Fellowship

*Edited October 9, 2015.*

When you think of the word “fellowship,” what comes to mind?  Do you think of church events, or relationship with one another?  Fellowship is about sincere relationship with one another.  Fellowship is not about church picnics, potlucks, or conducting small talk in the “fellowship hall” before and after church while snacking on some doughnuts and sipping on orange juice.  These can be used for fellowship, but it goes beyond that.  Fellowship is about real people — real Christians — meeting each other’s real needs and coming together to fulfil the Church mission.  Our key passage to understand Christian fellowship is Acts 2:42-47:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And we came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all people.  And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Let’s get a little context here (context is everything!).  On the day of Pentecost, St. Peter stood up and proclaimed in the presence of thousands of people that God had risen Jesus Christ from the dead, the same Jesus that they had demanded to be crucified under Pontius Pilate.  On that day, 3,000+ people repented of their sins, and this was the beginning of the first church.  These 3,000 people are who “they” are in the above passage.  St. Luke, the author of Acts, writes that they had devoted themselves to fellowship.  I will be identifying what fellowship is in a moment, but let’s first identify what the mission of the church is.

Jesus gave us the Great Commission, commanding the apostles and all Christians to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).  That is our duty as Christians.  People often complain that we are “pushing” Christianity onto them.  The truth is, they don’t feel forced at all; they just don’t want to hear what we have to say because it opposes their way of living, hence what Jesus says in John 7:7, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it that its works are evil.”  The truth is that we’re simply doing what we were commissioned to do over five millennia ago; not sharing the new of Jesus Christ and teaching what He has commanded us to do is doing the opposite of what He has commissioned every one of us to do.  Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).  This language He used with Peter and Andrew was significant because they were fishermen.  But what did He mean by this?  I understand this to be a metaphor of the Christian duty.  Jesus commanded and taught the apostles to teach people everything they need to know about Him and the will of His Father, our God.  Therefore,  it is our duty to cast out the bait of the Good News of Jesus Christ and pull people in.  So really, unbelievers aren’t being “pushed” upon by our beliefs, for the action of pushing forces you away.  Rather, we are attempting to reel them in — attempting to pull them in, which is to draw someone near.  Like a very large fish on the hook (bloated with arrogance), they fight really hard to escape from the reality of Jesus Christ.

Now, what is true fellowship?  The early Christian Church is often viewed as the highpoint of Christianity, and it’s because of the intense devotion to fellowship they had — devotion to one another.  Going back to Acts, it says that they were devoted  to the apostles’ teaching, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.  These early Christians were devoted to the teaching of the apostles — there were no divisions, no disagreements on doctrine because they “had all things in common” (v. 44).  When we Lutherans confess in the Nicene Creed that “we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” we are declaring that we follow the apostles’ teachings, which sadly not many American churches do today.  (Also, “catholic” in the true sense of the word means all Christians worldwide at all times — past, present, and future.)  Although divisions did not come a little later,  nowadays there is even a wider division and there is a lot of enmity among Christians when it comes to doctrinal details.  The early Christians also practised the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper regularly.  Nowadays, the majority of denominations don’t practise it on a regular basis and most are even misinformed of what the sacrament is.  We Lutherans are blessed to realise the vitality of practising the sacrament on a regular basis.  Some Christians believe it is only a sign.  It is more than that, however.  It is for the forgiveness of sins as well, which is exactly what Jesus meant when He said, “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

The early Christians were also devoted to the prayers, meaning that they had a prayerful life.  It was just a regular part of their daily life.  Because of their prayerful life, it is highly likely that they were praying for one another frequently, which I honestly don’t see a lot of today.  People often say to me, “I’ll pray for you,” and I wonder:  Do they really?  I’m sure many of you can relate.  How often have you told someone that you’ll pray for them, but never followed through because you “forgot”?  If you tell someone you’ll pray for them, keep that promise!  I must admit that I’m guilty of forgetting to pray for someone when I said I would.  This is why I’ve developed the method of having a prayer journal where I write down the person’s name and what I’m supposed to pray for, that way I don’t forget.  (And as a future pastor, this is a great practise!)  If I don’t have it on me, I have a smartphone so I use that easy technology to use the Notes app to jot it down.

