Seeing the Church of Christ

Looking at the Church through the Eyes of Jesus

Before the world began, God knew that someday He would establish the church. Paul described this mystery of God’s plan as having been hidden in Him from the beginning of the ages (Eph. 3:9). He planned for all men to be brought together into one body, the church (Eph. 3:6; 1:22-23).

Modern America seems to have no regard for God and even less for the church. It is true that denominationalism, religious divisions and actions done by those who claim to be Christians but fail to honor the Lord and His original plan have contributed to this disrespect. However, think of the contrast in the view America has for the church and the way Jesus looks at the true church He established.

The world despises the church because the church believes in an absolute standard for right and wrong. It is not culture or society which determines what is moral or immoral. His people are often seen as “pests” whose influence must be eradicated from our land. Freedom in America means that every person should do what is “right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6) and no one has the right to criticize anyone’s choices.

Christians in the first century were seen as ignorant, unlearned, uneducated and untrained (Acts 4:13), and twenty centuries later they are often seen in the same way. The world refuses to look at the evidence for the deity of Jesus and the work He did, and they mockingly describe Christians as having blind faith in a myth which has no more basis for reality than the blind faith children have in Santa Claus.

Now contrast this with how Jesus sees the church. His regard for the church can be seen in the agony of Gethsemane and the cruelty of Calvary. Why would Jesus, God in the flesh, endure such things? The answer is found in the reality that the blood the Lord shed was that which purchased the church (Acts 20:28). He sees the church as those people who have been washed in His blood (Acts 22:16) and have been sanctified, cleansed and therefore are without blemish (Eph. 5:26-27).

Because the church as been cleansed “with the washing of water by the word,” His people are “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” The church is His beautiful bride and He loved His bride so much that He gave Himself to purchase her (Eph. 5:23-27).

So the question to be determined is which view is the right view of the church? Once we understand the answer, we must never share the world’s view of the body of Jesus. Someday those who have mocked the church and denigrated His bride will stand before God. You will also stand there. Which view do you have of the church? Which view will you have when you stand before the Lord? Think about it!

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Did You Read the Fine Print?

The American congress passes many bills. These bills are often hundreds or thousands of pages long. Imagine how long it takes them to read through each word to make certain they are not committing Americans to something that will be harmful to the country. Unfortunately, when imagination meets reality there is a sharp cliff. Consider the Health Care Reform Bill which the 111th congress passed. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House at the time, stated: “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it”. Evidently, a whole lot of congressmen took this to mean them as well, for few read the approx. 2,000 page bill. Later, as mature, responsible citizens read the bill which had become law, they were appalled. Aspects of commitment required by Americans which were not previously known were uncovered. How did they discover these requirements of the new law? They read the “ fine print ”.

Esau is a well known man of the Bible. He was the son of Isaac and had a twin brother Jacob. Esau was the firstborn of Isaac and therefore he had the “birthright”. The birthright entitled him to be the primary heir to the inheritance of the household of Isaac. It entitled him to a blessing to be given by his father later in life. It had great meaning because it established him as the physical and spiritual leader of the family when his father passed on. As a young man, Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of food. “Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34). He didn’t regard the significance or importance of it. He didn’t care about it. Essentially, he didn’t read the “ fine print ”. For this disdainful act, Esau is remembered in scripture.

At a later period of history recorded by the Bible (Judges 11), there was a man by the name of Jephthah who was a great warrior. He made a vow to the Lord stating that if God would enable him success over the Ammonites, he would offer up a sacrifice to God. That sounds just dandy, until you read the fine print. He further stated his sacrifice would be the first thing that came out of the door of his home to meet him after the battle. When Jephthah returned home successful from battle, his only child came out to meet him. Jephthah was completely distressed. Why? Did he not read the “ fine print ”? Did he not really consider what he had agreed to do? The truth is no, though he did live up to his vow.

The “ fine print ” is something a great number of people did not consider as they purchased online games from GameStation. Gamestation as part of an “April Fool’s Day” promotion in 2010 added an “immortal soul clause” to its End User Legal Agreement (EULA). Essentially, by purchasing the game and agreeing to the EULA the purchaser gave Gamestation the right to their soul. The company estimated some 88% of the people did not read the agreement. Those that actually read the “ fine print ” and rejected the agreement received a financial prize (http://www.foxnews.com/…opinionPrint).

Consider how many people enter agreements like this where they do not earnestly consider the consequences. Folks do it all the time in regard to electronic media. They are so used to seeing such agreements that they don’t read them anymore, they throw them away, or just click yes to them. The truth is man does the same thing with many of his actions. He operates as if there will be no repercussions to what he says or does. Man often approaches God in the same manner. They see His Will and commandments as a EULA which cannot or will not be enforced.

