal, but the problem was in the purpose of the meal.
            1. The purpose of this meal was not to satisfy hunger, though it did for some who were poor.
            2. The purpose of the meal was to affirm oneness in Christ.
            3. Yet, what they did was precisely opposite to one of the purposes of communion–it declared there were privileged Christians and second class Christians.
   2. In communion, there are two purposes to be met.
      1. The first is a personal remembrance of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us as individuals on Jesus’ cross.
      2. The second is a collective affirmation that we are one with all in the congregation who place their faith in Christ. [That was quite important to Christians most of whom had been rejected or abandoned by the society they left.]
      3. Communion is remembering Jesus, but it is also a declaration of unity with those who give their lives and allegiance to Jesus as the Christ.
      4. The Corinthian Christians turned a meal of remembrance and affirmation into a meal that focused on division and hunger.
         1. Paul said, “You miss one of the fundamental reasons for taking communion.”
         2. Christians should feel strengthened by communion, not discouraged by communion.
      5. When we take communion, we need to remember Jesus’ sacrifice, and we need to remember that we belong to each other because Jesus died for all of us.
      6. When you drink this fruit of the vine, remember Jesus, and remember your commitment to every person here who is with you in Christ.

   Prayer of thanksgiving for Jesus’ blood. Serve the fruit of the vine.

   Challenge and invitation.

Daily Focusing on Jesus and the Cross – Part 1.5

Posted by Chris on September 19, 2004 under Sermons

1. Once Upon a Time in America:
   1. My father’s first sermon mentioned a different sort of culture …
      1. Doors left unlocked, children played in safety. …
      2. Neighbors were close and trusted, people trusted and respected their leaders
      3. God and church were held in high esteem. (Attend the church of your choice).
   2. It is decaying:
      1. Definitions of right & wrong have been changed
      2. The Index of Cultural Indicators:
         1. Long-held beliefs are giving way to a plethora of views.
         2. Self-expression, individualism & personal choice valued above all else
      3. Every viewpoint, no matter how bizarre or destructive, is accepted.
         1. “The lunatics are running the asylum.”
   3. The props are being kicked out:
      1. Once the church and Christian values were propped up by American society
      2. We fear what will happen when the last of the props is kicked out
      3. … what will happen when the lunatics finally take over.
   4. But what were we doing in an asylum in the firstplace?
      1. Christianity has been around a lot longer than America.
      2. Christianity began without the props that we rested on so comfortably, once upona time in America.
2. Living Outside the Camp (Read Hebrews13:1-14):
   1. We must go to Jesus outside thecamp.
      1. Like the unclean carcasses of the sacrifice that were discarded outside thecamp,Jesus suffered outside the gate of the holy city.
         1. No special funeral. No eternal flame in the National Cemetery
         2. [George McDonald, Only One Way Left]: “… Jesus was not crucified ina cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves, onthe town garbage heap … at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble … Because that is where he diedand that is what he died about. And that is where churchman should beand what churchmanship is about.”
      2. If Jesus died outside “the city,” its absurd to think that we are can somehowremain in “the city.”
         1. Jesus did minister in the Temple, but he also ministered in the barrios &ghettos among the drunks and the prostitutes.
         2. The love of God is not restricted to the “acceptable” parts of town. Itgoes out to the places where good folk do not go after dark.
         3. Our place is by Jesus’ side, even if that takes us outside safety of the citygate
      3. Are we called to defend the city (American culture) or are we called to go out ofthe city and call others to join us?
         1. The latter. There is no “city” in this world worth defending becausenone of them are eternal.
         2. Let us lament the decay of American society, but let us not be tricked intothinking the church requires it to survive and thrive.
            1. Christianity has thrived in hostile environments inthe past andin many parts of the world.
            2. Sincere, faithful Christians remain true to their Lord incountries like the Sudan where they are persecuted.
      4. The danger of living in the city is that it makes us nearsighted instead offarsighted.
         1. Our values are reversed.
   2. We must bear His shame.
      1. The Apostles rejoiced not because they won favor with society or advancedtheirreligious/political agenda, but because they suffered shame for the Name.
         1. God was not ashamed of them, and they were not ashamed of him …
      2. Faith shines brightest in the darkness:
         1. Some of our brethren are meeting today in secret in peril of their lives.
         2. Are they less faithful than we because God has not blessed them with theprops of social acceptability?
3. Once Upon a Time in America [Conclusion]:
   1. We may have been propped up. (And it may have been a blessing of God.)
   2. But God does not promise it will always be so.
      1. In fact he says it will more often be the opposite
   3. Maybe it will actually be good for us when the last prop is finally kicked out.
      1. Maybe we will once and for all
         1. go outside the city,
         2. bearing His shame,
         3. looking ahead to the Eternal City,
         4. and letting God be our only prop!
   4. The Challenge:
      1. From the word of God.
      2. This goes beyond a personal acceptance.
      3. We must accept this challenge as a church – together!
      4. Let us all stand – and in so doing accept the challenge ofScripture to go liveoutside the camp!