The early Christians were also diligent in giving to the poor.  They loved doing that so much that they sold their very possessions and belongings and distributed the proceeds to the poor, each according to their needs.  How often do you give money to a homeless person?  Or even something simpler like buying them a meal, or a cup of coffee if you don’t have any cash on you?  How often do you get rid of your things that you no longer need to the poor — like excess sweatshirts, old clothes, etc.?  Too many people, even Christians, use the excuse, “Well, I don’t know what they’re going to use it for.  I don’t know if they’re going to use it for drugs or alcohol.”  There’s a difference between an explanation and an excuse; that is an excuse.  Did Jesus tell us to only give to the poor when we best determine how they’re going to use it?  Did He tell us to only give to the best intentioned poor person?  No, He did not.  We can never claim to know a person’s mind, especially one we don’t know at all.  It is foolish to assume we know how a homeless person will use the money we’ll give them.  All we can do is hope and pray.  We all know the story of the rich young man — that particular young man who claimed to have done many things for Christ (and don’t’ we all make similar claims?), including having kept the Ten Commandments, and he asked Jesus how he can inherit eternal life.  Jesus replied, “You lack one thing:  go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mark 10:21).  Selling everything you have is a bit extreme, and because of the times we live in He doesn’t call us to do that today.

Still, however, He doesn’t distinguish whom to give to.  He simply said to give to the poor.  It’s not up to us to distinguish who deserves what.  In fact, none of us deserve anything, not even the redemption of our sins.  Yet Christ still chose to die for the whole world (hence John 3:16), not a select few  whom He felt deserved it.  So how dare we have the audacity to decide which homeless person doesn’t “deserve” our giving.  Likewise, St. Paul writes, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Not knowing what they’ll use the money for is a poor excuse.  You’re not omniscient; God is, so why worry about it?  Decide in your heart how much you’ll give, and give that amount.  They’re always grateful even for a little.  Do this not in reluctance or compulsion, but out of love and joy.  It doesn’t happen very often at all, but if God does make it irrevocably clear that He’s calling you to sell everything and follow Him elsewhere, then do so.  If you keep looking for reasons to show someone mercy, you’ll never show them mercy because there will never be a reason.  Mercy doesn’t need a reason to be established.  Just look at god’s infinite mercy on us; we deserve nothing from Him, yet He gives anyway.  We  do not deserve salvation from our sins, yet in His mercy God saved us.  He had no reason to save us other than that He had mercy on us in His love.  So if you keep trying to determine what a homeless person will use the money for, you’ll always be reluctant to do a kind thing and if you do give in reluctance, you do so under compulsion instead of love, joy, and mercy, and not with a cheerful heart.

The early Christians were in so much fellowship with one another that they went to church every day, eating together.  Granted, we’re in much different times now and can’t really afford to go to church every single day because of what our jobs and other responsibilities demand of us.  But even so, we can still put aside time to visit one another and eat together, not only at annual pot locks and a small breakfast  in the fellowship hall before service begins.  Due to their intense fellowship, God “added  to their number day by day those who were being saved” (v. 47).  Their fellowship and immense love for one another caused more and more people to be added to the Church!  That’s pretty amazing.  I have never seen a church so in love with God with so much love for one another with an abundance of fellowship that resulted  in more and more people being added to the church.  I have yet to witness such an amazing account.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting  to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  This is exactly what fellowship is, and also why God requires we go to church.  Fellowship is to cause one another to love people and to do good works as a response to our gifted faith, never neglecting to meet together.  This passage also disputes the argument, “I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian.  I can just do a personal devotion in my home.”  False, God requires it.  As the passage says, we must not neglect meeting together, “as is the habit of some,” which are those who claim they don’t need to go to church.  As God is the Creator, He set order to specific things, one of which is His people meeting together as a Church.  He requires this so that we may encourage and inspire one another in love and do His good works together in order to speak to the world, doing so more and more as we “see the Day drawing near.”  What day is that?  The Last day, which is the day our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