In the Biblical passage Luke 14:25-33, Jesus is recorded telling the people following him to consider the cost, the “ fine print ”. He explains to them that there is a strong commitment needed. It is a commitment that rises above family, friends, and even a person’s own life. Essentially, when a person commits to Christ, they give their life up to him. Their actions must conform to what he desires, no longer what they desire. There is no commitment greater. Not even a commitment to an employer, spouse, or government is greater. Consequently, consider the words of the Apostle Peter:

1 Peter 4:3-5 – “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

Peter was reaffirming to the Christians their commitment to Christ. He pointed out they were living according to the “ fine print ” of salvation (Matthew 7:24-25), but there were folks of the world (Gentiles) who did not understand why the Christians would enter into such an agreement. Folks of the world often wonder why Christians will not engage in the “blessings” of worldly pleasure. The truth is, the people of the world were/are not paying attention to the portion of the agreement which all men are given opportunity to understand (Matthew 7:26-27, 2 Peter 3:9). The Christians believe this “ fine print ” and live accordingly.

For a further look at the “ fine print ” of commitment given by God, all men are encouraged to pick up their Bibles and read from beginning to end. However, as a beginning to understanding the fundamental changes in an individual’s life that God requires, the reader is encouraged to read the book of I Peter, found in the New Testament portion of the Bible. By reading the “ fine print ” and adhering to what is required of all men, there will be no surprises, no astounding shocks, but rather an understanding of the impact adherence or non-adherence to God’s law will bring.

Hebrews 5:9 – “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;”

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Church of Christ Only Ones Saved?

Seriously? You Hear The Strangest Things About The Church Of Christ!

In a world where people generally claim to believe that they shouldn’t rush to judgment about anything or anyone – and especially not at least until they have all of the obtainable facts in hand – what a contradiction they have been known to sometimes practice when it comes to the churches of Christ! One reason is because several decades ago in the mid-20th century, churches of Christ were the fastest growing religious group in America. When denominational preachers were being defeated wholesale in biblical debate, and denominational churches were being decimated by biblical conversions to Christ as a result, those most ill-affected eventually stuck us with a tag, the effects of which we are still dealing with today…

You’ve probably either heard it said, or perhaps even had it spat in your face when discussing with someone the fact that you are a member of the church of Christ, that, “Oh yeah, you’re the bunch that thinks you’re the only ones going to heaven!” This charge is sometimes made by well-intentioned denominational religious people, who then summarily dismiss any further positive discussion of the church of Christ folks and their biblical positions, based on what they themselves have instantly and inadvertently ‘judged,’ to be the inappropriate ‘judgmentalism’ on the part of those same church of Christ folks!

But in reality, when discussed more deeply, most denominational folks – and even the general (non-atheist) populace at large – will eventually come to understand and be forced to admit that their own thinking isn’t all that far off from what the church of Christ folks actually believe – if we handle it right. But how do we do that? How do we handle the charge that we “think we’re the only ones going to heaven,” when hurled venomously at us by those who have judged us to be too judgmental? By those who have themselves, excluded us from any serious spiritual consideration because they believe us to be too exclusive?

Now, we can’t point out the hypocrisy of their position as that would surely shut down further opportunity for productive conversation. And certainly we can’t deny the Lord and His word (Mk. 8:38) which shows us that His church is simply all the sinners He has saved by His blood (Acts 20:28; 2:38-47), and that subsequently, the ‘saved of Christ’s’ are ‘the church of Christ.’ Those two terms are indeed synonymous. But at the same time, how do we feed that spiritual “meat” to those who haven’t even been born again into the family (Jn. 3:3-5) so as not to even be able to handle spiritual “milk” yet (I Ptr. 2:1-3)? Answer: We must be, as Jesus put it, as “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16). For the sake of illustration, please consider for a moment, the following fictitious – although accurate to reality – conversation, as it could occur in “Anytown, U.S.A.,” on any given day, between your average “Joe” on the street, and “Chuck” who is a member of the church of Christ:

“Hey Joe, how’s it going,” Chuck said, as he saw one of the guys he recognized from work walking out of the corner store. They had spoken briefly before, while standing in line at the office cafeteria but that was about it.

“It’s going okay I guess,” Joe responded in a friendly manner, not knowing too much about Chuck at all, except that he seemed to be a genuinely friendly ‘nice guy.’ “Hey,” Joe added, “I really wanted to let you know how nice it was to see someone praying over their meal like I noticed you doing yesterday in the cafeteria. You don’t see that much anymore.”

