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Last time we looked at martyrs and how their faithful testimony amidst the backdrop of persecution was ultimately an encouraging and edifying experience for the church. So then where did the church go from there? In answer of this question, we now look then to the development of monks and monasticism.

The Changing Landscape

Martyrdom was and is a product of persecution. It is the natural outcome of a situation where a group of people can be systematically attacked by the State. This however all changed in AD 312 when the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Obviously the Emperor was not going to be persecuted by his own kingdom and so soon after Christianity legalised. Eventually in AD 380, The Emperor Theodosius would make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Though the positive benefit of such an event is obvious, it also posed a number of problems. There was a blurring of state and church, but perhaps more immediately difficult for the Christian community to deal with was a rising nominalism. When the church was persecuted, it was unlikely that a person not genuinely committed to Christ would persevere in faith and endure the hardship. With government sponsorship and encouragement however the doors were opened to those simply going through the motions.

What then did real belief look like? One answer that has persisted through the ages to this question of what it means to live rightly before God is the life of poverty. In this some would give up worldly pleasures such as money, good food and marriage in order to devote themselves to prayer and good works. Eventually this grew to include a practice of solitude from the Christian community and the larger society as well. Some also resorted to this living as a way of getting away from the nominalism that the institutionalisation of the Church had brought. No matter the motive, their seclusion was thus a sign of their devotion to real faith.

On top of this, it was a somewhat strange dilemma that as persecution had ended, so too did the somewhat regular flow of martyrs. Who now would believers look up to as examples of their faith, now that the tangibly ‘hardcore’ believers didn’t need to be so ‘hardcore’ anymore? Monks would fill this void. Ultimately, those who sought the life of poverty and solitude developed followers, and it is from here that monks and monastery’s developed.

Some Unchanged Truths

The development of monks and monasticism can be seen a number of ways, both positive and negative. Positively speaking, these people exhibited a desire to live for God in a way that affected and overtook all areas of their life. They took Jesus at his word when he called them to throw off everything for his sake. When asking the question of what a person must do to be saved, they recognised that God demanded everything. And not only did they recognise this fact, they sought to live it. For them, nothing was off limits in offering to God because they understood the weight of what relationship with God required. These believers display both a fervour for and a trust in God that we should be confronted by. Indeed in our lifestyle of comfort and pleasure, it can be difficult for us to fathom even a temporary self-denial of lavish food, technology and entertainment, let alone a permanent, life-long one. In this we would all do well to learn from their example. 

Negatively however, the response of poverty in answer to this question of God’s requirements results in a sadly misguided understanding of Jesus! It is by grace we are saved, through faith in him! This is the only way, and no amount of poverty could make any difference. Though those engaging in this sort of lifestyle did not necessarily attribute their actions towards their salvation, what was inevitably established was a sort of hierarchy of believers. These were people who willing sacrificed in order to be near to God. They were seen in some sense ‘more holy’ than ‘ordinary’ Christians and their example drew attention and followers. The legalisation of Christianity and the end of organised persecution meant that martyrs were no longer needed to be the heroes of the Church. This status was transferred to the monks.

Though not their intention, the line between admiration and reverence for them was eventually blurred and often crossed. It is a sobering thought that a well-intentioned desire to give priority to God could result in such misdirected energy. The simple fact of the matter here is that humanity was made for worship. With the corrupting influence of sin, this innate desire drives worship towards things other than the one true God. This is idolatry. Whether it is martyrs or monks, money or magnificence, the ease with which people throughout history, and indeed our own lives, are side-tracked by the veneration of created things is unnerving. We must then hear the lesson of history and ensure that our efforts to glorify God remain firmly entrenched in a consciousness of both our own debilitating sin, and God gracious love in his Son. Only then can our worship be right.  

The Scene Back Then

Christians have experienced persecution for their faith right from the very beginnings of their existence. Indeed Jesus was the first to be persecuted, and the story that follows him in the New Testament is one in which such experiences were a norm rather than an exception. James and Stephen were executed, Peter and John were, amongst others, put in prison and even Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, himself was once a persecutor.

Going forwards Christians found themselves to be useful scapegoats for political purposes. In AD 64 for example, the Emperor Nero accused them of being responsible for the great fire that destroyed a large part of Rome. Interestingly Nero himself was suspected by many of being responsible. Regardless though of the circumstance, State sponsored persecution of Christians was common place. It was illegal to believe in Jesus.

Persecution saw a significant escalation when in AD 250, the Emperor Decius ordered all in the Empire to make sacrifices to Roman gods. In doing so a certificate called a libellous would be issued, with those not possessing one being in danger of imprisonment, confiscation of their goods or death. Christians were obviously opposed to such a measure with many outright refusing while others found creative means of obtaining their certificates. Some made the sacrifices, many out of pure pragmatism, but others finding the race too costly.