Individualism is widely preached, exhorted, and celebrated in western culture.  Through the influence of the media, music industry, and film industry, we are told that self-sufficiency and independence leads to a prosperous life.  Unfortunately, many Christians have developed this individualistic mindset in their faith (which is indicative of those Christians who think they don’t need to go to church).  We want to keep God all to ourselves; we don’t want to share Him with others, Christian or non-Christian.  We forget that it is God who establishes our prosperity (Psalm 1:1-3); it is not dependent on self-sufficiency, and if it happens to be borne by one’s own works, it never lasts and just leads to misery.  We don’t want to be told how to spend our time or money or what we should think.  I don’t know about you, but before I was Christian I was only concerned about myself.  I only wanted to do what was best for me; I had no concern for others.  As far as I was concerned, I didn’t need God in my life to know what I must and mustn’t do or to give me direction.  You could’ve built a monument to my narcissism.  It wasn’t until the Holy Spirit converted me that I began to think of others more than myself.  And now, I recognise that I need God in my life to know what I must and mustn’t do and that I need Him to give me direction.

The world can’t make up its mind what it wants to do.  God’s way is certain.  Like St. Paul points out, I wouldn’t know what it means to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet” (Romans 7:7).  In other words, we wouldn’t know what it means to sin had the Law not revealed it to us, and we wouldn’t know about forgiveness and freedom from sin had the Gospel not revealed it to us in Jesus Christ.  When you become Christian, it’s not longer about you.  It’s all about the Holy Trinity, and it’s about serving those around you in lovingkindness and doing so through fellowship.

The Metamorphosis of Christianity, Part 3 Finale

By consuming all these fruits of the Spirit, we show people the work of Christ as He simultaneously works in us in this Christian metamorphosis of being made new. Consuming these fruits is how we are in Christ and made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). This isn't an option we are given as Christians; it is our duty. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16). We are the salt of the earth. To understand what this means, let's examine what it is that salt does. It has three functions. Salt enhances the taste of our food, it stings and heals wounds, and it preserves food from spoiling. This is how we are supposed to be spiritually, never losing that flavour.

Jesus is using emphatic language here. You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world. This isn't something that you try to do. You either are or you aren't. Be salty Christians by adding flavour to the fruits of the Spirit — that is, by practising these fruits and instilling them in the lives of others. You add flavour by actually doing them, hence James 2:17, which I covered on the fruit of goodness. By practising these fruits and by impacting the lives of others with these fruits, you enhance their lives. You also sting them with the Law (the diagnosis of sin), but then it is necessary to heal them with the Gospel (the remedy of sin). After that is done, you continue interacting with them and guiding them and loving them in order to preserve their spirituality from spoiling. As the light of the world, influence others. When we're driving on the highway at night and see a city off in the distance, the entire city is lit up and it looks very attractive. The sight of this city attracts us and makes us eager to come towards it, and we do because we don't spend our entire lives on the highway. Likewise, we have the light of Christ within us. Shine that light with the fruits of the Spirit, and people will be attracted to that light and will want to experience it. You either are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, or you're not. If you stop salting the fruits of the Spirit and lose your flavour, how can it be restored other than doing those things again? Jesus says that it becomes worthless and is thrown out into the streets and trampled under people's feet. In biblical times, when salt became worthless, they just threw it out into the street and people would inevitably trample over it. That's why Jesus uses this imagery. In the same way, if you lose your flavour as a Christian — if you have no good works in response to your faith (as we discussed with James 2:17 on the fruit of goodness), then your faith is worthless; it is dead and you might as well have no faith at all. It's harsh, but true, and the truth is harsh at times.