“No, I guess you don’t. But God is the center of my life and I believe all good things come from Him and so I always strive to say ‘Thank You,’ like our preacher said we should in Sunday School class last week,” Chuck said.

“Oh yeah? You go to church,” Joe questioned. Chuck nodded. “What church do you go to,” Joe followed up quickly but a bit tentatively. He and his family had been hoping to find some sincerely bible-believing and practicing place to worship, and one that took God’s word very seriously since their moving into town some months ago. But they had been exercising caution and not hurrying it because they were sick and tired of the “spiritual entertainment spiral” and were more interested in really learning and exploring what the bible actually said and meant rather than just simply being entertained anymore.

“We attend worship with the church of Christ over on Delaware,” Chuck responded without hesitation.

Oh no, not them, Joe thought. And before he could bite his tongue and catch himself, he had blurted out a thought implanted in his head since childhood by his extremely religious older brother: “That’s the bunch that believes they’re the only ones going to heaven, right?”

Chuck, completely unruffled and unsurprised by this not unanticipated response, simply said, “Actually, we probably don’t believe too awfully different on that than you yourself actually do Joe.”

Somewhat surprised, suddenly challenged, and more than just a little bit taken aback himself by Chuck’s totally unexpected and unruffled response, Joe simply stuttered, “How so?” And as Chuck calmly and quietly responded, it would probably be an understatement to say that he had Joe’s complete and undivided attention!

“Well, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that only He can save you just like He said in John 14:6,” Chuck asked. Joe nodded. “Well, so do we,” Chuck said.

“Do you believe that only those saved by, of, and through the sacrifice of Christ Himself will be in heaven,” Chuck continued. Joe nodded in agreement once again. “So do we,” Chuck said.

“And do you believe that in order to go to heaven, one must receive the gift of eternal life by accepting God’s grace and Christ’s sacrificial gift on Their terms,” Chuck asked, now intently looking Joe straight in the eye. Once again, Joe nodded in complete agreement. He had spent enough time reading His bible to know that one must have faith enough in what God said, to submit themselves to God’s will and accept His gift of grace in order to be saved. It made no sense to him at all that it all just happened arbitrarily.

“Hmmm,” Chuck sighed after a momentary silence, “Imagine that; that’s exactly what we believe too! So, let me see if I’ve got this straight… You believe that the only way a person can be truly saved, is by God’s grace, through their faith, which involves believing what God said enough to submit to His terms and conditions for accepting His grace, according to His word? Does that about sum it up” Chuck asked. “Because if so, then you believe the same way as we do,” Chuck said.

“…Yes,” Joe replied somewhat hesitantly, now quite intrigued by what he had just learned in this little encounter.

“Do you know what God’s word actually states those terms and conditions are,” Chuck asked. “Because those are obviously vital to know – believing what you just said you do and all.”

“All I have to do is believe,” Joe stated quickly and not a little bit uncomfortably. After all, even though he had never been completely convinced of the “faith only saves” position, he had heard it preached many times from many pulpits.

“Tell you what,” Chuck continued; “James, chapter two would probably add a little bit of insight into that answer. It says in verse 19 that ‘even the demons believe – and shudder.’ It goes on to say, in the only passage in the entire New Testament where the phrase ‘faith only’ is found, that justification is ‘not by faith only,’ in verse 24. But please don’t take my word for it – go home and check it out for yourself in God’s word and see what you find. You do believe the bible is the truth of God I assume?”

Joe stuttered a quick “Yes, of course I do,” while his mind whirled about and sought to process this new information which he had never known before. And all of the sudden it hit him as to just how little of the Bible (for a semi-regular church-goer) that he actually did know, and just how vital it was to his spiritual well-being to know so much more…

As if able to read his newly-confused thoughts, Chuck invited Joe to come and join them for Bible study this coming Sunday with the church of Christ. “We don’t do entertainment,” Chuck quickly added. “It’s all about ‘book, chapter, and verse.’ You’re always welcome and we always learn something new from the word of God. Love to have you; you can sit with my family. Might we see you there on Sunday Joe?”

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What is Necessary?

One Thing is Necessary

Distractions.  I was talking about this tonight in Bible class.  We all have distractions that we have to deal with.  I’m thinking about little things that we do on a daily basis that tend to take us in the opposite direction of God.

When our family moved to Mississippi, we didn’t like the cable provider and so we just cancelled it.  I missed an entire football season–college and professional.  Or perhaps I should say that I didn’t miss it at all.  I found that my life was enriched enough without it.  I now like the idea that we don’t have cable television.  It is one less distraction.