Later waves of persecution, like that of Emperor Diocletian’s in AD 303 targeted Christian leaders and property. Christianity had become somewhat entrenched at this point and as such the work of persecutors was to attack the perceived heads of the movement.

As a generalisation then, the early persecution of Christians was because it was distinctly counter cultural. Christians stood out and that made them a target. They were looked upon with much suspicion as they held secret meetings and took part in strange rituals. Of particular concern were the rumours that Christians were cannibals (communion) and incestuous lovers (‘love feasts’ with their ‘brothers and sisters’). They became easy targets for attack from both the authorities and the non-Christian community around them.

There was also, of course, a religious dimension to their offensiveness to the Romans. Ironically, Christians were labelled as ‘atheists’ for their refusal to believe in and sacrifice to the Roman pantheon of gods. It was thought by many that calamities such as internal political divisions within the Empire as well as a number of serious invasions by Gothic tribes were punishments from the Roman gods for allowing Christians to live among them. It is also worth noting however that this was not just a religious rejection, but a social one as well. To refuse to sacrifice to the gods of Rome, and indeed to the emperor himself, was to reject, separate and distance oneself from the society they lived in.

The Lesson For Now

Persecution can often be a difficult issue for us to engage with given that we live in a country where persecution rarely finds clearly distinguished physical forms. Martyrdom, imprisonment and assault for our faith is not our everyday fear. But it is worth noting the powerful effect that persecution had on the early Church. By all accounts it was a galvanising force. Tertullian famously remarked that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Persecution had the effect of establishing and rooting the Church in its faith. On the one hand, those who were unwilling to bear the cost of Christ were quickly weeded out. On the other hand, the testimony and perseverance of those who faithfully perished in Christ’s name provided an encouragement and an example of fortitude for those who remained. What they learnt, I suspect, is that only the Gospel could sustain such endurance. Faithfulness to God was borne out of a God given understanding that he had been incredibly, graciously, faithful to them.

If there is anything but the gospel that motivates our faith, we can rest assured that we will not persevere. Jesus tells the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and in it describes the person who has no root. He says, “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” The story of the persecution of Christians should provoke in us thought. What would we have done if we were born in to their situation, or perhaps, what will we do if in time our country turns away from its generally accepting disposition? If we fail to establish our roots, if we fail to ensure that the gospel, that Jesus Christ, is the motivator of our faith, then we are in dire straits.

The Church’s long experience of persecution should also cause us to consider whether we have learnt or forgotten the lessons of our past. The sad truth is that over the centuries, the Church has been both the persecuted and the persecutor. Indeed in different places in the world now, it is being and doing both. Our lives cannot reflect any notion of such animosity. To do so speaks ill of Christ’s name and does not display the grace and mercy we ourselves have been shown. We must stand for the truth of the gospel and the holiness it calls us to, yes. But there must always be gracious room for sinners to join the fold, just as you and I have!

Perhaps then it is these things that Peter has in mind in 1 Peter 3 when we writes,

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing … But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

After almost 24 hours of traveling and transiting, I finally arrived on the “mission field”. I was tired but excited to have made it. I was eager to explore this closed country and its people. I joined the queue at customs and was glad that there were only a handful of people before me. A few minutes later, I stepped up and handed over my passport. The official flicked through it but he didn’t look very impressed. He called his superior over and they had a short discussion. Then they turned to me and said, “Your visa isn’t valid. You need a proper visa sticker, not a letter from the consulate saying ‘No stickers in stock’. We’ll have to send you back.”

In these moments, one might start doubting the value of short-term mission trips. Are the long-flights really worth it? Are short-term missions worth all the money for just a week or two away? Are they worth all the time and energy? Can short-termers really make a difference? Don’t short-termers just cause more trouble, like getting stuck in the airport?!

As I sat and waited for the next few hours, I learnt two very significant lessons. First, I learnt how to depend more on God. The whole situation was out of my control. There wasn’t much I could do, as I waited for my friend outside to sort things out. But I could pray and rely on God. I sent out an email asking for supporters back home to pray for the situation. So often we think that mission is about our hard work but we were reminded that prayer is work itself. Going on a short-term mission is a great way of growing our faith in God as we no longer feel in control of the everyday things that we are so used to back home.

The second lesson I learnt was that I needed to be a learner before being a doer. As I “wasted time” in the airport, I could learn more about the culture simply by watching the people around me. The way that people dress, how they communicate with each other, how men and women interact, the way that people go about their work and much more, all reveal a lot about their values and worldview. I was reminded that mission is not about rushing somewhere to run programs and hand out Bibles. But it’s firstly to be a learner of the people and their culture which will result in us being more effective in sharing Christ with them.