Ephesians 5:6-11, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." The "sons of disobedience" are people who choose to be independent of God — to disobey Him, for they have been deceived by the words of the world ("empty words"). Paul points out that this is no longer to be our lifestyle because we were in darkness, and now that we're in Christ, we are the light of Christ. The fruit of light is that of the fruit of the Spirit. Since the fruit of light consists of the light of Christ, and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One, then the fruit consisting of Jesus's light is therefore that of the Holy Spirit. As God's children, we walk in this way, for all would agree that the fruits of the Spirit are indeed good, right, and true. The works of darkness are what Paul listed before the fruits of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21). Those attributes, and others like them, are the works of darkness, and all would agree that they are unfruitful. We are to expose the unfruitfulness of this darkness by eliminating them with the light of the fruits of the Spirit that are in Christ our Lord.

Verse ten, "and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord," might come across as confusing to some people. How do we discern God's will? Exactly as Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." To be conformed to this world is to put its ways, beliefs, and practises over what God's Word says. For a simple example, God's Word prohibits a myriad of sins, and it is the world that condones sins such as premarital sex, homosexuality, stealing (particularly music and movies), and many other things. God's Word explicitly says that all those things and many more are sinful, but by being conformed to the world, one will accept sin as something right and true. This verse may also bring up some confusion: "How do our minds become transformed and renewed?" It's simple: by abiding in God's Word. The word abide means "accepting or acting in accordance with." Accept God's Word as the truth and act in accordance with what He says, and you will begin to experience the transformation of your heart and the renewing of your mind. It doesn't happen over night for many of us. It can happen, but it's extremely rare. It usually takes months or years.

I'll explain this. For me personally, it's been taking me years. Since the moment I accepted Christ into my life, that is when I first began to be transformed and renewed, which the same thing happens to everybody. I have found that transformation is a longer process than renewal. Transformation is that of the heart — growing the ability to love yourself and love others as you love Christ. For the longest time, I dealt with self-loathing and hatred for others, and it took me many years, even after accepting Christ, to conquer that anchor in my heart to begin loving myself and other people. After learning to love myself, I then grew to love others. It's a long work in progress, but as you grow, it starts to become natural. You notice the change in you that Christ started and continues to work in you. By being able to finally love myself and love others, my heart is transformed. Renewal is that of the mind — always contemplating on the ways of the Lord. The more time you spend in God's Word and the more you meditate on it, the more you will know His Word and knowing His Word is knowing what His will is. This was a much shorter process for me, and a process that I'm still growing in. Since I've come to know Christ, I've been spending a lot of time in the Word by reading it and not only that, but also living it. What's the point in reading God's Word if you don't live it? The more I read and the more I do my best to live it out, the more and more I know God's Word and ultimately what His will is because again, God's Word is His will. It took only a year, approximately, to get to the point where no matter what situation I'm in I always think, "What does God's Word say about this?" Of course, being human, there are times when I fail; but it is God's Word that reminds me that I did fail and causes me to repent. God's thoughts start to become your thoughts, and God's morals start to become your moral. You know God is speaking to you when there are Godly thoughts in your head that are in line with God's Word, and you will know this by either memorisation or by looking it up. (You can work at memorisation or memorise verses by chance. For me personally, I've accidentally memorised a few verses simply because of how much I read my Bible. The objective is not to have verses memorised and say, "Hey look at me!" but to become familiar with God's Word.) When you hear that small voice in your head telling you that something is or is not in line with God's Word, that's when you know God is speaking to you and what God's will is. By God's Word being in my mind constantly in every situation, my mind is renewed. This transformation and this renewal enables you to discern what God's will is, which is what He finds good, acceptable, and perfect, "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." I only have a few words to say about this. Be kind in your speech; be meek, be compassionate, and be sympathetic by being seasoned with the salt of God's fruits. Do not criticise, condemn, or complain. Rather, speak love, truth, and genuineness into people's lives.


