As I said yesterday, children, young men, and fathers are mentioned in the Apostle John's letter to the church. These three phases of the Christian life are seen within the church. Some are children, spiritually speaking, some are young men and some are fathers.
This is not a demeaning statement as if to say that children are less than young men or young men less than fathers. It is a mere fact. However, what would be demeaning is to remain in the place of a child for a lifetime. And even with all the strength of a young man, it would be a failure to remain a young man forever.
The reason is simple, Jesus said to go into all the earth and make disciples of the nations and what better part of the body of Christ to do that than a father. Now remember, I am not talking physically. A single man can serve God as much or more than a married man and father. But the goal of following Jesus is to move into maturity and the nature of a father is to reproduce. So a father, spiritually speaking, is a man or woman who is making disciples. They are equipping the saints. They are teaching people to follow Jesus.
Now, sure a child can do that in some regards. They can testify of the greatness of God in the same way a father can. But with age comes maturity. You would never leave a child, helpless as they are by themselves, out trying to make disciples of the nations. Nor would you do that with young men even with all their gusto. Even though they are learning to walk in victory over the devil and his schemes and even though the word of God abides in them, the young men have been paired up right alongside the children and fathers. Why? Because they all need one another. The young man needs the wisdom and time-tested maturity of the father. The father needs the children to make disciples and to help bring them up into maturity.
In The Book Of Malachi, God declares, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." This prophecy has a dual fulfillment meaning it has been fulfilled and will still be fulfilled yet in the future. But John the Baptist is called Elijah and when he came to earth he began calling men to repent of their sins. In doing so, this would begin the process of calling people to enter into the kingdom of God, or church. They would begin as children in the faith, then move onto being young men as they learn God's Word, resist the devil, and walk in victorious strides, and then to be fathers calling others to repent and shepherding the children and young men.
The question remaining is where are we at in the church? Are we children, young men, or fathers? And depending upon where we are, are we acting appropriately with our identity? And are we moving onto toward maturity?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Maturity
1 John 2:12-14 “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.”
The “little children John addresses is the same Greek word [teknion] he says it in 2:1 as well. All it means is “Christian converts” so if you have come to Christ and the Apostle John were writing to you he would address you as little children. Yet the thing that I want to draw your attention to is what it says of the little children – “your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” His sacrifice, His blood, His resurrection cleanses all sins, secret and open sins, past, present and future sins. I marvel that I lived 15 yrs of my life without this and I marvel that others today still choose to reject this great grace of forgiveness. The first thing that probably jumps out to you from this section is that John addresses three groups of people in the Church:
Children
Young men
Fathers
Here John shows us the family of God, the Body of Christ. And just like in this physical world, we have millions of people who would fall into the category of children [or infants], millions who would fall into the category of young men/women [or adolescents] and millions who would fall into the category of fathers/mothers, so it is in the Body of Christ. At the outset of this passage we are talking about spiritual maturity, or spiritual growth. We are taking a maturity test.
Expecting and anticipating spiritual maturity and growth should not surprise us because everything in life grows and develops or the other alternative is decaying or dying. Growth is evidence that life exists. Your little puppy will grow into a big dog. Your mom’s vegetable garden that she plants in the spring will grow and mature to produce an abundance of vegetables during harvest. Our physical bodies at our ages have not stopped growing since we were born and will continue to do so. But John is not seeking to address the physical; he is not seeking to discuss age groups with us, but to address the Church who is made up of a large Body of believers. And every Christian is expected to grow and mature. And each Christian can be placed into one of three categories and no Christian is limited by their physical age. For example, one who was converted to faith in God at 8 yrs old may still be a spiritual infant ten yrs later at age 18 while one converted to faith in God at age 8 may well be a young man in the faith by age 9. And a man converted to faith in God at 70 yrs old would be placed into the category of spiritual infant, even though he is so old physically.
