evangelism

Oct

2021

Faith of our fathers

Reformation Day remembrance

October 31, 2021

Doing some closet cleaning, I rediscovered a box of my father’s sermon manuscripts. Donald C. Sellnow (1928-1999) served in ordained ministry from 1954 to 1998. When I think of my parents’ faith, I can’t help humming in my head the hymn, “Faith of our Fathers.” Frederick W. Faber, who wrote “Faith of our Fathers” in 1849, was a Roman Catholic priest in England. His lyrics were penned to honor Catholic martyrs who endured persecution in the 16th century, when the Church of England was being established under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Faith of our fathers! Living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword:
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word.
Faith of our fathers! Holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

My father and mother, who were rigorous Lutherans all their lives, might object to having a Roman Catholic song in mind while remembering them. But Protestants have adopted the hymn, too, and adapted it. Faber himself had a fondness for hymns by English Protestant writers such as Charles Wesley, John Newton, and William Cowper, and he applauded the Protestant project that produced the King James Version of the Bible. When we recall the faith of those who went before us, we understand that all men and women of faith have had strengths and weaknesses. We honor their godly beliefs and consider their foibles with a forgiving spirit—the same way we hope others will regard us in our own practice of faith. Constantly seeking truth is vital. Striving to impose one’s own view of religious rectitude onto others by force is never a gospel-oriented goal.

An esteemed faith father worthy of remembrance is Martin Luther. Like other heroes of faith, Luther had his flaws. We don’t idolize him. We do give attention to the best of his hopes and thoughts and actions. October 31st commemorates the day in 1517 that Luther posted 95 theses expressing convictions about faith. These statements for debate sought to start a dialogue about what truth in Christianity means. They sparked a movement that became known as the Reformation.

I’ll share here a condensed version of a sermon my father preached in October 1973, in observance of Reformation Festival.

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We Cannot Help but Speak the Things which We have Seen and Heard

by Donald C. Sellnow

What do you associate with October 31st? For many people, October 31st is Halloween, the night for tomfoolery, tricks or treats, and other such activities. Certainly, some of these things associated with October 31st are not objectionable. They may even be good, clean fun. But they are not the main thing about October 31st, which is also Reformation Day, the day on which Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg, touching off the great Reformation of the Christian church. By God’s grace, we continue to enjoy the fruits of the Reformation today. As heirs of the Reformation, we pray the Holy Spirit may lead us to a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the blessings and responsibilities we have as people of faith. On the anniversary of the Reformation, we are reminded that we cannot help but speak about the things which we have seen and heard.

Such an attitude of faith was expressed by the apostles Peter and John. They had been jailed for proclaiming Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior in the temple courts at Jerusalem. On the next day, they were told by community leaders to shut up about this Jesus of Nazareth, or else. The leaders thought themselves the guardians of their culture; they knew that any concession to the apostles’ testimony would mean an overthrow of their entire religious system. They knew it would mean reformation, and the last thing they wanted was a reformation.

Peter and John answered the threats aimed at them with this courageous testimony: “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19,20). By the power of the Spirit, they had been led to trust in Jesus as their only Savior from sin and death. In his gospel they had found peace for their souls and strength for their lives. They had seen Jesus’ miracles and heard his teaching. They had looked and listened as Jesus lived and suffered and died, then rose from death and ascended to heaven. Through what they had seen and heard, the Spirit of God worked faith in their hearts to place all their trust in Jesus, to cling to him as their priceless treasure. And in such God-given faith, they were compelled from within to share Christ and his good news with others. They knew that is what their Savior wanted, and what he willed became their will and desire. They simply could not keep still. They could not deny the Savior who had redeemed them. They had to confess his truth and share his blessings with others—no matter what the cost. They let it be known by word and deed that they had been with Jesus.

As it was with the apostles, so it was also with Martin Luther. In pre-Reformation Europe, the vast majority of the people understood little of what the Christian faith is all about. They were steeped in superstition. Shrines displayed what claimed to be wood from the cross of Christ, bits of hay and straw from Bethlehem’s manger, wine from the wedding at Cana. These are but a few examples of supposed relics that were to be adored by the faithful. Confused doctrines, like that of purgatory, were embedded in fearful hearts. The gospel of Christ frequently was obscured by man-made rules and regulations.

Martin Luther was born into such religious conditions, and he grew up as a faithful servant of the church as it was. In his earnest searching to find certainty about salvation, he looked to the high church authorities for guidance and direction. He gave up studying to become a lawyer in order to enter a monastery, hoping there to find relief for his troubled conscience. He tried to do diligently all the works prescribed by the church. He later reflected, “I kept the rule so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his sheer monkery, it was I. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, reading, and other work.” But the more Luther worked, the more miserable he became and the more his sins tormented him. When one day his Augustinian mentor, John Staupitz, counseled him to love God more, Luther burst out, “I do not love God! I hate him!”

Luther found the love of the Lord he was missing through studying Scripture. Assigned to teach Bible interpretation at the University of Wittenberg, Luther was led into an intensive study of God’s Word. In God’s Word, Luther saw the pure and simple truth of the gospel, so long hidden and obfuscated, that a person is justified by faith alone in Christ without the deeds of the law. The answer to sin was to be found not in what you did to correct yourself but in what Christ has done perfectly and completely for you. The way of salvation is not in human righteousness, which falls far short of divine law’s requirements, but in the all-sufficient goodness of Christ. When Luther, by God’s grace, came to see and believe this central truth of justification by grace through faith, the Reformation was born.