The final stage of our metamorphosis is salvation! As we consume each fruit of the Spirit, the goal of their digestion is our faith, which is salvation. First Peter 1:8-9, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." I don't know how to expand on Peter's words here, honestly. He said it perfectly. Loving Jesus and believing in Him despite the fact that we've never seen Him is exactly what faith is, as is defined for us in Hebrews 11:1, 3; and it is through that faith in Christ by which we obtain its goal — its outcome, and that is salvation.

Acts 4:12, " 'And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.' " Need I say anything more? Salvation is given by no one but Christ, whom we obtain faith from and whom we have faith in. "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him" (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).

Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.' " God's power enables salvation for those who believe — believe what? In whom Christ was, is, and is to come — the Messiah, Redeemer of our sins. God reveals His righteousness and gifts salvation to us from His gifted faith for the purpose of faith itself. God is amazing! A voice from Heaven will say, " 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God" (Revelation 12:10). Salvation is coming!

The Law vs. Grace, and Relationship with God

*Edited October 16, 2015.*

The Law vs. Grace

The Decalogue (Ten Commandments) and the Law were given to us as a mirror to reveal our sin — how filthy our lives get when we reject God and live independently of Him.  There are many who believe they are made righteous by keeping the Law (even when they don’t recognise it as such), which is legalism — overemphasising the Law and disregarding the Gospel.  Can you clean your face with the same mirror that shows you how dirty you are?  As St. James puts it, “For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (1:23-24).  We often look at the Law and immediately forget how sinful we are and don’t repent.  Just like a mirror, God’s Word has the ability to reveal to us the truth about our sinful condition.  In James’ example, the man looks into the mirror and then walks away without doing anything.  This illustration he gives represents the way most Christians today study the Bible.  They read Scripture, see the truth that demands transformation, and then walk away as if nothing ever happened (just think of Christians who support gay marriage).  Indeed, heretics do this as well.  If we hear the Word of God but don’t do what it says, we are merely deceiving ourselves.

James continued in saying that religion without practical action is worthless (vv. 26-27).  The Bible does not teach us to follow rules; it is a picture of Jesus.  It is God revealing to us whom He is and what He does and has done for us.  While words may tell us of God’s character and what He may want from us, we cannot do any of it by our strength alone.  Life is in Him and in no one else, not even ourselves.  You might think that living by rules and principles are easier than living in relationship with people and God.  It is true that relationships can be messier than rules, but rules will never give you answers to your deepest questions and they will never love you, they will never have mercy, they will never have compassion, and they will never forgive.  The Law condemns, ostensibly revealing to the human race that we are incapable of fulfilling the Law, which is why it was necessary for Christ to fulfil it (more on that in a little bit).  When you read the Bible, don’t look for rules and principles (even though they exist); rather, look for relationship — a way you can grow closer to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit that proceeds from the Father.  The “rules” and “principles” listed in Scripture are the ways that God has made it possible for us to be in relationship with Him.

There is no mercy or grace in rules, not even for one mistake.  A rule or law (or the Law) tells you that if you commit this sin/wrongful act (e.g. lying), you are condemned and if you omit this particular action (e.g. loving your neighbour as yourself), you are condemned.  That’s why Jesus fulfilled the Law for us — so that it no longer has jurisdiction over us.  For we are no longer under law, but grace (Romans 6:14).  But that doesn’t mean the Law no longer applies to the Christian life; believing otherwise is known as antinomianism.  The Law still reveals our sin and condemns us.  However, the Law that once contained impossible demands now becomes a promise that the Triune God fulfils for us in Christ Jesus (Matthew 5:17).  Keep in mind that if you live your life apart from God, the promise is empty.  Jesus laid the demand of the Law to rest — He fulfilled it; it no longer has any power to condemn the Christian, unless you live apart from God.  Jesus is both the promise and its fulfillment.  Trying to keep the Law is declaring your independence from God — a way of keeping control; and it is a failure of trusting God in your salvation.  There is no salvation in the Law; salvation is in Christ alone.  We like the Law so much that we see others, even wrongful Christians being guilty of this, preaching the Law in condemnation in order to have control; but it’s much worse than that.  It gives us the power to judge others and feel superior to them.  We believe we are living to a more righteous standard than those we judge.  Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty.  Rules cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to judge and to condemn.

