One New Man

This past Sunday, we began to tackle Ephesians 2:11-22 in our Sunday morning gathering. In this passage, Paul deals with the Jew vs. Gentile racial & ethnic hostility that was present in the 1st century. He dealt with it on a couple of different levels: historical redemptive level and a more personal, local church level. In other words, how do we understand the Jew/Gentile relationship from the big picture perspective and then how does that play itself in the church, the "one new man" (Eph. 2:15), on a very personal level.

A big question for us to ask in applying this: If the barriers and divisions are broken down between Jew and Gentile in Christ, how much more should this "unity" apply with respect to all races and ethnicities today in Christ (Gal. 3:28)?

I can hear some of the murmuring already..."well, as long as..." OR "well, we worship here & THEY worship there..." OR "well, you just don't understand..." OR "This is the south..." Honestly, save it. Are there some obstacles that must be overcome? Certainly. Are there some deep & honest conversations that must be held? Yep, sure thing.

However, I bet if we would start at the foot of the cross with the Gospel, we might make a little more headway than we've made. Sure, there is a hypersensitivity prevalent in our culture is an obstacle, but it is not insurmountable. 

Well, more to come...

What does holiness mean in our world today?

Holiness, for many people, is like this elusive thing that we know we should be grasping after (or we've at least been told we should be), but we aren't really sure what it is exactly we are grasping after or how to grasp after it.

Holiness is first, the defining characteristic of who God is. It is the characteristic that the seraphim call out back and forth over and over to one another about the Lord God in Isaiah 6, "holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is fully of his glory." Then out of God's holy character flow his acts...they are holy because his character is holy. And, because his essential nature is holy, all his acts are holy. Yeah, but what is "holiness"? Holiness is separateness, otherness. Holiness is purity, without sin, without imperfections.  

So, what does that mean for us when God says to us in 1 Peter 1:16, "you shall be holy, for I am holy". God calls us to be holy and expects us to be holy, set apart for himself and pure and undefiled by the world. What does holiness look like in our world today? And, if we aren't pursuing holiness, what does that say about the Christianity we profess (Hebrews 12:14)? How do righteousness and purity relate to holiness that we pursue? What about Christian liberty (Romans 14)? How does the concept of "distinctiveness within the culture" fit into the conversation?

Separated

Numbers 6 records for us God's instructions for those that would take a Nazarite vow. The phrase that caught my attention in these instructions was in Numbers 6:2 - "to separate himself to the LORD". 

This phrase is repeated in the chapter on a few other occasions. Even the footnote reveals that the word "Nazarite" means "one who separates" or "one who consecrates" himself. In Numbers 6:8, Moses makes the connection between this separation and holiness. He writes, "all the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD."

To be "separated to the LORD" and "holy to the LORD" carries with it the weight that we are "separated for the LORD" and "holy (consecrated) for the Lord". 

Paul, who himself may have taken a Nazarite vow in Acts 18, draws a couple of parallels for the NT believer in his letters.

In Romans 12:1-2, Paul calls all believers to "present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." 

Then in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, he declares, "you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

Since we are the "peculiar" people of God (1 Peter 2:9-11), we are called and compelled by the gospel to be separated and consecrated to and for the Lord. Because He, in his grace through justification, has declared us righteous, we are moved by the presence of the Holy Spirit to pursue a consecrated life unto God.

But, are we really? Or, are we just playing church and playing religion? Do we just do enough to ease our conscience "until the next appointed time"? 

On the Bookshelves

This morning I'm sitting in a Barnes & Noble about to pick up a book for my son we ordered and reading a little. I always like to venture over to the "Christianity" section to see what passes for a "Christian" book these days among popular culture. It's always an interesting perusal. 

Of all the books that were located in their section labeled "best sellers" or "top sellers" within the Christianity section, I think there is only one that I would recommend. And, that was a compilation book of some of CS Lewis's works. And, that's out of about 20 or 25 books on the shelves. And, that doesn't even include the devotional section (don't get me started!)

Among the so-called "Christian" section as a whole, there are books by those who are solidly biblical, and then there are those that are, well, shall we say, not so biblical in their approach.

Dear brothers and sisters, the call for spiritual discernment is as important today as it ever has been. Spiritual discernment is the ability to discern (make judgments, evaluate according to biblical criteria) truth from error (Hebrews 5:14). Tim Challies defines it this way: "the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong." The subtlety of Satan's deception is that he disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) giving a little bit of what is true to suck in unsuspecting readers and slowly but surely going in for the kill to destroy a person's spiritual life and eventually seek to sever their connection to the bible as the ultimate standard of spiritual truth. The cover of the book might be colorful or even not so colorful, but it might be just that, a cover--the clothing of a wolf on the inside (Matthew 7:15-20). Just because it's under the "Christian" label, it may not be truly biblical.

Know the bible. Read the bible. Understand the bible. Read books with discernment.

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour"

Been thinkin'...yes, that can be dangerous

Busy, busy, busy...our lives, right? Who said we had to be that busy? Have we succumbed to pressure of the culture to join the "rat race"? Have we let the "way of the culture" be in the driver's seat of our lives? Have we done some of this to ourselves? Have we bought into a particular "rhythm of life" that is not conducive to giving attention to the things that matter the most?

Have we done the same thing in church life? Ah, didn't know that's where we were going with this, huh? What if a "calendar stuffed" with activity after activity, event after event, isn't actually helping us accomplish the mission that Jesus gave us to accomplish? What if we began to evaluate all of our decisions about activities, events, etc. based upon their potential to advance the totality of the disciple-making enterprise: connecting with those far away from God, establishing relationships, providing a rhythm of life that is conducive to discipling others, worship, etc.......what if?

What would change? How would our priorities shift? What would our calendars look like...as individuals, as families, as churches? How can we give greater intentionality to our calendars and our lives for the purpose of the Great Commission?

This...this is a work in progress...