Throughout the trip, as I continued to depend on God and be a learner, God provided opportunities to share with people the good news about Jesus. One night, I was in the car with a local friend I had made. He was sharing with me about his family and he told me his mother’s name. I asked him, “What does her name mean?” He answered, “It means ‘good news’.” So I shared with him, “For me as a Christian, I believe the good news is that God sent Jesus into the world to save us.” And we continued to have a conversation about faith.

Yes, it’s true that short-term missions can be costly and exhausting. But from my experience, it’s extremely rewarding and meaningful for the person who is sent and also for the people they are sent to. Going on a short-term mission provides a unique opportunity to learn dependence on God and to appreciate people from other cultures and backgrounds. By God’s grace, he does use short-termers to sow seeds, the effect of which we won’t know until eternity.

(Note: Read Exodus 17:1-7 first otherwise this sermon-blog will make no sense to you! Also NT = New Testament. OT = Old Testament).

As we’ve journeyed through Exodus, I trust that one of the things that has stood out is how clearly this book testifies about Jesus. For example: Exodus 12 and the Passover feast. We saw that speak of God’s judgment – a judgment that would wipe out all people except for those who took shelter under the blood of the lamb. Hopefully anybody who has been a Christian for even a short amount of time would be able to see the connection between the event that night in Exodus 12 and Christ’s death on the cross in the NT.

Likewise with Exodus 14 and the crossing of the Red Sea. As we come to understand what is happening there, we see God through Moses bringing about both salvation to his people and judgment on the enemy at the same place and time. Again hopefully for most people in their mind they start to see how this speaks of Jesus and his work on the cross.

And it’s right that we do that. In fact it’s crucial that we do that. Jesus himself said in reference to the Old Testament, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5:39) So it’s right for us to recognise how passages in the OT testify to Christ.

However sometimes it seems like people take that to an extreme. So for example they read how, in Exodus 14, ‘the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind,’ and they say ‘Jesus is that strong east wind!’ (or something similar). This kind of comment, while perhaps made with the best of intentions (after all, doesn’tallthe OT testify about Jesus?), may leave us feeling somewhat uncomfortable as it seems to be artificially imposing Jesus onto the text.

The problem for us is, when we get to Exodus 17, it looks like the Apostle Paul does that very thing. He says the rock, in this passage, is Jesus.

Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. The question we need to ask is, how? What does Paul mean by saying the rock is Christ? Well to understand how Christ is the rock, and what Paul means by that, we need to understand exactly what is happening in this passage.

Context: Read Exodus 17:1. So as we have seen before, God is guiding his people and He deliberately guides them into trying circumstances. Why? To test them (cf. Deut 8:2-3, 5, 15-16). And how do the Israelites respond to this test? In one word – badly.

Read Exodus 17:2. They have been out of Egypt for around two months now and within those two months they have grumbled, moaned and complained four times already (Cf. Ex 14, 15, 16). Now when it says they quarrelled (or later on it says they grumbled) it is much more serious than the word, in English, sounds. There are 2 indicators that help us to understand the seriousness of what is going on here.

Firstly The judgment that fell on these people tells us how serious this is in God’s eyes. (Re-read 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 and take special note of verse 5)

Secondly, the passage itself tells us that much more is going on here then simply some unwarranted complaining. (See verse 3)

That is a pretty serious accusation. In fact in Exodus 17:2 where it says ‘they quarreled with Moses,’ that word ‘quarrel’ has the sense of bringing a formal, legal charge against someone. So in other words, the Israelites aren’t just complaining, they are in fact instigating criminal proceedings. The accused is Moses (though I will qualify that statement later) and the accusation is manslaughter. ‘You brought us up out of Egypt tokill usof thirst.’

That is why in verse 4 Moses cries out to the Lord.

Read Exodus 17:4. Why would he say that? Because stoning is the way someone would be executed for a capital offense, i.e. manslaughter.

So the Israelites are conducting some sort of a trial in which they are the accuser and the accused is Moses (at least that is how it looks initially). Then somewhat surprisingly in verse 5 God enters the scene and by what He says He essentially agrees to the trial and moves it along.

Read Exodus 17:5. How does this indicate a trial? Well firstly in ancient times it would be the elders who were the official witnesses on disputed matters. So in calling some of the elders together, everybody watching would know this is some kind of legal dispute.

Secondly Moses is told to take up his staff. We haven’t spent any time in this series looking at the function of Moses’ staff but basically it represents God’s power and authority as Judge. So anything that is struck by this staff means God is acting in divine judgment upon the one who is struck.

Now I said that at least initially it looks like the people are accusing Moses of manslaughter but their real complaint is actually against God himself.

Read verses Exodus 17:2 and 7. The Israelites were testing God.

The third way in which we know know God is the one who is ultimately on trial is because, in verse 5, God tells Moses to take up the staff, the staff of divine judgment. So Moses isn’t going to be judged, rather he is the judge going to execute judgment.

This then is the scenario (imagine a courtroom scene) – Israel is the accuser, the Elders are the witnesses, Moses is the Judge and executioner and God is the one accused. Verse 6 then tells us, to our great surprise, who divine judgment comes down upon.