God prefers verbs over nouns.  Buckminster Fuller once said, “God is a Verb.”  To Moses, God said, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14).  God is whom He will be.  He is alive, He is active, and He is moving.  As His very essence is a very, everything we know about God is what He does.  We know who He is (the verb for current state of action) because of what He does (the verb for continual action).  He is related to verbs such as confessing, repenting, living, loving, responding, growing, dancing, singing, and so on.  Humans, on the other hand, have a tendency to take a verb that is alive and full of grace and turn it into a dead noun or law that consists entirely of rules.  Nouns exist because there is a created universe and physical reality, but if the universe is only a mass of nouns, it is dead.  Unless God is, there are no verbs, and verbs are what make the universe alive.  What this means is this:  For something to move from death to life (or non-existence to existence), you must introduce something active to something living and present tense, which is to move from law to grace.  And who has the power to do this?  God alone.  Only can create something out of nothing, and therefore only He can move law to grace.

For example, let’s look at the noun responsibility.  Before our words became nouns, they were first God’s words (verbs) — nouns with movement — the ability to respond.  God’s words are alive and active — they’re full of life; our words are dead and full of law, fear, and judgement.  This is why we don’t find the word responsibility in Scripture.  God gives us the ability to respond and our response is to be free to love and serve in every situation, and therefore each moment is different and unique.  Because God is our ability to respond, He is present in us.  If God simply gave us a responsibility, He would not have to be with us at all.  It would now be a task to perform, an obligation to be met, and something else to fail at.

Relationship with God

Let’s use friendship as another example and how removing the element of life from a noun can drastically alter a relationship.  Say you and I are friends, and I don’t mean that we just simply know each other by association, but truly friends.  As friends, there is an expectancy that exists in the relationship (“expectancy” may be a noun, but what it consists of are actions, which are verbs).  When we see each other or when we’re apart, there is an expectancy of being together, of laughing, and talking to each other (notice how these are all verbs — things of action).  That expectancy has no concrete definition; it is alive and active and everything that is produced out of our being together is a unique gift that we share with no one else, otherwise we wouldn’t be such close friends.  But what would happen if I change that active expectancy to an expectation — implicit or explicit, spoken or unspoken?  Suddenly, a rule (law) has entered into our relationship.  With this expectation, you are now expected to perform in a way that meets my expectations or standards.  Our living friendship rapidly deteriorates into a dead thing with rules and requirements.  It is no longer about you and me on a personal level, but about what friends are “supposed to do,” or the “responsibilities” that make someone a good friend.  The same can apply with the role as husband, wife, mother, father, student, employee, etc.  One may say, “If we didn’t have expectations and responsibilities, wouldn’t everything just fall apart?”  This is only if you are of the world — apart from God and under the Law.  Responsibilities and expectations are the basis of guilt, shame, and judgement; and they provide the essential framework that promotes performance as the basis for identity and value.

We’ve all failed to live up to somebody’s expectations because as sinners, failure is inevitable.  God has no expectations of us because He’s never placed them upon us.  If He had, then we would be cursed with coming up short every time with each attempt, receiving only punishment and condemnation in the end (again, that was the Law); but through Christ we are promised salvation despite our shortcomings and many inevitable failures, past and future.  The idea behind placing expectations upon somebody requires that they do not know the future outcome of the relationship and is trying to control behaviour in order to get the desired result because human behaviour is, after all, unpredictable and unreliable.  Humans try to control behaviour largely through expectations (just think of job descriptions and requirements listed for a specific job position — those are set in order for the employer to control your behaviour were you to have the job).  However, God doesn’t need to predict our behaviour.  He knows everything there is to know about each and every one of us.  So why would He have an expectation other than what He already knows?  Because He has no expectations, we never disappoint Him.  What God does have is a constant living expectancy in our relationship with Him, and He gives us the ability to respond to any situation and circumstance in which we find ourselves.  As I said earlier, the “rules” and “principles” listed in Scripture are the ways that God has made it possible for us to be in relationship with Him.  Those “rules” and “principles” are criteria He put into order so that we may live good lives as He leads us towards sanctification (see 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).  To the degree that we resort to expectations and responsibilities, to that degree we neither know God nor trust Him; and to that degree, we will live in fear.