We could do without many other things as well, but we hang onto them thinking that we really need them, when in fact, we really do not.  The truth is that we can survive just fine without such things, and there are many people in the world who do a great deal of surviving without all of the luxuries–yes, let’s call them what they really are–that we have.

In Bible class we opened to Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  Someone referenced the “rich fool” of Luke 12:20.  We remembered that Jesus said in verse 15, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”  Then we turned to 1 Timothy 6:8: “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”  This prompted me to have an imaginary conversation.

I wonder what is on God’s shopping list for me today:

  1. Food
  2. Raiment

That’s a pretty short list, Lord.  Are you sure I can’t add some BlueRays and CDs to that? What about that latest digital camera?  Let me look at that list again:

  1. Food
  2. Raiment

Nope, hasn’t changed.

And this is how we develop anxiety: by desiring things that cannot satisfy, pretending that we own something, and gradually replacing God with stuff until we are spending so much time managing these things that God is no longer in our life.  Our life becomes about maintaining stuff, and we become anxious when such stuff is threatened.

What are our motivations for such living?  The answer is really simple: the flesh.  The flesh is what motivates us to seek such things because the flesh is selfish.  The flesh desires what it lacks because that is what it does; it seeks to perpetuate itself.  Our spirits, however, are not nourished by such behavior, but rather, starved.

Listen to what Paul says in Galatians 5:17: “For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”  The spirit desires certain outcomes, but the flesh seems to always get in the way to thwart the spirit’s plans.  This is why in verse 24 of the same chapter, Paul writes, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”  If we want the spirit to succeed, we must crucify the flesh.

“Affections” is an interesting word here.  The Greek word is pathema (πάθημα).  It means that which one suffers or has suffered.  It is often translated “passions.”  ”Affections” are what we give to the things for which we are willing to suffer.  In other words, we suffer with, put up with, endure the things that we love the most.  When what we love the most is God, then our suffering with and for God separates us from things other than God.  When that which we love the most is something other than God, then such sufferings separate us from God.  Our passion must be God.

Nevertheless, feed the flesh; starve the spirit.  Starve the flesh; feed the spirit.  It really is an either/or proposition.  ”No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

“So you’re telling me that it is a sin to buy a DVD?”  Well, it could be.  It depends on why you are buying it and what you are using it for.  If one is using it to gratify that flesh, it is a sin.  This has profound implications, because it means that there are a whole slew of “innocent” things that are wrong if I am using them to gratify the flesh.

I’ll throw in another wrinkle.  My intentions could even be right, and yet I could be wrong if I am rationalizing the gratification of the flesh with my good intentions.  I’ve heard that good intentions make good pavement, but not in the right direction.

This all brings me back to what Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10:41-42, ”Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

One thing is necessary.  Martha had anxiety, trouble!  Why?  Wasn’t she serving?  Wasn’t she helping?  Wasn’t she doing?  Her very “service” had become her god.

One thing is necessary.  What was necessary?  Studying?  Hearing?  Learning?  Following?  Serving?  Working?  Evangelizing?  Preaching?  Even these can become false gods if we assign value to them unassigned by God.

One thing is necessary.  What did Mary choose?  She chose Jesus.  He is the one thing that is necessary.  She chose the good portion because she chose the Lord.

“‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul.  ’Therefore I will hope in Him’” (Lamentations 3:24).

God alone is necessary.

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John 9 – Healing

The healing of the blind man and the conversations that result from it illustrates vividly the difference between a growing faith in the healed person and a hardening attitude of unbelief of “the Jews.” So, as Jesus was still in Jerusalem with His disciples, this healing of the man is the 6th miracle recorded in John. And so in vs. 1-6, Jesus saw a man who had been blind from birth. But evidentially, the Jews did not learn from Job that even the righteous suffer. They still believed that any misfortune was the work of sin. But, in vs. 3-5, Jesus told the disciples that his blindness was not caused by sin, but that it would be an occasion to display “the works of God.”

Now, as the Lord took the opportunity to heal him, he did something strange. In vs. 6-7, He spat on the ground and made clay to place on the blind man’s eyes. He then commanded Him to go to the Pool of Siloam to wash off the clay. And so, when the blind man did as commanded, he saw for the first time in his life. And, those who lived near the blind man became confounded by the fact that he now had his eye sight when they knew he had been blind. Imagine that you knew a person who was blind all their life and in one instance, he can see. This must have caused excitement and joy in the neighborhood. But, there was some who thought that the one claiming they were healed was just a man who looked like the blind man (vs. 8-9). But, the man answered their question of his healing by saying that the man called Jesus had commanded him to wash off the clay in the Pool of Siloam and, when he did, he could see. When they asked where Jesus was, the man did not know. Strangely, Jesus disappeared and then showed up at the end of the chapter.