Read Exodus 17:6 (The ESV or HCSB are helpful here). God is ‘on’ the rock and Moses is commanded to strike the rock. In other words, God is commanding Moses to strike Him in judgment so that His people may be provided with what they need – which is water. God is now providing for His people the very thing that had brought about this whole incident, in abundance, through this rock which has been struck in judgment.

Think about it like this – the people are given life by this rock because it was struck in judgment for them. Now hopefully we can see why Paul says so emphatically, that rock was Christ. Just as this rock was struck, so Christ was struck with divine judgment on the cross in order that God’s judgment wouldn’t fall on us. But even more than that, that judgment that fell upon Him was not only so that we could escape from judgment but at the very same time it provided the life giving water we needed.

Read John 7:37

So just as God provided water for Israel from the rock on their journey to the Promised land, God has graciously provided ‘water’ for us, his church, from the rock which is Christ as we journey to the ultimate Promised Land.

And that is why Paul can say so emphatically and without the slightest hesitation – that rock was Christ. 

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

If you had to pick the single defining element which makes a Christian community, you would have to pick faith. It is the shared belief in Jesus which brings us together. By that same token, it is the belief in Jesus that separates the organisation known as a ‘church’ from any other. Churches thus have distinctive elements in their practice and as Paul notes here in Ephesians, the manner in which a believer engages in them is informed by that driving common belief. The common belief in fact, makes us one. And it is in the context of this oneness that Paul is teaching the principles upon which corporate life or Christian community should be undertaken. He urges believers to live worthy of God’s calling and as such calls on us to be completely humble, gentle and lovingly patient. On top of that we are to strive or work so that unity and peace would be quintessential to our identity. Basically we are to be unified because we are unified by what God has done for us.

It’s our job then to consider the following question. What does it look like for me to strive for unity within my community? This of course is one of those questions that bears no simple answer. Indeed it covers a wide variety of things and is often affected by the person asking the question. Even so we can reliably say in general that a Christian commitment to a local community serves its unity. To strive for unity is to strive together for the kingdom. Essentially then unity is promoted when we engage with our community with love and care so that it is grown to the glory of God.

The question then is, in terms of membership at least, does membership seek to promote this? If membership is understood correctly (Article 1) and applied helpfully (Article 2), then the answer should be a resounding yes! In fact the attitudes and functions of a healthy membership are actually no different to the attitudes and functions of healthy Christians. It really is just a matter of serving your community by being involved and engaged in its existence as an organisation.  

A quick count of active duty members in our congregation makes it actually pretty clear that the significant majority has not committed to serving the community in this way. So I want to know why. What’s stopping you from serving in this capacity? If you understanding what ‘official’ membership is, are committed to your local community and are already doing the things that are expected, then it’s not very a big next step to take. It’s actually quite a small one – one which is helpful for the life and future of the Church and one which helps to serve and to build up our unity in both faith and action.

The commitment to Church Membership in the formal sense is an important part of life in our community. It’s a sign of support but it’s also a decision to be concerned for the things that it both stands for and does. It doesn’t always work out perfectly. That’s the fault of our human sinful natures, but its future is much less secure and much more difficult when those in a position to contribute to it now, do not. We need to run hard for the sake of our community while trusting that God will work in and through us. And all because in Jesus we are joined. 

One day I went out to Yum Cha for lunch. Now this restaurant happened to be inside a Leagues Club, and I happened to live inside their membership radius. So in order to get in and have lunch with my friends, I had to pay for membership. Now it wasn’t so bad a deal because yearly membership costed $10 and came with a $10 food coupon for restaurants within the club! In any case I filled out the form, had my photo taken and was given my membership card. I was now a card carrying member of my local club. And I haven’t been back there since…

Well last time we were talking about Church Membership we considered our definition of membership in both positive and negative terms. Now it’s all well and good to know what Church Membership should be, but it’s an entire other thing to know how we should go about doing it. So here we’re going to consider the good and the bad ways to do membership