We live by priorities — putting God first, then family, friends, however it is for you.  The trouble with living by priorities is that it’s a hierarchy.  If you put God at the top, what does that really mean and how much is enough before you call it quits?  How much time must you give God before you can go on about the rest of your day, the part that really interests you the most?  Or how much time is enough before you spend time with family or friends?  And vice versa?  You simply cannot calculate it.  You give God a certain allotment of time, and that allotment always changes, whether it increases or dwindles or varies in between both.  God doesn’t want just a piece of you and a piece of your life.  Even if we were able, which we are not, to give Him the biggest piece, that’s not what He wants.  God wants all of you and every part of you.  Put God at the centre of your life and you won’t need to live by priorities.  With God at the centre, which is where He desires to be, makes God the driving force of all your relationships.  With God at the centre, you are able to involve Him in every single aspect of your life.  If you truly want to put God first in everything, put Him at the centre of your life and He will be the driving force of every relational aspect of your life.

The Metamorphosis of Christianity, Part 2

Goodness
Of course, no one is good (Romans 3:10), but faith requires action.  James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”  Some misinformed Christians think this means that we are saved by good works and not by faith.  That’s not what it means at all.  Rather, we are saved by grace through faith — by no means of our own.  Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Paul also wrote in Romans 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”  In Romans, Paul was saying that we are justified and saved by faith alone with no works added to it, and James supplements to these words and affirms Paul’s previous statements on it by saying that faith becomes evident in works.  What he’s essentially saying is this:  If you say you have faith but have no good works, you might as well have no faith at all — it is dead.  Faith becomes known to other people by your good works; it is your faith that saves you and it is the good works of your faith that enables people to see Christ at work.  Don’t be a lazy Christian and do nothing with your faith.  We are not called to complacency; we are called to action, and we know this by Jesus’s Great Commission to the disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).  There are numerous ways to do good works according to your faith.  Give to the poor, as Jesus commands us (Matthew 5:42), humble yourself and serve others in humility as I mentioned with the fruit of love, and so on and so forth.  We all know what it means to be a Christian according to our actions; we just have to actually do those things.

Faithfulness

This fruit is faithfulness to Christ.  By this, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).  Many English translations say, “he must deny himself,” but in the Greek the phrase is αρνησάσθω, which is the aorist middle passive deponent imperative verb from αρνέομαι, and because it is an imperative verb it is thus, “let him deny himself,” not “he must deny himself.”  When we follow Christ, He enables us through the Holy Spirit to deny our flesh and follow Him every day, hence “let him.”  So let the Holy Spirit empower you to follow Christ daily.  Of course, as sinful human beings, we often fail.  But fret not, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

But what does it mean to deny yourself?  It means to be in constant denial of your fleshly desires.  It is to ignore that little voice in your head that tempts you to commit premarital sex, to give in to pornography, to do this or that drug, to gossip about this or that person — anything and everything that goes against God’s Word.  It is to deny the ways of the world, “for the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).  From time to time, we will fail; as sinful human beings we are bound to failure.  But faithfulness is not being perfect and flawless in your dedication to any one thing, even God.  If God expected us to be perfect in our faithfulness, He wouldn’t call us to repentance.  Heck, we would not have needed to be saved from our sins.  Rather, because we are imperfect and therefore incapable of fulfilling the Law, Jesus fulfilled it for us (Matthew 5:17).  Faithfulness is staying committed to your faith in Christ, recognising your sinful mistakes, learning from them, repenting of them, forsaking them, and moving on.  That’s what faithfulness is.  That’s what it means to pick up your cross daily while following Jesus.