Once Luther understood the truth, he could not help but speak about the things he had seen and heard in God’s Word. He could have saved himself a lot of trouble had he just pondered these things in his own heart. But he could not keep quiet. The love of Christ which had captured his heart compelled him to share the good news. As he continued to search the Scriptures and see God’s truth with increasing clarity, he kept on speaking out. When religious authorities, as well as kings and princes, told him to shut up and to retract everything he had written, Luther appealed to the Word of God as the highest authority. At a meeting of the leaders of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Worms, Germany (1521), Luther boldly asserted: “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”

Like the apostles, Luther was impelled by the power of the gospel to confess the gospel. He needed to share the blessings he had found with others. And share these blessings he did, through preaching and teaching, through tracts and writings, through hymns and catechisms, and through his translation of the Bible into the language of his people. Like the apostles, he also proclaimed what he had seen and heard in God’s Word by the life which he led—a life of humble faith, of thankful love, of joyful service. The life of Luther, like that of the apostles, bore unmistakable testimony to the fact that he, too, had been with Jesus.

As it was with the apostles, and as it was with Luther, dear friends, may it be so also with us. As in the apostles’ day, as in Luther’s day, truth is clouded and obscured for the many in our day. Many do not honor God or give thanks to God (Romans 1:21). “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:17). By the grace of God—and by his grace alone—the gospel of Christ has been revealed to us. We have seen the truth that sets us free—free in our consciences in the present time and free to live for all eternity. When the veil of spiritual ignorance is removed, we are guided by the Spirit. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17), a freedom that invigorates us to serve God in thankful love and seek to bring the same freedom to the souls of others.

God has given us the freeing truths of his gospel not just to be heard in our own hearts, but also to share. We don’t keep the gospel’s joy to ourselves but give good news also to others, so that their joy and ours may be full. Filled with the joy of Christ, we will talk about the Savior. We will demonstrate by our words and actions that we have been with Jesus. We will support Christian education in our congregations and study the Word diligently in our own homes. We will give toward the work of missions that strive to spread hope and truth in other communities and around the world. In the same spirit as the apostles and the spirit of the Reformation, we will not be timid or silent. Indeed, “we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). God help us all to hold fast to his truth and share it richly with others, no matter what the cost. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Sep

2021

Our Life and Protection are in Christ

We are armed against evil and go forth with God’s truth

Ephesians 6:10-20

Armor of Gustav I of Sweden, circa 1540. Image from Wikipedia.org

We have in our minds an idealized picture of the knight in shining armor. “The Book of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (T.Malory, 1485), did much to create that heroic image in our collective consciousness. The Camelot-style combat uniform was elaborate. Interlocking, overlapping rings of iron were fashioned into headpieces and bodices as the first protective layer. Over this chain mail, they wore full suits of iron and steel, fired and polished to a slick finish, complete with domed helmet and faceguard, leg and arm protectors, metal gloves and boots. They carried a heavy shield to block any blows that the armor did not deflect. They also carried offensive weapons, a lance and sword, for jousting and jabbing and slashing at attackers. Overall, a suit of armor could weigh sixty pounds or more–not including javelin, sword, and shield. It required a strong man just to wear and carry it all, let alone do battle in such armor. In such armor, according to folklore, good and chivalrous knights clashed on the battlefield with those they deemed evil opponents.

Of course, we know the legends exaggerate the goodness of the good guys and the badness of the bad guys. Real battles and warfare were (and are) always more complicated. The Crusades, for instance, were not altogether driven by Christian motives, and there were many atrocities committed. Even to the extent that they were religious wars, as one commentator put it, “The medieval crusades were a largely dreadful misdirection of religious enthusiasm [on both sides] towards painful and bloody ends” (TIME, “Ideas/History,” 10/10/2019).

Warfare on this earth is rarely (if ever) a struggle of one entirely righteous group against an entirely evil adversary. In the spiritual realm, however, there is pure goodness, which is in God. And there is ultimate evil, which rages against God and all those he has claimed as his own. As God’s people, whose life and protection are secured in Christ, we are embroiled in a struggle for our souls. But in this struggle, we are given the protection we need in Christ and his peacemaking power that is our “weapon” for engaging with those around us in this world.

The apostle Paul used the picture of battle armor to portray what we need to take our stand on the side of the Lord and to go forth in the name of the Lord. It’s a picture Paul borrowed from the prophet Isaiah, who revealed Christ our Savior as the one to wear such armor first. Isaiah described the coming Messiah as one who would “put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head,” and would “come to Zion as Redeemer” (Isaiah 59:17,20). Paul used the same imagery to show why we are like knights or warriors, why we need armor and weapons. He said, ““Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).

We need armor from God because we daily face the devil (the “slanderer”), the accuser against us. He schemes and sabotages, trying to topple us from our position with God. If our life is drawn as a battlefield, the devil is like the fearsome, brutal enemy who seeks to oust us from our saddle, knock us to the ground, and slash at us until we are dead. Our battle with the devil is a fight to the finish.

And what’s worse, there is not just one devil to deal with. They are legion (cf. Mark 5:8-9), a horde of evil forces arrayed against us. “The dark spirits at work in this world are bigger and stronger than we usually think” (Christianity Today, October 30, 2018).

As Paul reminds us, “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

What Scripture describes is an entire army, organized for onslaught against us. They are not mere flesh and blood. They are an army of angels who fell from grace but remain potent in power, using that power now to prey upon our souls. There have been plenty of human agents that have committed great evils in this world, but underneath the flow of human events there is a still more sinister influence. Mick Jagger wasn’t wrong when he introduced the devil as the one who “rode a tank, held a general’s rank, when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank,” and has been in the background of other horrors in history. As the Rolling Stones sang, he’s “been around for a long, long time, stole many a man’s soul and faith” (“Sympathy for the Devil,” 1968). Behind so many evils is “the old satanic foe who has sworn to work us woe.” As Martin Luther reminds us, “On earth, he has no equal” (“A Mighty Fortress,” 16th century).

That’s why we need to “take up the whole armor of God,” so that we may be able to stand firm on “that evil day” when temptations attack us (Ephesians 6:13). We are weaker than our spiritual enemies, but the Lord our God is stronger by far. One little word can triumph over the devil and knock him backward. The word that the demons hate most is “Jesus”–the name that means “the Lord saves.” They hate the word “Christ,” the title of God’s Anointed One, knowing they are the rejected ones, cast out of God’s presence. Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to this earth “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Because of Christ, there is no longer any condemnation for us; we are protected by Jesus’ name (Romans 8:1). Our accuser, the one who “accuses us day and night before God” has been “thrown down.” We have “conquered him by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:10,11).