So let’s take a closer look at all three of these quickly: Children [vs. 13] “I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.” “Paidion” meaning immature. This is the one who has recently come to Christ. It is not a slam against them or making fun in any way. It is just stating the fact that they have recently come to Christ and now they know the Father. And if you think about a physical baby, all they know is mama and dada. They may be excited to see different people, but their biggest thrill comes when mom and dad stretch out their arms to pick them up. When I came to Christ I was cursing maliciously, lusting after most women, having hateful attitudes, but I was so thrilled to know God, to know my Father in heaven. I was so excited to read His love letter [the Bible] from Him to me. I was so excited to talk about my new Dad. I was so excited to worship at His feet and give my life to Him. Another characteristic about a baby is that is does not know where it came from, all it knows is who mom and dad are. When I first came to Christ I could not explain “how” I came to Christ. Someone had asked for me to give my testimony about how I came to Christ and I did not even know what a “testimony” was even after being a Christian for several months. All they know is they KNOW God. Also, a physical baby needs an environment to grow in. Notice in the verse that they are mentioned with the fathers and young men. This is key because a spiritual infant, a little child, MUST have a way to grow up in Christ and fortunately God has left this path for the “babies” / “infants” in the faith through the spiritually mature fathers/mothers and young men/women. Not only do they need an environment to grow in but also food to grow thereby. It is sad to see physically malnutritioned people (we have all seen the starving children on TV or perhaps seen it first hand on the mission field). Yet how much more sad to see a Christian who’s known Christ for yrs and yet is still a little child. Another term for this type of person is a “carnal Christian.” A little child also needs exercise. Obesity is something that plagues the youth in America. The youth need to exercise. The same is true spiritually - they need to exercise themselves toward godliness; they need to put “feet” to their faith. 1 Tim 4:8 “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.”
Young men - “I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one… I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.” They overcame the wicked one – There are basically two types of Christians – those who walk in defeat and those who walk in victory. These young men he addresses are the victorious ones. They have begun to grow in the Lord and are being tempted and allured with the world’s pleasures, but they are resisting and standing strong. You are strong - One of the most noticeable attributes about young people is their strength. We are all young here. For the most part, we are fit, energetic, lively, active; at least far more than our parents yet what if our physical strength were only as strong as our spiritual strength? Some of us would have to be carried out of the room we are sitting in, some of us would be limping out, and some of us would be running out. Some of us are physically strong but are moral and spiritual sissies. The Word of God abides in you - Let the Word of God dwell in you richly. The Apostle Paul told the young man Timothy - “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. 3:15. OH THAT IT MAY BE SAID OF US THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES IN YOU!
Fathers - “I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” They have stood the test of time. They have grown in the knowledge of the Lord; they have learned to love the Word of God. Take out the words in italics for this father verse and we notice that they have known the Father from the beginning (from spiritual childhood). Here’s the bottom line, if we are not here, we have a lot of growing to do! The Bible has a lot to say about progress and growth. 1 Peter 2:2-3 “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 2 Peter 3:18 “..but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” If you do not believe it that important of a thing to stand the test of time strong, if you do not believe that you need to grow, listen to this exhortation from Jesus Himself in Matt 10:22:“But he who endures [only a year…nope] to the end will be saved.” They have stood the test of time; they have known the Lord,; they have an experiential knowledge of the Lord. We have opened the spiritual photo album here and we can clearly see where we are in the fam. Yet there is a great, massive tragedy to be aware of and that is remaining a spiritual infant. BUT IT IS EVEN MORE UNFORTUNATE TO SEE SOMEONE IN CHRIST REMAIN AN INFANT. The question at this point becomes: How can we grow no matter which stage we are in?
The “little children John addresses is the same Greek word [teknion] he says it in 2:1 as well. All it means is “Christian converts” so if you have come to Christ and the Apostle John were writing to you he would address you as little children. Yet the thing that I want to draw your attention to is what it says of the little children – “your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” His sacrifice, His blood, His resurrection cleanses all sins, secret and open sins, past, present and future sins. I marvel that I lived 15 yrs of my life without this and I marvel that others today still choose to reject this great grace of forgiveness. The first thing that probably jumps out to you from this section is that John addresses three groups of people in the Church:
Children
Young men
Fathers
Here John shows us the family of God, the Body of Christ. And just like in this physical world, we have millions of people who would fall into the category of children [or infants], millions who would fall into the category of young men/women [or adolescents] and millions who would fall into the category of fathers/mothers, so it is in the Body of Christ. At the outset of this passage we are talking about spiritual maturity, or spiritual growth. We are taking a maturity test.