Now of course with this allegation of healing, the Pharisees have to stick their nose in the business of God and investigate things (vs. 13-17). And, the next three paragraphs we see the synagogue and the Pharisees doing their thing. Now, we don’t know how the blind man got to the Pharisees. It could have been via all the excitement surrounding him and to give glory to God for the miracle. But the Jews had protested the healing of the lame man and his carrying his pallet on the Sabbath (Jn. 5:9-16; 7:23). So, they had objected to Jesus healing the man and completely missed the point. So, the Pharisees interrogated the man about the healing and they repeatedly asked him (vs. 15) how he was healed as if, they would not believe the truth if it bit them! And, the Pharisees said that Jesus could not be God and not keep the Sabbath (vs. 16). Certainly there was no indication from the Law of Moses that healing broke any Sabbath law. Others of their number were not convinced and asked how a sinner could perform such signs? This caused a division among them. And what is really strange is that the Pharisees asked the opinion of the blind man to settle things. But no answer was given to satisfy them all.

So, in vs. 18-23, they bring in the healed man’s parents to question them thinking that this would settle all things and that all the story would be revealed about the man’s blindness. Well, the way the Pharisees asked their questions was not really done to get more information, but to confront the parents if their son was born blind or not. In vs. 20-23, the parents affirmed that it was indeed their son who was born blind but now sees. However, they were afraid to proclaim faith in Jesus because of the Jews. So, the parents said, “Ask him, he is of age.” Today, we call this “passin the buck.” But, anyone confessing Jesus to be the Christ would be excommunicated from the synagogue and the parents did not want that to happen to them. So, ask the son.

Well, the Pharisees interrogated the healed man again (vs. 24-34). Imagine the courage it must have taken for this man to stand there again. So, the Jews were trying desperately to nullify the effects of the miracle of healing the blind man. They accused Jesus of being a sinner for violating the Sabbath and they reluctantly acknowledge that the man has been healed by their statement: “Give glory to God.” Well, the healed man did not know if Jesus was a sinner, but he did know one thing, “Whereas I was blind, now I see!” (vs. 25). Shockingly, the Jews were desperately attempting to cause the man to deny his own experience. And, being not convinced, they asked again (vs. 26-27) and began to abuse this man with their words (vs. 28- 29). They accuse him of being a disciple of Jesus. The Jews were Moses’ disciples, but they knew not Jesus where Jesus came from and were blinded in their ideas of the Messiah.

Well, the formerly blind man thought it remarkable that they did not acknowledge that Jesus was from God since He had healed him. He stated that God does not hear sinners, He only hears God-fearing men. His statement is technically correct. God does hear those who are truly seeking Him. Cornelius is an example of one who was still a sinner but whose prayers were heard and answered by God. But, the healed man affirmed that Jesus could not have healed him if He was not from God. Well, this did not sit well with the Jews in that they accused him of being a sinner from birth and they expelled him from the synagogue (vs. 34). Temper . . . temper.

It is something that the Jews were so blind and ignoring the genuineness of the once blind man. How could the Jews be so blind? Still, in vs. 35-41, it bring the verdict of judgment upon those spiritually blind leaders of the synagogue and at the same time, it confirms the fact that now the man can not only see with his physical eyes, but that he has spiritual sight as well. In vs. 36, Jesus heard that the man had been kicked out of the synangogue. And so, he find the man and ask him if he believes in the Son of God and the man asked, who is he? And, you have to love how Jesus answers this. He states in vs. 37 that you have both seen Him, and He is the One you are talking to. I wonder what facial expressions the man would have made when he recognized Jesus as the One. Thus, he worshipped Him.

In vs. 39, Jesus said that this was the judgment in that the physical blind can not see, including spiritual things. But, the spiritual cannot see them. Well, the Pharisees who heard this statement asked if they were blind too? It is obvious they were since they rejected the Lord. But, Jesus said, “if ye were blind, ye should have no more sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore, your sin remaineth” (vs. 41). Jesus told them that because they claimed to see their sin remained upon them: the sin of rejecting God’s Son. You know, the sad reality is not that sin cuts a person off from what Jesus wants to give, but it is the illusion that one can live without Jesus as the light of their world. May God allow us to always see Him.

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