Good Ways to be a Member –

• Pray – No Church exists without God. Indeed no Christian exists without God. To pray is to specifically place authority and sovereignty firmly in God’s hands. If the Church exists to bring God glory, then the Church needs God’s help! Both for power to do his work and for help in responding well to matters of sensitivity.
• Attend – Sometimes mere attendance is enough to encourage our fellow believers. But at the very least, if membership is a sign of commitment, then attendance is vital – not out of obligation but as an outworking of the true reality of our hearts – that we love God, love others, and love meeting together in his name.
• Serve – To be committed to a local community is also to be committed to the work that they do. Even though some are paid to work in a Church, and that some others appear to be especially suited to be serving in the community, it is nonetheless an expectation on all believers that we serve God by serving people.
• Give – Ministry requires money. And God provides that money… through us. To give is one way in which physically express thanks to God for both his free salvation of us, and the fact that he has abundantly provided for our daily needs. To give generously is to overflow with this thankfulness.
• Listen – The needs of every Church is different. And it is informed by in part by the strengths and weaknesses of its people as well as the nature of its environment. As such things like prayer, service and giving needs to be informed by the things that are going on in and around the community. If we do not pay attention to what these things are when they are discussed, we cannot seriously engage in any of them.
• Think – At a certain level, to be a Church member is to be engaged with the decision making of the Church. While there is such a thing as submitting to leadership, this is not license to leave the consideration of Church matters to them and them alone. When things come up in our community, we should all carefully consider them. Sometimes we may not be equipped to do this, but when we can in some way, we should talk about them with each other and indeed with our leaders as well.

Bad Ways to be a Member –

• Presume – Community is by nature plural. It goes against the very nature of Church for an individual to expect their status to entitle them to some kind of special treatment. In short the attitude of one who is a member is not to obtain rights, but to lovingly serve and encourage.
• Oblivion – To be unaware of what is going on in the community and indeed in the lives of other believers essentially makes our membership impotent. As noted before we can’t really engage in a community well unless we know what is going on in and around it. Our thoughts and opinions stop being valid simply because we don’t really know what we need to be addressing.
• Apathy – To not care about matters that the community cares about raises real questions about where our hearts are. To not care about matters the community cares about is in a way the same as not caring for the community itself. Sometimes perhaps the community cares about something that doesn’t seem to be that important, but in that situation our role should be to care about the community enough to work towards a healthier perspective and to preserve its unity in Christ.
• Rubber Stamp – A rubber stamp is someone who says ‘yes’ to everything just because it is the easiest thing to do. Sometimes it’s because we are uninformed and other times it’s because we don’t care. Either way we aren’t functioning in a way that exhibits real commitment or in a way that shows real concern for the Church as God’s people.
• Snipe – When we snipe, we stand on the sidelines firing off shots at others and their views. It is not that we are not allowed to have our own opinions or even that it is wrong to analyse and critique what others put forward. It is that to sit on the sidelines in the debate and simply attack the well intentioned efforts of others is discouraging and unhelpful. Better to get involved in the process so that our critique can be taken constructively rather than insultingly. We don’t have to have all the answers, we just need to be open to working something out rather than working to closing something down.

Church Membership is a serious thing. It can be tempting to think of it as a bit of a non-issue considering how cheaply we give away our details in subscription to different websites and organisations, but that is because there is no heart attachment to these ‘memberships’. This shouldn’t be the way we approach our local community. Would I call myself a member of my local Leagues Club? No. And that’s despite being in rightful possession of a membership card. Would I call myself a member my local Church? Yes. And that’s why it actually means something, why it’s actually important, that I might ‘carry the card’.

Let’s reflect our hearts more genuinely in our actions by engaging in our community better.

Part 3

Christian’s are (should be) people of principle. Our understanding of the way that we should live comes out of God’s revelation of himself in his Word. As a result, generally speaking, we see our world in terms of right and wrong. What isn’t wrong is right. And what isn’t right is wrong. In our zeal to get things right, we often leave pragmatism or practicality by the way side. Being practical at times has become sort of synonymous for not caring about how things should really be done.

Now this surely is a risk for us as sinful people. Our inability to do things perfectly and indeed our tendency to try to justify ourselves, does genuinely lend us towards doing things with a lack of concern for God’s will for us in our lives. But is it possible to bring right principle together with practical thinking?

Well in Acts 6, we read of an interesting example of where an appropriate solution is found in this way –

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Notice the principles that are being upheld
– Love/Care for the needy
– Leaders chosen according to Godly character
– Apostles to focus on the ministry that they were called to

Notice the practicality of the solution and how it is found
– They had a meeting
– The responsibility is handed over to others who have the time to do it
– Leaders are chosen by the people who they will serve
– Those chosen to ensure Greek widows are looked after are likely to be  Greeks themselves (Greek names)

So then what does this all have to do with Church Membership? Church Membership often gets a bad rap because it seems like a very human thing. Indeed it seems like it’s actually unbiblical – a physical and worldly requirement which impedes people from becoming part of a Church. Really though Church membership is one of these principle meets practicality moments. It is an exercise in which a human community works out how to live together as a people who have been joined by Christ and Christ alone.

How should we think about Church Membership then if we are to understand it properly and (hopefully) undertake it biblically?