Expecting and anticipating spiritual maturity and growth should not surprise us because everything in life grows and develops or the other alternative is decaying or dying. Growth is evidence that life exists. Your little puppy will grow into a big dog. Your mom’s vegetable garden that she plants in the spring will grow and mature to produce an abundance of vegetables during harvest. Our physical bodies at our ages have not stopped growing since we were born and will continue to do so. But John is not seeking to address the physical; he is not seeking to discuss age groups with us, but to address the Church who is made up of a large Body of believers. And every Christian is expected to grow and mature. And each Christian can be placed into one of three categories and no Christian is limited by their physical age. For example, one who was converted to faith in God at 8 yrs old may still be a spiritual infant ten yrs later at age 18 while one converted to faith in God at age 8 may well be a young man in the faith by age 9. And a man converted to faith in God at 70 yrs old would be placed into the category of spiritual infant, even though he is so old physically.
So let’s take a closer look at all three of these quickly: Children [vs. 13] “I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.” “Paidion” meaning immature. This is the one who has recently come to Christ. It is not a slam against them or making fun in any way. It is just stating the fact that they have recently come to Christ and now they know the Father. And if you think about a physical baby, all they know is mama and dada. They may be excited to see different people, but their biggest thrill comes when mom and dad stretch out their arms to pick them up. When I came to Christ I was cursing maliciously, lusting after most women, having hateful attitudes, but I was so thrilled to know God, to know my Father in heaven. I was so excited to read His love letter [the Bible] from Him to me. I was so excited to talk about my new Dad. I was so excited to worship at His feet and give my life to Him. Another characteristic about a baby is that is does not know where it came from, all it knows is who mom and dad are. When I first came to Christ I could not explain “how” I came to Christ. Someone had asked for me to give my testimony about how I came to Christ and I did not even know what a “testimony” was even after being a Christian for several months. All they know is they KNOW God. Also, a physical baby needs an environment to grow in. Notice in the verse that they are mentioned with the fathers and young men. This is key because a spiritual infant, a little child, MUST have a way to grow up in Christ and fortunately God has left this path for the “babies” / “infants” in the faith through the spiritually mature fathers/mothers and young men/women. Not only do they need an environment to grow in but also food to grow thereby. It is sad to see physically malnutritioned people (we have all seen the starving children on TV or perhaps seen it first hand on the mission field). Yet how much more sad to see a Christian who’s known Christ for yrs and yet is still a little child. Another term for this type of person is a “carnal Christian.” A little child also needs exercise. Obesity is something that plagues the youth in America. The youth need to exercise. The same is true spiritually - they need to exercise themselves toward godliness; they need to put “feet” to their faith. 1 Tim 4:8 “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.”
Young men - “I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one… I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.” They overcame the wicked one – There are basically two types of Christians – those who walk in defeat and those who walk in victory. These young men he addresses are the victorious ones. They have begun to grow in the Lord and are being tempted and allured with the world’s pleasures, but they are resisting and standing strong. You are strong - One of the most noticeable attributes about young people is their strength. We are all young here. For the most part, we are fit, energetic, lively, active; at least far more than our parents yet what if our physical strength were only as strong as our spiritual strength? Some of us would have to be carried out of the room we are sitting in, some of us would be limping out, and some of us would be running out. Some of us are physically strong but are moral and spiritual sissies. The Word of God abides in you - Let the Word of God dwell in you richly. The Apostle Paul told the young man Timothy - “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. 3:15. OH THAT IT MAY BE SAID OF US THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES IN YOU!