Daily Focusing on Jesus and the Cross – Part 1

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Introduction: Famous speeches that precede historic moments. They focus the moment for everyone involved. They call for determination and dedication because they involve momentous decisions. And the significance of the speech lives beyond the historical moment. One famous speech that outlasts its moment in history was given on …
June 18, 1940 – Prime Minister Winston Churchill before the House of Commons anticipated the Battle of Britain. "The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour."
The words of Jesus also liven beyond their moment in history. Not only because of their importance but also because the one who spoke these words is living still as Lord. Matthew 10 is Jesus’ speech to the twelve before sending them on a mission. He focuses the moment not only for the twelve, but for all disciples who hear these words.
Read Matthew 10:16-39

Review –

• We are also sent by Jesus to participate in his mission.
• Making disciples requires being a disciple. And we make disciples for Jesus, not us.
• But there is a storm front of turbulence where the kingdom of God emerges into this world for the rule of God upsets lesser authorities and powers. The messengers of the kingdom welcome all to come to the King, but the messengers of the kingdom are not always welcomed …
• If we are to be equal to the mission in a world that is sometimes hostile and usually indifferent, then we need to be focused. Jesus’ speech focuses us on the cross. Focusing on Jesus and his cross defines the 1) Determination of Disciples, 2) Dedication of Disciples and 3) Decision of Disciples

Determination of Disciples

• I am sending you out like sheep among wolves (10:16) – – ²²And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me.
  Because we are loyal to Jesus some are just going to hate us. Not because we wish them any harm. Not because we intend them any wrong, but because we are loyal to Christ some will be threatened by that. Why? Because they have an investment in other powers and authorities.
  Determination to follow Jesus will bring us into conflict. Some people will not be interested in hearing what we have to say in our defense. Some people, even if they do listen, will twist our words and misinterpret our actions. Jesus’ does not tell us how to make it different; he says it will not be any different.
  What are we to do then?
• Don’t worry about your defense –
  • Look to the cross – Jesus spoke only the truth and was not anxious to defend himself. Why? 1) He realized that his words had already been twisted, but 2) he knew that Pilate and others had no power over him other than what God allowed. Jesus knew who was in charge – And we need to understand that too. We will if we focus on the cross.
  • Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves: Sometimes we think our role is to defend ourselves or to defend the church – it is one thing to make a positive case for Christ. It is a good thing to promote Christ when we have opportunity – "Be as shrewd as snakes."
  • But to make enemies is not our calling. To squash those we consider a threat is not our calling. "We are as innocent as doves."
  • Don’t worry – for God will let us know what to say. Really? Would you rather God write your speech or do you think you can do better. Focus on the cross and be determined that God will give the message that needs to be spoken. Don’t get anxious trying to find words to make everything better.