Let’s take a moment to consider each of the items of the armor we are given by God.

First, “fasten the belt of truth around your waist” (Ephesians 6:14). Truth holds our whole self together. Knowing what God says–knowing the reality of Christ’s grace, knowing that eternal truth–is what keeps us from being vulnerable to the devil’s lies.

Next, “put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14). The breastplate of a suit of armor protects the vital organs. It covers the heart. The righteousness of Christ does exactly that for us. Christ’s righteousness covers our hearts, cleanses our hearts (cf. Acts 15:9), makes our hearts new and alive (cf. Ezekiel 36:26), keeps our hearts safe and at peace with God (cf. Philippians 4:7).

Also, “take the shield of faith” and “the helmet of salvation.” Holding onto the precious gift of faith, we can “quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16,17). Temptations seek to puncture our hopes and confidence. But the Spirit who inspires faith in us strengthens our resolve. And when various influences try to twist our minds away from God, the “helmet” that guards our thinking is God’s promise that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come … will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).

What will it look like when opposition to God’s goodness is threatening us? One commentator put it this way: “If the devil cannot overthrow our faith with one bold lie, he will try to wear it away, to condition us to compromise. … If he cannot seduce us into gross sin, he will try to lead us into Pharisaism” (I.Habeck, Ephesians, 1985, p. 128). Recall Satan’s method back at the beginning. He pressured Eve, while Adam was standing by, asking them, “Did God really say? Did he really give you such a command?” (cf. Genesis 3:1). And then it was, “God is holding out on you. He is trying to keep you from knowing what he knows” (cf. Genesis 3:4-5). Now that Christ has come to redeem us from our fall into sin, as often as not the temptation is, “Did God really give you his promise? Did he really say that you–puny and worthless you–are worthy of his love? Did he really say that you–sinning in all the ways that you do–are forgiven of every sin?” The devil’s big lie seeks to trap us in our guilt and shame and pull us down in despair.

Or the devil, the father of lies, master of twisting words and meanings, connives to make us just as dishonest as he is. We smile and wave and say hello to our neighbors, while inwardly harboring anger or jealousy. We aren’t really interested in our neighbors or their well-being, because we’re too wrapped up in our own concerns.

Or we are tempted to share in the devil’s arrogance, to think our way is the right way and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. We become “holier than thou” in our attitude towards others. We look down on others. We look at people from a worldly and competitive point of view, rather than viewing every fellow human being from the perspective of Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). The influence of warped and devilish thinking on our lives isn’t only when we commit acts of violence or speak words of hatred. It also shows itself in indifference, in judgmentalism, in lack of concern and lack of action on others’ behalf.

You see how difficult our struggle is “against the spiritual forces of evil” that are in the air all around us (Ephesians 6:12). The devils’ ways are often insidious and subtle. We think we are being ok, upright and upstanding, making something of ourselves in this world. What we actually are doing all too often is becoming caught up in ourselves, concerned mainly about making ourselves well off, asserting our own agendas rather than thinking of others’ needs. All the while, Christ is calling us to follow his path and “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than [ourselves]” … and look not to our own “interests but to the interest of others” (Philippians 2:3,4).

When our hearts are turned in the direction of our neighbors and our world, we find that Christ gives us also the weapons we need to go forward in our spiritual lives and advance his kingdom. We have “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). With the Word of God we can cut down to size all opposing arguments and philosophies that run counter to the way of hope in Christ. Keep that in mind as the purpose of the Spirit’s sword. God’s word is not something to attack people with; our mission is not to beat down any person’s soul. The Word of God is something we use to cut through falseness and establish the truth, always for the good of others’ souls.

Image from Winston-Salem Journal 4-1-17

As we go forth in Christ’s name, as shoes for our feet, we wear “whatever will make us ready to proclaim the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). We are ready to share the good news of Jesus, ready to step forward and rescue others from spiritual danger, ready to tell the truths that bring people out of darkness into the light. Wearing the full protection of the armor of God, we are ready to run, to do good, to be agents of mercy and bringers of peace.

Do you remember the battle between David and Goliath? When David was going to face that gigantic, menacing opponent, the army of Israel tried to put him in all their weighty battle armor. It was too heavy; David could not move in it. He rejected that human armor and went to face Goliath armed with just stones and a slingshot and the spiritual armor of God. David’s best defense was the shield of faith that he held as a believer in the Lord. The armor the Lord provides us is not a heavy burden; it does not bog us down. Remember what Jesus said of carrying him with us in our lives: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). When we wear the armor of Christ, our lives are livelier, our attitudes are lifted higher, our spirits run further and freer than we ever could when operating in worldly mode.

We become ambassadors of Christ in this world. When Paul wrote these words of encouragement for us (Ephesians 6:10-20), he was in chains, imprisoned, because his message was perceived as a threat by the powers that existed in the empire at his time. Yet his spirit soared in providing encouragement to the church then and to all Christians ever since. We are not in chains in our society today. We have tremendous freedom to speak our minds and speak the truth. So let’s put on our armor, the righteousness of Christ, and gear up to go out in our communities with faith and love to share.

“We do not wage war according to human standards” (2 Corinthians 10:2). The weapons we use are not the weapons of the world. Our weapons create peace and hope and life, not violence and despair and death. We speak with the gospel of Jesus. We wear the righteousness of God. Faith from the Spirit is our shield.