Fathers - “I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” They have stood the test of time. They have grown in the knowledge of the Lord; they have learned to love the Word of God. Take out the words in italics for this father verse and we notice that they have known the Father from the beginning (from spiritual childhood). Here’s the bottom line, if we are not here, we have a lot of growing to do! The Bible has a lot to say about progress and growth. 1 Peter 2:2-3 “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 2 Peter 3:18 “..but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” If you do not believe it that important of a thing to stand the test of time strong, if you do not believe that you need to grow, listen to this exhortation from Jesus Himself in Matt 10:22:“But he who endures [only a year…nope] to the end will be saved.” They have stood the test of time; they have known the Lord,; they have an experiential knowledge of the Lord. We have opened the spiritual photo album here and we can clearly see where we are in the fam. Yet there is a great, massive tragedy to be aware of and that is remaining a spiritual infant. BUT IT IS EVEN MORE UNFORTUNATE TO SEE SOMEONE IN CHRIST REMAIN AN INFANT. The question at this point becomes: How can we grow no matter which stage we are in?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Please Don't Go To Church Again [Round Two]
"Let me just ask straight up: why is the Sunday service so important anyway? We Protestants have the same religious zeal for it that the Roman Catholic Church has for the sacraments or the Pharisees had for the holy days and temple offerings. But we have much less Scripture to back up our making the Sunday morning service a priority than either the Catholics or the first-century Jewish leaders had for their practices.
Pick up your New Testament, open it, and read it as if for the first time. Search the Scriptures. Show me in the New Testament the verses that command us to gather together for a worship service, complete with sermons, announcements [commercials], tithes, and offerings. You will not find any verses that prescribe or describe such a thing. What you will find are verses, chapters, and entire books dedicated to the church functioning as a spiritual family on a mission to redeem the lost."
Neil Cole wrote the two above paragraphs that I quoted in the book Organic Leadership; a good read indeed.
Today, I am not going to church; or at least not how a lot of the West describes church. Not because I am rebellious, irreligious, or lazy, but because there is a deep-rooted conviction within me that one cannot go to church. One cannot go to church because church is not a place, but a people. Hear me out before you cast me off because this really does make a lot of sense. It would be like saying, "I want to go to Australian." You can't go to Australian. You can go to Australia, but not Australian. We call the place where Australian's live, Australia. But the church does not have a home in this life because we are pilgrims and strangers, passing through this world. In essence, we are like Australians without the Australia.
So my plans today are a bit different. I am taking my family out with some friends to IHOP. They do not believe and I am glad that my wife and son are seeing ourselves as pilgrims passing through this life toward another home, all the while calling people to join us as pilgrims. In our day, when the church has become something so different than what we see in the 1st century, what I said almost sounds like a cult. But our Apostle Peter said it, not me - Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans…”
Sunday services can be a tremendous blessing to the church so if they are to you, commit yourself to them. My encouragement, in addition to the services, would be to commit yourself to the church as a spiritual family. You probably hang out with your family more than once a week for an hour and half. Give the church of Jesus Christ, his body, greater commitment. And commit yourself to the mission of God by living such good lives among the pagans. Don’t just live that good life to yourself, live it with the people of God before the lost.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Please Don't Go To Church Again
I listen to several podcasts throughout my work week and one of them I listen to says the following phrase almost every time, "Welcome, we are glad you are here visiting. If this is your first time here we hope that you never go to church again."
This morning, millions will awake to attend a church service. Some will do so because it makes them feel good. Some will go in attempt to be made right with God. Some partied too much last night and want to be forgiven. Some feel that all Christians go to church on Sunday. I have not made an exhaustive list, but whatever the reason, most I fear do not understand the nature of church.
From the beginning of time, the church has always been marked out as a people. Abraham, the father of our faith, was called out of a dying world to be the people of God before the rest of creation. Moses was called to bring this people of God into a land of their own to be a light to the nations. God told Elijah that he had seven thousand people who had not bowed down to false gods and they would be his people. God said that even though his people would forsake him, he would preserve a remnant in the earth to be his own possession. At Jesus' death there were one hundred and twenty followers of Jesus. Fifty days after Jesus died there were over three thousand disciples of Jesus. Some time after his death, these saints fled Jerusalem because of persecution going everywhere being the church. Paul preached in Philippi and a woman named Lydia and her household decided to follow God because the Lord opened her heart. At the same time, a jailer and his family converted to following God. A church was birthed upon the salvation of these souls; a light to the nations. And the story continues on to this day. You could say we are reading Acts 2009.
