Holiness= Not getting lost along the Way

Yesterday the sermon was in Proverbs 4 and it was a discussion on "How not to get lost along the Way". The writer of Proverbs gave us 3 important points to remember about our journey in this life. First, he reminded and yelled at us to PAY ATTENTION to the Word of God and cherish it in our hearts like it is our first true love. Then the writer told us to guard our hearts, which is to guard our mouths, eyes, and feet and keep them safe for Jesus. Third, the writer told us that we should never turn off the path because that is idolatry and not actually following or loving Jesus.

My devotions this morning gave me another clue to not getting lost along the way, holiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (NLT). So if we are pursuing God and trying to be like Him in His holiness, we are preventing ourselves from getting lost along the way. As I reminded my faith family yesterday, to take our view and eyes off of Jesus, the one who laid out the path to follow, is committing spiritual suicide. We can praise the Lord, He helps and gives us the strength in our pursuit of holiness and our journey along the Way.

Theological review of "Transformers: Age of Extinction"

I went to see the new transformers movie today with some great friends. Overall it was a good movie filled with a lot of action sequences. As a Transformers movie goes it was right on the par. The Transformers were the main focus and they lived up to the billing. The humans and their stories were secondary to Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and their story line. The movie did not contain to much human violence and the only real thing not to like about the movie was a few language lines. Specially I only notice 2 times that cause me to cringe, both times when the f* word was dropped blatantly. I will say though be prepared it is a longer movie at 2 hours and 45 minutes.

But there are 2 important theological truths that I noticed push in this movie that I wanted to point out.

First, there is a line and discussion between Optimus Prime and Mark Wahlberg's character. The line is about faith and the human is telling the transformer that he needs faith like humans. The transformer needs faith in himself and faith that mistakes can be made and it will all work out in the end because there is always treasure inside the mistake. I find this theological idea very interesting because I agree with the human, we as humans do have faith but the question that should be had is, what do we humans have faith in? Wahlberg's character would say we as humans have faith in ourselves and that is what helps us to make it through the mistake and  problem. I would say as humans our faith need to be in Jesus because He is the only one and reason we can ever make it through THE MISTAKE (sin) and the daily problems. Faith in Jesus is what it should be, not faith in ourselves.

The second theological truth to come out in the movie I also found very interesting. Optimus Prime ends the movie with a dialogue that states there are mysteries in the Universe that might never be know and that is ok. I agree with his line there, but what he says next I disagree with. Optimus after the mystery line says though that why we were made is not a mystery, it is for our importance and freedom. That line I disagree with because we as humans were made for Jesus and His worship alone. I agree the reason humans were created is not a mystery but the reason that is given is not true. We has humans were made for God and His worship and glory and that is it.

Those are some of the theological ideas that movies can teach us if we do not go in with a Biblical mindset and are aware.

Quotable Friday

Small people talk about other people. Great people talk about God!

The Church and its government

Government

 Church government is another area that Scripture and God gives some details to but do not give a complete picture of. The Bible is clear that the faith family must have a form of leadership where certain men lead the rest of the faith community in the life of the church. The Bible identifies two offices of the church: Elder and Deacon while in the church today, in the Western world, will also need a third office of Trustee.

 Elder

An Elder is a shepherd and Spiritual leader of the local church. They are the overseers of the flock of believers that God has entrusted to them. (Acts 20:28)  The office of Elder would also include the Pastor (Ephesians 4:11-12). The Elder must meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3:1-7. The Bible makes it clear that the Elder are responsible to God and will answer some day for the souls of those under their charge. They are the Spiritual leaders and “little shepherds” under the big Shepherd Jesus. The Elders in the life of the church must perform many duties with the following being part of them; pray and study Scripture, lead the faith family, care for the people spiritual and also physically (through the arm of the Deacon), be examples to the rest of the faith family, teach and preach the Bible truths, refute false teachings, protect the flock of Jesus, administer discipline, develop and grow future leaders, and vision cast for the life and future of the faith family. Simply put the Elders lead by their words and example.