And as we go forth in Christ’s name, we also pray in his name. Another powerful weapon God gives us is prayer. The apostles urged us (cf. Ephesians 6:18-20) to pray in the Spirit at all times in every sort of petition to God concerning our spiritual task in this world. So in that spirit, let’s close these thoughts with a prayer:

Lord our God, we are strong because of your strength and power. We have life because of your life and grace. Arm us with your righteousness so that we are ready for each day’s battles. Protect us with your truth, with Spirit-given faith, and with your holy words. Make us ever alert to every opportunity to bring peace to others with your good news. Make each of us–and everyone who is active in ministry and witnessing–bold in our witness, so that the mystery of the gospel may be made known to more and more people with clarity and confidence. In Jesus, Amen.

Mar

2021

Legalism obscures the gospel

Last week, I came across an article in which one of our country’s congressmen was interviewed about his convictions–both political and spiritual. I found it interesting to hear a lawmaker’s view that the church, as he had experienced it, was far too much about law. (He since has affiliated with a less rigid congregation.) He described the form of religious upbringing he had as “really damaging … a very damaging religion.” He elaborated on what he had experienced: “The best way to put it is your salvation is by faith alone unless you do something wrong–and then you were never saved in the first place. And by the way, we have these really strict rules that you have to follow that nobody can follow, but everybody at the church is going to act like they are and you’re the only one that isn’t.” That sort of legalism, the lawmaker said, “took the joy out of Christianity.” He says he now understands that “Christ spent his time hanging out with sinners, not great people–and not because they were sinners but because that’s just where his compassion was.” He believes it is appropriate to “admonish the Church for the real damage it has done to Christianity” (A.Kinzinger, quoted in “The Man Who Refused to Bow,” by P.Wehner).

The descriptions sounded all too familiar. An excessive legalism has been an issue within Christianity from the days of the church’s beginnings. Read about the controversy in the early church over circumcision (Acts 15) or Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and you’ll see that to be true.

During my ministry years, I was asked to research and report on “legalism among us” to a district church conference. There was ample awareness that the problem persisted in our midst. The problem always exists, so it is continually appropriate to share thoughts on this topic. I’ll offer here a brief excerpt from the essay I presented to that church conference in the springtime twenty-some years ago.

Legalism Among Us

by David Sellnow
(excerpted from essay presented in April, 1995)

Not everyone agrees on just what can be called “legalism.” One brother whom I asked narrowed the thought primarily to that of work-righteousness: “Legalism is an attitude of law that feels I can be saved by it.” But most whom I consulted saw legalistic implications being more far-reaching. They offered expanded definitions:

“We become entangled in legalism when we try to take God’s place in establishing divine laws about what is right and what is wrong.”
“Placing the Christian for all practical purposes again under the law–this is legalism.”
“Letting the law predominate in our ministry rather than the gospel = being legalistic instead of evangelical.”
“Legalism is a confusion of law and gospel in which the law is used to accomplish the purposes of the gospel or the gospel is made into a law.”

The Webster’s dictionary that sits on my desk lists two meanings for legalism. The second one is the special theological one: “The doctrine of salvation by good works.” The first listed meaning is the common one that most comes to mind, however, including in reference to religion: “Strict, often too strict and literal, adherence to law or to a code.” I believe that meaning fits well what most of us mean by legalism most of the time. Where does this kind of legalism show itself among us in the church?

One arena is the midst of doctrinal controversies, where the promotion of one dogmatic position over another takes precedence over Scripture. Some will approach Scripture with an opinion or position of their own and try to make proof texts say what they want them to say by gymnastic exegesis. Others will rely on the tradition of what the church has long held and practiced without doing thorough study. Neither approach starts with the gospel plan of God in mind and works forward from there. Both ways start with a law or principle decided upon–either by tradition or by rejection of tradition–and from there try to figure out how the gospel fits with it.

Image credit: Bible Study Tools – https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-is-legalism.html

Traditionalism, in particular, all too easily lapses into legalism. Overly zealous traditionalism will reject something because it isn’t what we’re used to. We fix guilt to practices that God’s law neither commands nor forbids. Religious leaders insist on practices which Scripture leaves to our Christian freedom. The freedom of the gospel is undermined by intolerant clergy, who suggest there is something inherently wrong with an activity even though God’s Word has not spoken in the matter. The church becomes characterized by loveless criticism of each other, pressure for conformity to a certain pattern, rushing to judgment, nitpicking, and condemning every deviation from the usual ways.

The practice of discipline in the church is another area where legalism tends to take hold. I knew of a congregation that had a written policy saying inactive members would be sent a series of four letters, according to a specific timetable. If the member did not respond and become active accordingly, after the fourth letter excommunication was automatic. At an elders’ board meeting at a congregation where I interned, the head elder suggested a similar strategy in that church. Thankfully, the senior pastor blocked that proposal with reminders of our gospel mission. Nevertheless, church discipline overall remains a danger zone for legalistic tendencies. This is true both in the local congregation and in discipline of congregations and pastors as exercised by church body officials. What is our mood, our spirit? Is it, “Throw the rascals out!” and “Get rid of the dead wood”? Or is our goal to snatch others from the fire and have mercy on those who are wavering (Jude 23)? May we do everything we can to ensure that love stemming from the gospel characterizes all our actions and no unnecessary offense is caused.

How we view other Christians and interact with them also becomes a casualty of legalistic tendencies. We fail to recognize the fellowship that exists between us when we fixate on our differences. In his commentary on Galatians (1957), J.P Koehler offered a thought in regard to Galatians 2:19 (“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God”). Koehler wrote: “Formerly, sin was the element of my life when I tried to keep the law. Now, in the place of sin, God and his will are the goal and the guiding principle of my life.” The contrast is between living life to avoid sin (as under the law) versus living life to enjoy the blessings of God, basking in the joy of the gospel. Applying that thought to the issue of Christian fellowship, do we primarily aim to keep the unworthy and the unorthodox away, or do we mainly seek a positive, joyful expression of appreciation for the unity in Christ that we share? Taken to the extreme, we may act as though even to breathe in the direction of those outside our own denomination is sinful, and adopt a separatistic attitude which forbids all contact with those who are not of our own specific church. Is it not true that Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40)? A genuinely evangelical (gospel-driven) attitude appreciates faith in Christ wherever it is found.