Where the church meets is less an issue because the church was never a meeting, building, service, or program. As we see in the above examples, the church has always been a people called out from the world to be a light to the world.
Now we can see why it should be very silly to think that going to "church" on a Sunday should make us feel good. It should seem odd that going to "church" would make us right with God. It should seem a reproach to the living God that we can revel in sin the night before and then attend a service or mass to be forgiven. God probably chuckles at those who think "all good Christians go to church on Sunday morning." It should seem asinine to even think we can go to church.
My challenge for all would be to go through the whole Bible searching out references to the people of God and I think you will find something entirely different than 21st century people are promoting. It will be fun. Try it. You might learn something. Let me know what you come up with.
This morning, millions will awake to attend a church service. Some will do so because it makes them feel good. Some will go in attempt to be made right with God. Some partied too much last night and want to be forgiven. Some feel that all Christians go to church on Sunday. I have not made an exhaustive list, but whatever the reason, most I fear do not understand the nature of church.
From the beginning of time, the church has always been marked out as a people. Abraham, the father of our faith, was called out of a dying world to be the people of God before the rest of creation. Moses was called to bring this people of God into a land of their own to be a light to the nations. God told Elijah that he had seven thousand people who had not bowed down to false gods and they would be his people. God said that even though his people would forsake him, he would preserve a remnant in the earth to be his own possession. At Jesus' death there were one hundred and twenty followers of Jesus. Fifty days after Jesus died there were over three thousand disciples of Jesus. Some time after his death, these saints fled Jerusalem because of persecution going everywhere being the church. Paul preached in Philippi and a woman named Lydia and her household decided to follow God because the Lord opened her heart. At the same time, a jailer and his family converted to following God. A church was birthed upon the salvation of these souls; a light to the nations. And the story continues on to this day. You could say we are reading Acts 2009.
Where the church meets is less an issue because the church was never a meeting, building, service, or program. As we see in the above examples, the church has always been a people called out from the world to be a light to the world.
Now we can see why it should be very silly to think that going to "church" on a Sunday should make us feel good. It should seem odd that going to "church" would make us right with God. It should seem a reproach to the living God that we can revel in sin the night before and then attend a service or mass to be forgiven. God probably chuckles at those who think "all good Christians go to church on Sunday morning." It should seem asinine to even think we can go to church.
My challenge for all would be to go through the whole Bible searching out references to the people of God and I think you will find something entirely different than 21st century people are promoting. It will be fun. Try it. You might learn something. Let me know what you come up with.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Fatherhood: "Are We Human, Or Are We Dancers?"
One of the things that took me by surprise when my son began walking was his desire to dance. When music begins to play, he nods his head as though he were nodding, "Yes"; he claps his hands fully stretching his arms all the while; and he does squats like we did in wrestling although if we did it like my son we'd be told to do them over. He loves music.
I am the type of person that wonders why humans do the things we do. As a young child, having seen no dancers yet, who put that heart within him to dance at the beautiful sound of music? Why does it please our souls to hear the chords struck?
These things come from God and God alone. He loves music. He created music. All musicians have a divine audience. Music was made by God and for God. [This is why I dislike the "secular" and "Christian" divide when it comes to music.]
God longs that we too enjoy this part of his creation. He was the first creator and all musicians follow in the footsteps of their Creator. God was the first dancer and we also follow in his footsteps and dance. My son does what God has put in his heart to do and that is to dance. Son, rock out to Human.
I am the type of person that wonders why humans do the things we do. As a young child, having seen no dancers yet, who put that heart within him to dance at the beautiful sound of music? Why does it please our souls to hear the chords struck?
These things come from God and God alone. He loves music. He created music. All musicians have a divine audience. Music was made by God and for God. [This is why I dislike the "secular" and "Christian" divide when it comes to music.]
God longs that we too enjoy this part of his creation. He was the first creator and all musicians follow in the footsteps of their Creator. God was the first dancer and we also follow in his footsteps and dance. My son does what God has put in his heart to do and that is to dance. Son, rock out to Human.
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