Dedication of Disciples

• A student is not above the teacher; a servant not above the master (10:26)
  1. What did you expect? Jesus is the head of this new household and it follows that the members of the household will face the same criticism and opposition he did.
  2. Culture is indifferent if not hostile to our beliefs. Why are we amazed? Maybe because we can remember a time when our values were supported by the culture around us? The culture held the church and Christian belief in high esteem. But somewhere along the way, somebody kicked loose the props that held the church so high and it came crashing down. Jesus says we shouldn’t be amazed at this. Rather, we should be amazed that we think we need those props and we should be ashamed when we fear losing them. We dare not coerce culture into serving us and we dare not dedicate ourselves to culture.
  3. Now, I realize it can be very frightening to leave the city behind and join Jesus on the garbage heap outside town where bandits and troublemakers are executed (Hebrews 13). The rules of our culture have changed and things we long assumed cannot be assumed. But don’t be afraid – after all, if we find ourselves betrayed and alienated, well it was like this for Jesus, and we the students will not have it any different than our teacher if we are focused on his cross …
• Look to the cross, the strength of his people was turned against Jesus. He was betrayed by his closest friends – men who were like brothers. Some of his family, his own countrymen turned against him. But he dedicated himself to God.
• Look to the cross, the power of a city – Jerusalem – was turned against him. The ruling councils and the religious authorities were so threatened by him that they poured out hate on him. But he dedicated himself to God.
• Look to the cross, the power of a nation – no, an empire – was unleashed on Jesus and he suffered the ultimate form of execution – crucifixion – the purpose of which is not simply to kill, but to humiliate and send a message that Rome is to be respected. Yet, Jesus remained dedicated to God.

• Don’t be afraid – Why?
  1. God will uncover everything – Know the truth for it wins out in the end.
  2. Only God has power over total destruction. All they can do is kill you physically – they have no power except what is given to them.
  3. God cares and will not forget you – He cares for all his creation, even cheap sparrows, and we are worth much more

If we focus daily on Jesus and his cross, we realize that most of the things we worry about are beyond our control. We need to focus our attention on our decision to take up the cross and follow him and stop letting our worries and doubts weaken our determination and our dedication. Focus on the cross and make that decision to be loyal to Christ and you will know such joy and peace that cannot be taken from you …

Decision of Disciple
Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me – 10:38
This has to do with priorities and loyalty. One has to make a decision to become a disciple. Dedication, devotion, loyalty – these are virtues that we are losing or if they remain at all they are misplaced.

• Because of the hostility the relationship of Christians with the world is described as a "sword," not peace. Something is cut and divided, decisions have to be made. Not because God is hostile. Not because we are hostile, but because of the spiritual turbulence of powers that resist the rule of Christ – the storm front.
  • Simply by wanting to do the right thing there is sometimes going to be hostility in a family, in a neighborhood, a city, or a nation.
  • Matthew was no doubt written to Jewish disciples who were cut off from their families because they decided to accept Jesus as Lord
  • It sounds like the stuff of third world nations and religious dictatorships – but we find it even in our own environment.
  • A husband or wife wants to serve God – wants to grow in God’s mercy but the husband or wife may take that personally because they are afraid or uncertain. It’s not going to be easy. Be determined and dedicated in your decision to follow Christ – do so with gentleness and respect – do not forsake Jesus.
  • An employee or a student who is dedicated to Christ may find moments of conflict when others will question you or challenge you because you are serious following Christ. Be determined and dedicated in your decision to follow Christ – but do so with gentleness and respect – do not forsake Jesus.

The temptation we have to avoid most of all is self-preservation. If we do that we lose …
Whoever finds his life loses it, whoever loses his life finds it – what other than Christ and his cross orders our life? What other than Christ and his cross do we confess? These other competing principles and powers are our teachers and we become disciples of these – but we lose our focus on the cross. And we cannot decide to be disciples of Christ and another.

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 19 September 2004