Qualifications

            -Lover of Jesus

            -Lover of the Church

            -Understand church membership and are a member

            - Baptized publically into the Faith

            -Humble

            -Above reproach in the church and the world

            -Temperate; not rash, brash, or out of control, self-controlled

            - Prudent and full of Biblical wisdom

            -Husband of one wife- simply put he can be divorced (repentance and grace) but is committed covenantally to wife now and more importantly controlled sexually

            -Respectable in the church and in the world

            -Hospitable; warm, friendly, and welcoming

            -Able to teach; not only in words but most importantly in actions and life  

            -Does not look like the world (addicted to wine)

            -Gentle, just, and devout

            -Generous with time, talents, and treasure- first in the faith family in generosity

            -Spiritual leader in the home and centers home around God and Bible

            -Mature, deeper faithful believer

*Scripture makes clear that men should be Elders. God holds the man responsible to Him for the Spiritual health of not only his family, but also the faith family. This shows that men as leaders can take the responsibility and manage, guide, equip, and lead others in the faith family not only women but also other men. This being said, if God has placed a gifted women in the life of the faith community (like a Beth Moore) and the Elders do not steward that gift from God, He will also hold them responsible for that. The Elders manage and guide the life and Spiritual well being and must use all the gifts that God has given to them to manage in His church (1 timothy 2:11-15).

 The best form of church government is a local body governed by multiple Elders with the help of deacons that are chosen by the congregation. The church would vote leaders to lead the local congregation but the congregation would still have a vote in major decisions by the church like hiring Pastors or building decisions. The leaders though are still beneath Christ, the Head of the Church. (Acts 15:22, I Corinthians 5:4-5, Acts 6:3-5). The plural Elder board takes the form of first among equal though as a single Elder, leads the group of Elders in meetings and is the face of the board to the congregation. The first among equals can be a Senior Pastor or a head Elder. The Elders than through their board use the right arm the deacons for the works of service and also care and lead the trustees and the congregation as a whole.

Deacon

The second Biblical group of leaders in the life of the church is Deacons. The word deacon means “servant.” The deacon is to be a servant to the Elders and to the church. He must meet the qualifications of, 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The deacons care for the members of the local church and assist the Elders in leading the family of God. The Deacons meet the physical needs and are aware of the health, wealth, and lives of the church members. The Deacons are the right arm and the much more active group of church leaders. The Deacons are out and about in the lives of the faith community and much more active in the physical needs of each member. The deacons though answer to the Elders and keep the Elders up to date on everything they are active in and listen to the instruction and wisdom that the Elders bring.

Qualifications

            -Lover of Jesus

            -Lover of the Church

            -Understand church membership and are a member

            -Baptized publically into the Faith

            -worthy of church and world respect

            -sincere and truthful in life and words

            -self-controlled

            -not greed but generous of Spirit in time, talents, and treasure

            -Must lead his home spiritually

            -Biblical understanding and knowledge of God

            -man of one wife, simply put he can be divorced (repentance and grace) but is committed covenantally to wife now and more importantly controlled sexually.

*Scripture seems to make it understood that Deacons were to be men but that women could also be deaconesses. The best structure that would suit the work and leadership of the Deacon is first, in the case of a married man, he is the deacon but his wife serves with him in the role of deacon and in the work of deacon and she must be also held to the qualifications that would fit her. In the case also a single women can be a deacon and meet the needs of single or widowed women in the faith family better, which she in turn than must meet the qualifications that would fit and suit her. Men are called to be the leaders and be held responsible but wives and women must play a significant role in this work also.*

Trustees

The trustees are not a Biblically founded group of leaders in the church but in many instances a necessary group of lay leaders, which work under the direction of the Elders and Deacons. The trustees are a group of people, could be both men and women, who care for the structure of the church building. In many churches today, the faith family meets in a specific location that must be taken care of and stewarded as a gift from God. For true Biblical stewardship to take place, on the structure and or grounds that the faith family meets as a group of people, the trustees should be asked and designated to take care of it. The trustees care for the grounds and building than by up-keep, maintaining, and cleaning, the structure and grounds so that the world can see stewardship take place and the faith family has a nice clean safe place to gather for worship and instruction. Simply put the Deacons lead by their works.

Qualifications

            -Lover of Jesus

            -Baptized publically into the faith

            -Understand church membership and are a member

            -Willing to serve God and steward His gifts

            -generous with time, talent, and treasure

            -Willing to oversee or help on bigger projects of stewardship

            *-construction, landscaping, cleaning knowledge a plus*

The Church and discipleship

Discipleship/Growth

One of the largest and most important aspects of the inward ministry of the church is in the area of discipleship and spiritual growth. This inward ministry is not only important in the life of not only the church has a whole but also in the individual believers of Jesus. 1 Peter 2:2 states that just like new born babies crave milk, believers in Christ need to crave pure spiritual milk so that they can grow in their salvation. The Bible in numerous places gives the idea and picture that once a person accepts Jesus as their Savior they must deepen their walk, mature, be sanctified, and grow more into the image of Jesus and get away from the image of the world (Phil. 2:12-13, Titus 2:12, 1 John 3:3-10). This is why discipleship and growth must take place in the life of the church. So simply put, discipleship is the members of the faith family in a church helping, guiding, equipping, and leading one another in growth more like Jesus every day.