What it is –

1. A practical measure that helps us govern our life together
   There is no Bible command that calls on us to fill out a form and sign on some dotted line that we belong to a particular local church. Churches each organise themselves according to their preference. These organisational and administrative systems are by and large put into place to help us as a community of believing sinners, make sure that the way we function together in this world is wise and prudent or careful.
2. A commitment to our local community
   Placing ourselves on an official register of church members is an outward action or sign that reflects our desire for our community and its work to grow and flourish. It articulates the fact that we are engaged with and a part of the church and the people in it.
3. A decision to be active in the life and work of the Church
   To serve God is non-negotiable for Christians. And so part of being outwardly committed to a local community is to be outwardly committed to the things that it does in order to see disciples of Jesus made and grown. The church member’s responsibility then is, to work for God’s kingdom. No church should see the minority of people doing the majority of its work. Rather it should see all of its people doing all the work, according to the gifts and opportunities God has presented them with.
4. An opportunity to serve each other
   To be a church member is to involve one’s self in the life and affairs of the church. By doing so, we are actually putting our brothers and sisters in faith before ourselves because our commitment is to see the community, as a whole, benefitted. We should feel encouraged and reassured to see other like-minded believers taking up responsibilities and being serious about how they live in an effort to bring glory to God.

What it isn’t –

1. A requirement for salvation
   Scripture is abundantly clear that we are saved by faith in Jesus. This is the only requirement. At no point can we view church membership as some kind of qualification or work which contributes somehow to our righteousness before God.
2. A requirement for participation in the community
   Church membership does not simply describe the state of being part of or within a community. You can fully part in and be accepted into a local church’s fellowship without having formally committed to it. While it may be strongly encouraged, our unity with other believers is because of Jesus not because of the things we sign up to.
3. A status symbol
   There is no hierarchy of believers in a church. Pastors, Elders, Deacons and leaders are not ‘higher’ or greater Christians than those who do not hold these positions. Likewise a church member is not ‘higher’ or greater than someone who is not.

Part 2 Part 3

Almost two weeks ago roughly 3.2 million people across Australia tuned in to what some called the television event of the year. It was the finale of ‘The Voice’, and whether they had followed the series or not, people everywhere wanted to know who the winner was. Now to be fair, ‘The Voice’ is probably the most legitimate of all the reality TV singing/talent shows. Its major draw card in this respect was its ‘blind auditions’ where professional mentors select singers based on their sound alone, as they are not given the opportunity to see them until after they choose. It bucks against the trend of the likes of ‘Australian Idol’ which often makes specific reference to image and mass marketability as a criterion for success. It’s an interesting bit of television as that sliver of extra credibility makes those who watch the show believe in its humanity. The show is about true singing talent and nothing else. No more can viewers criticise outcomes for being shallow and appearance centric. It is value and worth in its truest sense, as contestants are considered for what they can do, and not merely according to how they look.

It’s an attractive message. How much better would our society be if we refused to value those who are blessed with good looks over and above others? Wouldn’t it be great if people could be recognised for who they were on the inside, rather than just what they look like on the outside? It’s a nice sentiment and genuinely one which we would and should agree with. People should not be valued and liked on the mere criteria of appearance.

This though is my problem with ‘The Voice’, and it is the exact thing that is its apparent strength. ‘The Voice’ values people according to what they can do. In effect it has merely replaced appearance with ability. Now granted it is a show about finding singers. Its concern for talent in this respect is natural and to be expected. It is however a subtle and dangerous message which teaches a worldly value that if we make sure to avoid human valuation based on appearance, then we are safe. The positivity of its message masks its downside.

Our world believes this: that it is a good thing to give value to a person according to what they are able to contribute. The real question though is, is this a biblical worldview? On what grounds are we encouraged to value people in Scripture?

At one level, humanity’s value rests on God’s own decision to value us. In Psalm 8:4-8 for example, as a measure of how wonderful God is, David remarks,”what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour.”Likewise, in that most well-known of verses (John 3:16), we read,”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”That God values mankind is clear. He elevates it in his creation, he cares for it and loves it enough to sacrifice for it.

On another level though, the dignity and value of humanity is built into the very fabric of the world. The creation account notes in Genesis 1:26 that God says,”Let us make man in our image, in our likeness”. We are specially made to be like God in a way that no other part of creation can lay claim to. We are afforded a dignity that in some way reflects God’s own dignity. The value of mankind then, and indeed the value of every individual person, rests on their existence as human. The biblical data suggests that people are important because they are people, not because of either their appearance or their ability to contribute to something we deem productive. Indeed people are valuable because God made them.

We must be careful to guard our perspectives and thinking from the influence of the world. Things which appear very positive can mislead and undermine the values taught in Scripture in such a way that we find ourselves preferring the views of our society, over the way testified to by God in his Word. The trap is that we embrace the whole of something when it is only a small element that we should approve of. And it is something that we need to be wary of through all of the things we experience and in particular those things that are marketed to us via the media.

In this case, the consequences of having the world’s faulty view of humanity is quite severe. A failure to recognise the significance of mankind as image-bearers of God has ultimately led our world to freely endorse practices such as abortion. On a different issue, the same root problem applies to our view of those who we do not tend to associate with. We fail to recognise the value of those who are poor, homeless or asylum seekers as well as those who work labour heavy jobs such as garbage collectors, builders and plumbers. In an odd way, we even do the same to the wealthy and well off as we snub our noses at their ‘snobbery’.