As witnesses of Christ who are called to proclaim the good news in Christ, we will work to keep the gospel central and paramount in all our thinking, saying and doing… and be patient and evangelical with each other when differences occur. A law-oriented outlook will keep trying to rear up and take control of us in one direction or another, in our individual Christian lives, in our parishes, in church bodies. To maintain an awareness of how and where the law seeks to reclaim us is vital to our ongoing spiritual health. Any form of religious life not motivated by the gospel is an outgrowth of the law. May God be with us so that more and more, all our words and practices and efforts are readily apparent as products of the gospel, aimed at bringing hope and salvation–not distrust and fear.

Oct

2020

When you realize everything you were was wrong

Becoming aware that mercy triumphs over judgment

by David Sellnow

The evangelist Luke, chronicler of the Acts of the Apostles, was a writer who sought to give “an orderly account” of events (cf. Luke 1:3). Luke’s reporting concerning the conversion of Saul (also known as Paul) sticks to the facts of what happened. Saul had been “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1). He sought permission from the highest religious authorities to go to Syria to round up followers of “the Way” — believers in Jesus as the Christ. Saul wanted to take them into custody and bring them back to Jerusalem as religious criminals. The Lord had other plans. He blinded Saul with light from heaven and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Those traveling with Saul “led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:8-9). In Damascus, Saul was brought into the Christian community and baptized, and “began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God’” (Acts 9:20).

Today, we’re used to journalists asking, “How did you feel?” when they interview persons after some life-changing experience. Luke didn’t pause to provide insights into Saul’s emotional state. We can well imagine the shock of it, though — suddenly becoming aware that everything he thought and everything he’d done had been aimed in the wrong direction. He had felt he was serving God by the rigid religious principles he pursued. But his insistence on his own rightness had prevented him from seeing what a merciful God really had in mind. In the encounter on the Damascus road, Jesus had said to Saul, “It hurts you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). Like a work animal kicking back against a master prodding it forward, Saul was resisting the message of grace that God was calling him and all people to believe. Rather than striving to squelch and suppress those who had come to see Jesus as Christ, the Messiah, Saul should have been joining “the Way” and working with them. And by God’s grace, that’s exactly what he then did. As the Apostle Paul, he later expressed his amazement that even though he had been “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence,” yet he received mercy because he “had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” He was awed by the grace of God that overflowed to him “with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13).

The Epistle lesson for this Sunday (the 18th Sunday after Pentecost) provides another window into how Paul felt about his conversion from self-righteous Pharisee to someone trusting in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote:

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith (Philippians 3:4b-9).

In the church today, the tendency easily resurfaces to become adamant against “sinners” and “heretics,” the way Paul was prior to his face-to-face encounter with Jesus. Being convinced of one’s rightness and propriety can lead to overzealous efforts to keep the church “pure,” purged of those who aren’t the “right sort” of persons. When that thinking sets in, the fact that no one is the “right sort” of person has been forgotten. The truth is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and all are to be extended the mercy in Jesus’ name without distinctions or prejudices. The purpose of the church is not to police people’s opinions and condemn those who don’t comply with existing traditions. In fact, the Lord is unhappy with those who try to impose their own expectations and restrictions on others. “For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). Love and mercy and welcome are to be shown to “a poor person in dirty clothes” who comes into a church assembly no differently than if a rich person “with gold rings and fine clothes” walked through the door (James 2:2). God is defined by love and mercy toward all persons more so than by laws and policies and dress codes and rules.

If you catch yourself thinking that your religious convictions are elevated above others, or that there are certain types of persons you don’t want in your church with you, be careful. You may be kicking against the Lord, insisting on maintaining a form of spiritual inertia rather than moving forward in mercy where the Lord calls you to go. What you have thought may need to be discarded as rubbish, compared to “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord” (Philippians 3:8), and the compelling mission of extending mercy to all others in his name.

—-

Jul

2020

We are his witnesses

by David Sellnow

A message referencing readings for the 7^th Sunday after Pentecost: Isaiah 44:6-8, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30

“Do you promise that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” We would expect to be asked a question like that in a courtroom, if we were asked to give testimony. That’s probably what we picture as what it means to be a witness. We think of it as something formal, something done in an official setting. I wonder if that image of what it means to be a “witness” confuses our understanding of what Jesus meant when he said, “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

I knew a church that had an evangelism committee that hadn’t yet done any evangelizing. The congregation knew they had a mission to tell God’s good news to others. So, they established an evangelism committee. That committee began meeting and studying about communicating the gospel. They continued in that study for two years and had not yet made any visits to anyone. The members of the committee were dutifully concerned that they would do everything right, say everything right. But their fear of speaking something inaccurate kept them from fulfilling their intention of giving witness to the Christian message. Do we maybe think that we must have specialized training before we can serve as witnesses?

I wonder also if we consider what we do inside the church as the primary witness of the church. Have we been depending too much on the church itself (as an institution) to be the witness, rather than we ourselves, the people of the church, as the witnesses? We’ve probably worried that the current health emergency (COVID-19) will reduce the church’s witness. We look at our church buildings, which now must limit the number of persons in attendance, as the main place of witnessing. But at the time when God spoke through Isaiah and said, “You are my witnesses” (Isaiah 44:8), there were no churches, no synagogues. For the half of history when the nation of Israel was called upon to be “a light to the nations,” and extend God’s salvation “to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6), they did not do so through local congregations. Solomon’s temple had been built as the singular place of worship. It was not until more than a century after Isaiah, after Solomon’s temple was destroyed by the Babylonians (six centuries before Christ), that the Jewish people began to establish synagogues as places for religious instruction. Israel was God’s witness in the world long before they had local synagogues to spearhead that effort.