Picking up your cross daily also means to continue pressing on in the faith in the face of adversity.  Jesus told us to expect persecution.  In Luke 11:49 He said, “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute.’ ”  Jesus prophesied to the Jews of what they would do to the prophets and apostles He’d send, which they indeed did kill and crucify the apostles.  This is a continuing prophecy, too.  In modern times we still see Christians being arrested and murdered.  Do not fear, however.  We have encouraging words from Christ Himself, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).  When others persecute and insult me, all I tell them is:  “Thank you.  You’re actually giving me a blessing,” and I usually quote the above passage to them.

Jesus enables us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him through all our inevitable sufferings.  Expect trouble.  Do not be surprised when you suffer.  Second Corinthians 1:5, “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”  As we can expect to suffer in this world, we can also expect to be comforted by the Holy Spirit.  “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).  Because Jesus was fully human, He suffered exactly as we suffered, so He perfectly understands each of our situations and is able to sympathise with us.  And because He is fully God, He never sinned, so He knows how to help us overcome our suffering.  It is because of Christ that we are able to boldly approach the throne of grace in order to receive God’s mercy and grace in time of need.

Gentleness
The gentleness of Christ is shown when He says, “Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).  In the same way, many of us find ourselves in leadership positions in the Church that require us to listen to peoples’ problems and troubles, and even in our personal friendships.  As Christ is gentle with us and our troubles, so we must be with other people when they come to us about their troubles.  People will come to you when they need help, guidance, and encouragement.  It is important that you lead them in the Lord.  Be sympathetic, listen with genuine interest, be comforting and encouraging, and don’t be negative, critical, or condemning.  (Basically, don’t be like Job’s three friends.)  It helps to have a peaceful, calm demeanour about yourself that makes people comfortable with approaching you about what’s troubling them.  You don’t have to go looking for people to comfort; just be ready when people do approach you.  And if you do happen to notice someone who seems to be troubled, have the fortitude to take the initiative as a leader and speak to them through the love and meekness of Christ.

Self-Control
This fruit can cover a wide area of things.  I could preach about control over anger, sorrow, and any number of temptations.  Because this is such a wide topic, I will simply generalise.  “...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).  We have the power of the Holy Spirit to love and to have self-control over our temptations.  You don’t have control when you yell at someone in anger, or when you’re in a perpetual condition of sorrow that causes depression, or when you’re addicted to drugs or pornography, or when you commit premarital sex habitually, and the list goes on.  Because our society has become so sexualised, I will talk about sex.  You don’t have self-control over sex when you have premarital sex, when you masturbate, rape, commit bestiality or incest, or succumb to homosexuality.  I won’t be using this time to talk about the sins of homosexuality (I imagine that word sticks out more than any of the other sexual acts I listed).  Rather, I will be focusing on the heterosexual sins.  I don’t care who you are, each of us suffers with sexual temptation at some point in our lives, some more than others.

When we lose control, this is the reason why Paul wrote, “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband,” and again, “But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry.  For it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:2, 9).  Marriage is not a necessity; not everyone needs to get married if it’s not their desire to.  However, if one cannot overcome sexual lust, he or she should marry since they cannot exercise self-control, for that is a much better option than to be inflamed with lust.  Then there are the famous words of Jesus, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).  Jesus was saying that anyone who looks upon someone of the opposite sex to arouse illicit sexual desire has committed adultery of the heart.  For those who are single, by imagining or fantasising a sexual act with someone, you are committing premarital sex in your heart.  You are mentally taking their virginity, or mentally sacrificing your own, or in the case that neither of you are virgins you are nevertheless inflamed with lust — therefore adultery of the heart.  The same especially applies in the natural sense of adultery for those who are married.

To Be Continued...