We should love and value people, because they are people, not because we like them. Where we are failing to do so, we need to repent and consider them as precious in God’s sight. So in that vein, here are some questions to consider –

1. What groups of people do you look down upon because of what they do?
2. When has a person’s background or circumstance prevented you from reaching out to them?
3. Have you ever considered someone worth more than another? Is there a sort of hierarchy of people in your mind/heart?
4. How do you view yourself? Do you recognise that God loves and values you as his own, regardless of whatever flaws and imperfections you see in yourself?
5. What things have a subtle but deep effect on the way that you think?
6. What things in your life have influenced your views such that they are more worldly than they are biblical?

The images that come to mind when I talk to Christians about the term “Spiritual Warfare” are not necessarily connected to the Biblical idea. Unfortunately they are more often influenced by fiction.

Say what? One idea of spiritual warfare today, that is not Christian at all, is what is presented in TV shows like ‘Supernatural’. However, the Bible doesn’t explain spiritual warfare as something that involves stabbing demons with magical knives or digging up cursed graves so you can salt and burn the bones. As tempting and entertaining as it might be to watch these shows or read the novels we need to be more diligent and careful to allows the Bible to shape and inform our understanding of spiritual warfare.

Now, having said that, let me quickly re-enforce something. Both Satan and demons are fallen angels and real spiritual beings that are enemies of God and enemies of, those who by virtue of Jesus Christ, are God’s children. However they are limited in power, knowledge, time and space. They cannot and are not in every place at every time attacking and oppressing every Christian. But, you will suffer defeat in spiritual warfare if you overlook the one constant enemy that will never leave you in this present life.

That enemy is called “the flesh” or in some translations, “sinful nature”. And the biggest weapon it has at it’s disposal is pride. Pride or perhaps more specifically, hubris, was the cause of Satan’s fall and it is still the number one weapon used to defeat us in spiritual warfare. A heart full of hubris will align you perfectly with Satan and you will quickly become an enemy of God.

In 1655 to 1662 William Gurnall, an English Pastor, published a 3 volume work on spiritual warfare, which has since been republished numerous times, observes that:

A man may be very zealous in prayer, and painstaking in preaching, and all the while pride is the master whom he serves, though in God’s livery. It can take sanctuary in the holiest actions, and hide itself under the skirt of virtue itself. Thus, while a man is exercising his charity, pride may be the idol in secret for which he lavished out his gold so freely.[1]

He notes several areas where pride, particularly, affects and defeats Christians. 

1. Pride about your personal and spiritual gifts.
2. Pride about God’s work of grace in you.
3. Pride about personal privileges

Most will readily agree that you can be sinfully proud about your gifts (1) being better than others or about having greater privileges (3) than someone else. But the second area seems a little strange. This tells us how easily we can be undone if not alert to spiritual attack in the form of pride.

Pride about grace occurs when we, albeit very subtly, turn away from God and look within ourselves and trust in the grace within us as sufficient to keep us, protect us or otherwise ensure our salvation and spiritual vitality. Gurnall explains:

when a soul puts his trust in any thing beside God, he sets up a prince, a king, an idol, to which he gives God’s glory away. Now it doth not make the sin less, that it is the grace of God we crown, than if it were a lust we crowned. It is idolatry to worship a holy angel, as well as a cursed devil; to make our grace our god[2]

We need to be careful that we do not, in our pride, take away from the finished work of Christ as Lord and Saviour.

God hath cast the order of our salvation … not of grace in us, but grace to us. Inherent grace hath its place and office to accompany salvation, Heb. 6:9, but not procure it. This is Christ’s work, not the work of grace. [3]

Isn’t this just hair splitting? Gurnall again counsels us:

Gospel comfort springs from a gospel root, which is Christ. Phil. 3:3: ‘We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.’ Now, a soul that rests on any holiness in himself, he grafts his comfort upon himself, not Christ; he sucks his own breast, not Christ’s, and so makes Christ a dry nurse. [4]

How am I supposed to do to defeat this enemy of pride, if it is so sly that it even disguises itself as a firm grasp of grace? The answer is simple: Turn to Christ!

if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ~ 1 John 2:1 

Gurnall reminds us of this comfort and assurance which is at the center of the gospel that Jesus, alone, saves from sin:

friends, as you love your inward peace, beware what vessel you draw your comfort from. Grace is finite, and so cannot afford much; it is leaking, and so cannot hold long; thou drinkest in a riven dish that hast thy comforts from thy grace. It is mixed, and so, weak; and weak grace cannot give strong consolation; and such thou needest, especially in strong conflicts. Nay, lastly, thy comfort, which thou drawest from it, is stolen; thou dost not come honestly by it; and stolen comforts will not thrive with thee. Oh, what folly is it for the child to play the thief for that which he may freely and more fully have from his father, who gives and reproacheth not! That comfort which thou wouldst filch out of thy own righteousness and duties, behold it is laid up for thee in Christ, from whose fulness thou mayest carry as much as thy faith can hold, and none to check thee. Yea, the more thou improvest Christ for thy comfort, the more heartily welcome; we are bid to ‘open our mouth wide, and he will fill it.’[5]

So, to wage spiritual warfare, you don’t need to be a grave robber with a bag of salt. Jesus is the saviour and victor over all sin. Have you turned from your sin and trusted in him?