So also, when Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8), there were at that time no Christian church buildings. Christians in the first decades after Jesus’ ascension met together in people’s homes, in public spaces, in whatever meeting place they could find. The people themselves were a driving force of the spread of Christianity in those early days, along with the activity of the apostles. They were his witnesses. Even when believers in Jesus were persecuted and scattered, they continued to live their faith and speak about Christ wherever they went (cf. Acts 8:1-4).

Maybe the present difficulty for churches gathering inside our own buildings will remind us of the essential role each of us has in our everyday contacts outside with people–wherever and however those contacts can occur within a socially distanced environment. In Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9), we hear how God sows his word liberally everywhere–almost seeming like someone who is wasting his seed because so much falls in places where it doesn’t take root. But it isn’t a waste. It’s how God’s word works. It finds its way into hearts according to God’s timing, not ours, according to his will, not ours. As witnesses of God’s truth, we sow seed in that way. We spread our witness all around us, all the time, every day, wherever we are, in whatever we do or say. Being a witness is, in many ways, about simply exuding who we are as God’s people. Our identity as God’s people will be something others will notice.

Think of the way our daily existence was described in Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:12-16): “So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh … If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

Paul went on (Romans 8:18-25) to describe the constant hope in which we live as children of God, hope for the future, hope for redemption, enduring hope even in the face of whatever suffering we may suffer now. That kind of hope, that confidence that God is good and always cares for his people–that’s what we witness to others by the ongoing attitude we embody and demonstrate.

But what if the attitude evident in people who say they are Christians is not consistently illustrating God’s redeeming grace? About a dozen years ago, Barna Group president David Kinnaman, partnered with Gabe Lyons, another leader in looking at trends concerning Christianity and culture. They engaged in three years of research across the United States. They surveyed and interviewed thousands of young adults (ages 16-29) outside of the church, asking about their perceptions of Christians and Christianity from an outsider’s point of view. In the book detailing what they learned (Baker Books, 2007), Kinnamon and Lyons said: “Christianity has an image problem. … Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders. … [Outsiders] reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians.” Kinnaman and Lyons titled the book unChristian because that “reflects outsiders’ most common reaction to the faith: they think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind” (p. 11,15). One of the biggest perceived problems is that Christians are not, for the most part, loving people. According to the research, “nearly nine out of ten outsiders (87 percent) said that the term judgmental accurately describes present-day Christianity.” They elaborated: “To be judgmental is to point out something that is wrong in someone else’s life, making the person feel put down, excluded, and marginalized. … Being judgmental is fueled by self-righteousness, the misguided inner motivation to make our own life look better by comparing it to the lives of others” (p. 182). One of the young people interviewed summed it up this way: “Christians talk about love, but it doesn’t feel like love. I get the sense they believe they are better than me” (p. 192).

That’s a stinging indictment, and maybe we feel that’s unfair. But the impression that Christians are more judgmental than they are loving was something even young people within the church said was true. According to the research, more than half (53 percent) of 16 to 29 year-old Christians also agreed that “the label judgmental accurately fits present-day Christianity” (p. 183). And in the years since unChristian was published, those trends have continued. Between 2009 and 2019, the percentage of young adults (those in their 20s and 30s) who identify as Christians declined by 16% in America, a greater drop-off than any other age group, according to findings by the Pew Research Center.

How is it that the church’s witness is giving off such a negative impression and turning away even many of our own young people? Maybe churches too often have forgotten what Jesus taught in the parable of weeds among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). In an overzealous desire to keep the church pure of any “weeds,” churchy people point out anything they see as unrighteous in anyone else and try to rid the Lord’s harvest field of any plant that isn’t perfect. Jesus told us not to do that. “No,” he said, “for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest” (Matthew 13:29,30). It will be God’s responsibility at the final judgment to separate “weeds” from “wheat,” those who are faithless from those who have trusted in him. Exercising final judgment over another human soul is not our responsibility; it is in God’s hands. Our task is to nurture and tend to every person as someone who may grow to be one of God’s children.

Our witnessing isn’t about us. It’s not about how tidy and well-groomed we can keep our little corner of the whole earthly garden where God is seeking to grow believers. It’s about extending God’s goodness to all people. It’s about God’s Spirit inspiring a spirit of mercy in us, not a judgmental spirit. As Jesus’ brother James taught us: “You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’” understanding that “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:8,13). Being witnesses of the good news of our God means letting his gospel grow unimpeded, without letting ourselves and our judgmentalism get in the way.

There’s another way that we stumble over ourselves and get in our own way as witnesses. When we hear Jesus say, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16) – what do we think of as the “good deeds” that people are to see in us? Do we think people are watching to see how often our cars are in the church parking lot? Do we think people are listening to make sure no foul language ever slips out of our mouths?

It’s like the church committee I mentioned before that thought they had to prepare a flawless script if they were going to do witnessing. It’s not about whether we say everything perfectly. In our own less-than-perfect ways, we just keep pointing to the one who is perfect for us. It’s not that we know all the answers. We show others the one who holds us in his mercy even when we struggle to answer life’s hardest questions. The same principle holds when it comes to our behavior as God’s witnesses in this world. It’s not about showing our neighbors how righteous we are. It’s not about how much we pray in public places. You may recall that Jesus said, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others” (Matthew 6:5). Jesus called out people who tried to look perfect in public as “whitewashed tombs — which on the outside look beautiful” but inside they are full of deadness and hypocrisy (Matthew 23:27-28). That’s not the sort of witness Jesus calls for.

What did Jesus say? “Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). The witness we give to the world of who God is and what God is like is shown by the love we show to others. How much grace is in our souls, evident in the way we treat every person we meet? After all, if we could speak as perfectly as angels, but do not have love, we are like banging gongs or clanging cymbals (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1). The world doesn’t need self-congratulatory noise from Christian people. The world needs our consistent, faithful, loving witness. The world needs embodied, lived, expressed testimony of God’s grace in action through us. “God is love” (John 4:16). Living in love thus is the primary ingredient in our witness. By our love we give witness to a Father who loves the whole world so much that he gave us his Son. By our love, we give witness to Christ, who gave up his own life, “the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Peter 3:18). By our love we give witness to the Spirit of God, whose fruit–the things the Spirit produces–are “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23).