Discipleship and growth in the church and life of the faith family happens in 2 distinct but very connected ways.

-Teaching and instructional formation

The teaching and instructional aspects of discipleship can take place in many formats and in many places. Getting the word of God in the hands, minds, and hearts of believers can take place through expositional teaching or preaching in the worship service or classroom setting. Instructional formats can take place in locations like small groups where smaller Bible studies take place. Instructional times and formats could take place and lead to growth in activities like evangelism, church discipline, membership classes, and work projects. Any chance and opportunity that the church finds in teaching the Word of God through the Gospel or Biblical theology is leading in discipleship and growth. But these intentional and non intentional times of instruction are not the only ways discipleship can take place.

-Fellowship and rubbing shoulders together as a faith community

One on one times of discipleship can also take place. Peter reminds the younger men to humbly listen and respect the older men (1 Peter 5:1-5). Paul also instructed the younger women to learn from the older women (Titus 2:1-4). These verses show and state that discipleship can and should also happen through walking together in the faith family side by side. Mature Godly faith members can show by example and teaching by action what the true pure holy Christian love of Jesus is about. Discipleship can take place as an immature believer can watch and see how the Gospel is lived on a daily basis and also in specific settings from the life and actions of a mature follower. This shows that discipleship does not always have to be intentionally taught but can also be found through living life side by side together. Jesus designed the church to be a faith community and the Christian life not to be lived on an island. The church must use the community aspects in all ways in the growth and equipping of followers. 

The Church and its roles

Tonight I want to post some of my thoughts on a very touchy and challenging situation in the modern American church. What are the roles of men and women in the life of the church and what can and should women be allowed to do. In this post I do not get to specific because I believe it is a case by case basis but the foundational truth is the same for each case. Men are held responsible before God for the life and spiritual health of the church.

Complementarian

 The battle of the “sexes” should not take place inside God’s church. God created man and women in His image (Genesis 1:27). This also means that God has given distinct roles and jobs to both men and women. Men and women are to work together inside the family of God for the glory of God to spread His church. God has placed the man as the responsible one not only in the home (Ephesians 5:21-33) but God has also place the man as the responsible one inside the church (1 Timothy 2). This simply means just like God came calling for Adam after the sin of Eve (Genesis 3:9) so to God will come calling for the men of His church when things go wrong. God has given responsibilities to both men and women in the life of the church but it is up to the men in loving the women and serving the women to learn and follow God in stewarding the gifts of all. This difference in men and women comes to great struggles though when it comes to leadership and authority in the church. Scriptures makes clear God has ordained men to lead and guide in the church because that men are held responsible by God. Pastors, Elders and deacons must be men who are responsible to God because the flock is God’s (1 Peter 5:1-4, I Timothy 3:2; 12). Women though can be deaconess who would assist single or widowed women.  Women are to follow Paul’s instructions in I Timothy 2:9-15. In spiritual areas, they ought not to be teaching men nor should they have spiritual authority over men because men answer to God for the outcome. But God has created women with special abilities that men do not have. In complementary relationships between men and women, both groups use the gifts and talents that God has given them to His glory. Women can use their gifts and talents for God in the church but the role of leadership over the whole church must be men because the men will answer to God for the spiritual heart and well being of the church.

The Church and Preaching/Teaching

Preaching/Teaching

The Bible is the foundation of the Christian life and also the life of the church. The most important and clearest way to get a Biblical understanding into the lives of the church is through teaching and preaching God’s word to them. This teaching of the Bible can happen in many different formats and different times, but one of the most effective times that teaching and preaching can take place is during the worship service in the teaching portion. True God honoring Biblical teaching and preaching in the church must be expository in nature. Expository preaching is a teaching time that begins at the Biblical text and explains and exposes it to the hearer so that God and His Word are glorified and understood (Nehemiah 8). Expository teaching of the Bible also exposes the Bible to the fact that it was written millennia ago but is still relevant today for the life and worship of the church (Hebrews 13:8). So when the teaching of God’s word is heard daily, through the lives of His humble servants, God gets the glory, the church learns more about God and His Word, and God’s Word is applied to life today. The Bible is the main source of life and sanctification of the church so it must be exposed regularly (Ezekiel 37:1-6). When expository preaching is used, the teacher of the word is exposed to the power of Scripture and his life must also be put under the weight of its truth. This style and format in teaching also gives a balanced diet of the Word of God to the hearers and every text, jot, and title is studied and learned from so that a fuller and more complete picture of who God is and what He is up to can be found from His word. Preaching and teaching is central to the spiritual health and vitality of the church and must always be a major part of not only the worship services but also when the faith family gathers in fellowship, service, or study.