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[1] Gurnall, W., & Campbell, J. 1845.The Christian in Complete Armour (136). Thomas Tegg: London

[2] ibid., (142).

[3] ibid., (143-144).

[4] ibid., (147).

[5] ibid., (148).

I’ve seen a number of changes during my time at this church.  Some have been good, some bad, some neutral.  However, one change in particular has been weighing on my mind.  That is, our enthusiasm in music.  When I first came, we were fairly uninhibited.  People sang loudly, clapped, swayed or raised their hands as they felt moved by what they were singing.  However, as time went on, the singing became quieter and people started to feel self-conscious about raising their hands.  When, once it was easy to get a clap going during a song from beginning to end, now it is difficult to sustain it through a single chorus.

So, I began to wonder why.  What brought on this change?  And when I asked around, the answer seemed to be a desire to avoid “being carried away” or having an “emotional high”.  There is however, quite a gulf between these extreme states and the general lack of emotions that seems to characterize our singing lately, so perhaps it’s time to consider another way.

First of all, it would be good to establish whether emotions themselves are bad because if that were the case, it would be better to avoid them.  However, looking at the Bible we can see that God Himself is described as feeling intense emotions. He is grieved (Gen 6:6) and His anger burns (2 Sam 6:7).  Jesus weeps (John 11:35), becomes deeply distressed (Mark 3:5) and is anguished to the point of sweating blood (Luke 22:44).  Of course, God is different from us in that His emotions never arise from sin and can never lead Him into sin, but nevertheless, it shows that emotions themselves are not wrong.

In fact, far from being bad, the Bible encourages us, even commands us, to feel certain emotions. Paul often tells his readers to rejoice or be joyful (Phillippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16) and we are told in many places to be compassionate (e.g. Ephesians 4:32, 1 Pet 3:8). The Psalms are also full of intense emotions – rejoicing, despair, guilt, cries of anguish and distress (e.g. Psalm 31, 77, 88).  In the Psalms we see the perfect of example of God’s people crying out to him from every situation and finding joy or comfort in Him.

So, what’s stopping us from responding emotionally in church? Is it because when it comes to church, we’re afraid to trust our emotions?  Are our minds more logical and less easily influenced when emotions are kept at bay? Is this the way to avoid being brainwashed into believing false doctrine?  Maybe…  But this is only true if we’re responding to the music (or the speaker, for that matter).  But that’s not what we should be responding to.  We should be responding to the truth of God’s word.  If our minds tell us that what we’re singing is true, then this should free us to respond emotionally without fear.  Of course, this is easier said than done.  Most music (and some speakers) often aims to evoke an emotional response, so it can be easy to forget to engage our minds.  But it’s not impossible.  It just takes some practise.

Consider this: if it is true that Jesus washed away my sins, then when I hear about it, I should feel freed… grateful… joyful… thankful… loved.  If it is true that I am never alone because Jesus is always with me then when I sing about it, I should feel comforted… secure… grateful… thankful… loved.  Having evaluated a statement and found it to be true, rather than suppressing the emotional response, we should embrace it.  After all, Jesus did tell us to “love the Lord your God with all yourheartand with all yoursoul” as well as “with all your mind” (Matt 22:37).

So next time you are touched by a truth in God’s word, don’t suppress your emotions, embrace them.  After all, if we can cry about a fictional death, how much more should we cry about Jesus, the perfect, gentle, Lamb of God, who was mocked, beaten and crucifiedfor our sins!  If we can cheer and clap for a sports player, how much more should be cheer and clap for God who has given us life!  If we can sing along with enthusiasm to Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey or Lady Gaga, how much more enthusiastic should we be when singing praises to our King who saved us!  How else can we love God with all our hearts?

Questions for reflection

1) When you sing in church:

• Are you actually reflecting on the words of the song?
• Are you allowing the truth to sink in to produce a response?
• Or are you just mechanically reading words from a screen and following everyone else?

2) When you listen to sermons or read the Bible:

• Do you ever feel shame and horror because of your sin?
• Do you ever feel joy and thankfulness for God’s love and forgiveness?
• Do you ever feel that you love God because He loved you first and sent His Son to die for your sins?