Isaiah’s prophecy announced the truth centuries ago. There is no other god besides “the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer” (Isaiah 44:6). There is no other rock, no other solid ground to stand on, no other source of love so strong and so deep. And the Lord, the King, our Redeemer says to us, “You are my witnesses” (Isaiah 44:8). May we, as his witnesses, live up to what we sing in a familiar song:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

– Father Peter Scholtes, “We Are One in the Spirit” (1966)

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Feb

2020

We Aim to Proclaim

“We Aim to Proclaim” was one of the original Electric Gospel devotions distributed by email in the late 1990s. It was picked up and published in the June 1999 edition of The Northwestern Lutheran. Since the page on the new website about The Electric Gospel’s origins and purpose mentions a devotion about Tinky Winky, I thought I might share a version of that message with you here, twenty years down the road.

We Aim to Proclaim

by David Sellnow

In early 1999, the ministry of Rev. Jerry Falwell made news by protesting the program,Teletubbies. A Falwell ministry publication, National Liberty Journal, contained an article claiming that Tinky Winky (one of the Teletubbies) may be a subliminal gay role model because

he’s purple;
his antenna is shaped like a triangle;
he carries a purse.

Falwell’s crusade against the Tinky Winky (who actually carried a “magic bag”) generated much controversy. I had to agree with a Lubbock radio listener. When the controversy was being discussed on local radio, one mom commented: “Anybody who would get that from watching Teletubbies is too old to be watching the show!” Elsewhere, Michael Linnemann, coordinator of Baltimore’s Gay and Lesbian Community Center, said, “It’s news to the gay community. We didn’t realize we had a doll. Is Barney gay too, because he’s purple?” (The Baltimore Sun, February 11, 1999).

I’m not writing about this because I feel it is my calling to be a defender of purple (or other-colored) children’s TV characters. To me, it’s simply another example of how too many religious leaders focus their efforts in the wrong direction. They speak against things more than they speak for the truth. They seek to enforce law more than they understand or offer gospel.

Christianity is not essentially about protesting against certain people or things. It is about proclaiming peace. What did Jesus say? “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). Jesus did not command us to go out and protest whatever we might think is wrong with our neighbors. Instead, he calls us to “conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge” (1 Peter 2:12). Our calling is to show forth the goodness and truth of God by our lives and by our witness. That’s a positive message of hope, not an exercise in negative finger-pointing. Our main mission is to proclaim Christ, who brings grace and healing to this world.

By the way, I am writing this during the season of Lent. The altar in our church is covered in purple. It’s a color that associated with royalty, as well as with the bruises and suffering of our Lord Jesus on our behalf. Thus, for us, it’s a penitential color; we recognize our need for redemption. Christ’s ordeal of suffering, known as The Passion, was endured for every one of us.

So when one of the kids brings a Teletubby doll to church, we don’t cast the doll—or the child—out.

Jan

2020

Let your light shine

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on January 28, 2018.

Shining like the brightness of the heavens

by Sheryl Persaud

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Have you ever been in a church with stained glass windows on a sunny day? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Light passes through the windows in colorful, detailed patterns. And often, stained glass windows are not merely patterns of color, but persons and events from the Bible are illustrated in the glass. The windows shine in ways that tell stories of faith.

Think about the time and preparation it takes to make a stained glass window. First, you will need to decide what design you want to make. Then you’d choose each color and shape carefully in order to make that design. At first, it is just a mess of broken glass, but when you arrange the pieces together into the story or symbol you wish to convey, you have a beautiful masterpiece.

As God’s people, we are like stained glass windows. God sees the beautiful plan and design he has for us. We cannot see this plan because sometimes our life is like a big, messy pile of broken glass. We may also feel the pains of broken glass. There may be so many trials we are facing in our lives that we don’t think anything good can come from it. However, God looks at each broken piece and he sees art. He sees how each broken piece will fit together perfectly. He needs us to be patient, in the same way an artist exercises patience as he is creating his art. We wait to see and understand God’s master plan for us. At times we may want to give up, but we hang on in trust that our Savior is working in our best interest.

When a stained glass window finally goes up and the sunlight shines through, all you can do is step back, admire it, and praise the person who created it. We want God’s Word to shine through us and those we come into contact with. We are able to shine a light to others because Christ has put a light into us first. He did this through his death on the cross, that we may become shining pillars reflecting his love and mercy, bright enough for all to see. How awesome it would be to show others the wonders of our awesome creator! We become a fulfillment of what God foretold: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

Just as sunlight shines through and illuminates figures in stained glass windows, we glow beautifully when God’s Word shines through us.

Prayer: Dear God, give us the courage to put our full trust in your plans for us. Help us to be illuminated by your light, reflecting Christ’s love and grace in all we say and do. Amen.

Jan

2020

The priesthood of all believers

Originally shared on the Electric Gospel on September 24, 2017. This message was written as a contribution for a devotional booklet published in the 500th anniversary year of the Lutheran Reformation.

***************

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

All God’s People Are Priests

by David Sellnow

Harold stepped into the pulpit and addressed the congregation.

“I am not a pastor,” Harold said. “I never studied at a seminary. I’ve raised cotton, and now I work for an association of cotton growers. I am not a professional preacher or public speaker. I don’t generally get up in front of other people and give talks. So I’m rather nervous about standing up here this morning. In fact, if I weren’t behind this pulpit, you could see my knees knocking!”

That was how Harold began his message on a Sunday when the pastor was away. The church was a small congregation, far from any others of its synod. When the pastor was traveling to a national meeting or other obligations, church council members would lead Sunday services. Harold’s message on this day focused on words from the apostle Peter: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

“All God’s people are priests,” Harold continued. “Priests have the right to approach God directly; we are welcome in God’s presence. Through Jesus Christ we all ‘have access to the Father by one Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:18). When we were baptized, we became part of the priesthood of all believers in Jesus. That gives us the privilege of approaching God ‘with freedom and confidence’ (Ephesians 3:12), and also the privilege to proclaim Christ to the world. We declare the praises of the Lord who brought us out of darkness and into the light, who rescued us from death and gave us life. We all share in that gospel mission.”

The Reformation reaffirmed the truth that all God’s people are equal members of God’s kingdom, a universal priesthood of those who pray and proclaim in the name of Jesus. Martin Luther wrote, “If a group of pious Christians settled in a wilderness and had among them no priest consecrated by a bishop, and if they were to agree to choose one from their own midst to baptize, give communion, announce forgiveness and preach, such a man would be as truly a priest as he would be if all bishops and popes had consecrated him. This is why anyone may baptize and give absolution in case of necessity, which would be impossible if we were not all priests.”

Harold fulfilled such a role in his congregation in the pastor’s absence. Each of God’s people fulfills a more general role of worship and witness in everyday life. God’s Spirit is with all of his people—all of his priests—as we come to him in prayer and go for him to others, with news of his grace.

Prayer: Jesus our Lord, we praise you for what you have done for us. Embolden all of us as your people—a royal priesthood—to come to you for blessing and to speak for you, extending your blessing to others. Amen.

Dec

2019

His healing grace

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on September 10, 2016.

His Healing Grace

by Molly Peavy

A country of abuse, neglect, and unhealed hurts. It didn’t take long for this aspect of current Chinese culture to imprint itself in our minds. Dogs and cats being beaten outside of our apartment, women in the market with hand-shaped bruises around their necks, our screaming neighbors … these memories cannot be quickly forgotten. Where once pride and honor were of highest priority, men beat wives and children and sons assault their mothers while fathers look on with amused expressions.

These sad images are all symptoms of a sickness, the sickness of souls … a sickness which pervades cultures everywhere on earth. Without faith, we are all born enemies of God, sinners sinking deeper into our condition. How could we expect love and compassion to rule when our Savior rules in so few hearts? Where will people learn of grace? Where will generosity or compassion be experienced? Not in Shanghai’s streets, crowded with the ignored unfortunate, not on the subway where seats are stolen from weary elders with heavy groceries, not in the neighborhoods where confused animals are hurt for amusement.

We felt horror and revulsion, much like Jonah must have felt with the Ninevites. But we then realized that this could easily be us were we without the knowledge of the Lord’s loving forgiveness. The urgent need for his word became obvious. Hope for the downtrodden, forgiveness for the oppressors, reprieve for the wounded of body and spirit—our Lord has infinite riches to offer morally bankrupt human cultures. We were able to bring Christ’s healing word to our students and staff, and reprieve to an abused kitten, but there is still so much work to be done through prayer, offerings, and gifts of time and self. Let us all approach our mission in this world—wherever we may be—with the message of God’s healing love and grace.

Molly wrote this piece while she and her husband Doug were serving in Shanghai, China.

Dec

2019

Working together to further the church’s mission

by Dillon Solomon

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on March 24, 2017, this letter to a congregation addresses issues that can be seen in many Christian churches.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ’s church,

I hope this letter finds each and every one of you well! I thank God that we have the opportunity to be counted among the Lord’s believers and for all the blessings he has given us as a congregation.

Through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, we have been made alive. Through that very same life, death, and resurrection we have been welcomed into the family of God and have been made part of the body of Christ himself. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ … Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Ephesians 2:13,19). With this divine citizenship comes a holy unity, a bond that pleases God. In fact, he urges through the apostle Paul, “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” (Ephesians 4:2-4). We are called by the same gospel message to faith in the one true God.

Along with this spiritual unity, God desires unity within our physical church. We can take these same passages and apply them to our work as a congregation. We strive to be patient with one another in dissenting opinions and bear with each other in love when we face difficult decisions. Keeping this fact in mind will go a long way towards unity: each and every member of the congregation looking out for the best interests of the congregation and God’s universal church as whole. Every single member is integral to the success of the congregation, as every single member is a part of the body of Christ.

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:4-8).

Only through unity can we accomplish—to the best of our abilities—the mission God has placed before us. We acknowledge that there will never be a truly perfect unity on this side of heaven. In spite of that, it is good to discuss things with one another, and even argue a little bit, regarding the best interests of the church, so that you can grow as a congregation. So I encourage you to keep working together towards a strong fellowship in Christ—a fellowship that allows for divergent opinions to converge into one mind, within the one body of Christ, as you work towards furthering Christ’s church.

Finally, brothers and sisters in Christ, I urge you not to become apathetic. We have a tremendous blessing from God by having easy access to his word. It can be easy to sit back and go through the motions of being a Christian or even to worry about our own internal struggles as a congregation. However, God speaks to us through the apostle James, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). Our works as are the beating pulse of our faith; they are the indication of living faith. It’s hard for us to put a sign of invitation out in front of our church if no one can feel the pulse of our evangelism. Jesus himself told us, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). But our reason for doing this shouldn’t be simply, “God commands it.” Instead, take a moment to think about what Jesus has done for you, all of the sins he has taken away, and how, now, you have a place reserved for you in the eternal bliss of heaven. Is that not an incredible feeling? How can we not want to share that feeling with others? And so I urge you, as redeemed children of God, take this feeling of joy and use it. Use it to embolden our evangelism efforts. Use it to tell that friend or coworker the simple, yet powerful, message of the gospel. Because sometimes that’s all it takes: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

Reformation Day remembrance

We are armed against evil and go forth with God’s truth

Legalism Among Us

Becoming aware that mercy triumphs over judgment

We Aim to Proclaim

Shining like the brightness of the heavens

All God’s People Are Priests

His Healing Grace

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