Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 16

True Worship: A Posture of the Heart

One autumn evening outside the Trader Joe’s, our four-year-old dropped to the ground, clutching her tiny chest. Weeks later, doctors ushered my husband and me into a stuffy little room to deliver a hopeless prognosis—a progressive, incurable heart and lung disease. It was like being dragged to the Grand Canyon and kicked off the edge, the wind knocked out of us before we even hit bottom.

Worse, the disease is so rare that the top-tier hospital near our home didn’t even treat it at the time. Another story of God’s miraculous providence led us across the snowy Midwest to New York City to find the one doctor we were told might be able to help. Yet, even as my husband and I promised our daughters that this adventure would include trips to the FAO Schwartz and the Central Park Zoo, we knew we were traveling through the Valley of the Shadow of Death—little girls in tow.

The week was grim, full of needles, echocardiograms, and endless tests. Grim until Dr. Barst walked in—a petite woman, wearing patent flats and narrow glasses. Gracious and brilliant, she spoke with calm confidence about new treatments that bought time for even newer, better treatments. Suddenly the grey handful of days we’d been given transformed into months—even years—full of hope and possibility. Simply put, Dr. Barst had spoken to us words of life, and in that moment, I could have wept and kissed her feet.

Another Woman Who Wept for Joy

And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment (Lk. 7:36-38).

When the “sinful woman” creeps up behind Jesus and intimately worships him, he explains to the detached, judgmental Pharisee that her actions flow from her understanding of how much she has been forgiven. Jesus tells him, “…her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Lk. 7:47). In other words, she is deep in the Valley of the Shadow, and she knows it. But while the Pharisee might have drawn more than fine lines between his sins and hers, they both were equally undeserving of God’s mercy.

There in my own shadowed valley, meeting with Dr. Barst, I didn’t resent my dependence nor minimize my need—standing there with my child’s life in the balance and nothing to offer but my insurance card. I didn’t recount the struggle to find her or how far we’d traveled—except maybe to demonstrate how worth the effort she was. The desperation of my situation, my total inadequacy to alter it, and her singular ability to help only inspired profound gratitude.

Returning home, we couldn’t stop sharing our good news. Family, friends, people in the supermarket checkout—pretty much anyone who crossed our paths got an effusive earful about the amazing Dr. Barst. Completely unabashed by our wholesale appreciation for this woman, we raved about her. And one day it occurred to me, why didn’t I talk about Jesus this way?

Sadly, the answer is found in the Pharisee Simon, in how appropriate he was, how much he likely thought he was doing for Jesus. He had, after all, invited Jesus to his house, served him a meal, and invited other guests. He undoubtedly engaged Jesus in conversation—one religious man to another. From the outside, it all looks plenty cordial. He was even circumspect in his condemnation of the woman and his disdain for Christ, basically keeping it to his private thoughts. But Jesus lays bare the stingy, self-satisfied heart of the matter: Simon didn’t realize what he needed saving from, and it literally kept him from seeing the Messiah.

Far from Falling at Jesus’s Feet

Like Simon, how often I am far from falling at Jesus’ feet—despite my sincere love! I suspect others sometimes similarly struggle.

Even when sharing the Good News, our praises are often careful, crafted not to offend. We look to swelling anthems, inspiring books, or more awe-inspiring liturgies to muster an emotion that, in fact, transcends otherwise helpful tools. It is a posture of the heart that David describes: “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name” (Psa. 103: 1).

True worship originates from the deep place that accurately grasps my plight: the utter hopelessness of my situation apart from Christ. True adoration understands his unique ability and loving willingness to rescue me. It’s not that I’ve never been shattered by my own sinfulness or floored by the magnificent love of God. But I am both heartbroken woman and pharisee with a cerebral religion, who sees myself as one who is doing things for Christ, even conflating it too easily with what it means to have a heart of love. Too often the cool, detached pharisee in me looks at the ledger and doesn’t believe the truth: apart from Jesus, I’m not merely walking through the Valley of the Shadow—I’ve set up camp in that dark chasm, hemmed in on every side.

On the short list of devastating experiences, losing a child certainly vies for top. I’d be lying if I said that fear isn’t a repeat visitor. But Christ has saved me from something far more monstrous than even the worst this world can throw my way. More confounding is the tremendous, painful cost to Jesus of saving me from my fate.

Yet, I don’t always live in the reality of that truth. If I did, I’d never shut up about him. I’d annoy friends and coworkers, ceaselessly recounting his goodness to me. My average voice would ring out in my average church, and my time and money would always be of little consideration compared to the privilege of participating in his work. My easy, extravagant praise for a doctor exposed a disparity that was convicting, to say the least.

The gumption of the unnamed “woman of the city” in Luke 7 strikes me, as she breaks into that dinner party to anoint the Lord with perfume. Uninvited and unwelcome, she is simultaneously full of humility and abandon, revealing a heart singularly consumed with love for her Savior and expressing it to the fullest. She’s the one with whom I want to identify. But how can I embody that all-encompassing devotion? In Psalm 103, David reveals the answer: he speaks truth to his own soul.

From Understanding to Gratitude

Worship originates from my “inmost being,” that deepest place that accurately knows the extent of my sin and equally loves to lie about how bad it really is. This is the place I have to get right. Again, the psalm instructs. Even as we must understand our sin, we aren’t called to dwell on it. The call to praise shifts immediately to a litany of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and power:

…forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy (Psa. 103:2-4).

Not surprisingly, the more I talked about and reflected on what Dr. Barst had done for my family, the greater my esteem of her grew. When I speak truth to my heart—and to others—about the true Savior who actually redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion, my sometimes-stony inmost being softens with humble gratitude. My soul responds reflexively in praise for the creator of rock-star cardiologists and the preserver of days who, despite my sinful rebellion, forgives me. He alone sustains each beautiful breath of my children through every day ordained for them.

In the thirteen years since that awful diagnosis, countless times I’ve been left speechless by his goodness, except to agree with David,

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name (Psa. 103:1)!

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Photo: Unsplash

 

 

 

Jesus’ Resurrection Changes These Four Things

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57).

What we celebrate at Easter is unique. There is nothing else like it, nor has there ever been or ever will be in the history of the world. Other religions offer a code of conduct, a path of progress. Christians proclaim a living Savior.

The gospel heralds the good news of what Jesus Christ has done. Our King has triumphed over sin, death, and hell. Therefore, there is peace, freedom, hope, and joy for all who live under His rule! Religion tells you what you must do. The gospel tells you what Jesus Christ has already done.

When Jesus said “It is finished,” He did not mean that some of what it took to save us was done through the Old Testament law and sacrifices and Jesus did the rest. And He did not mean that some of what it took to save us was done on the cross, and we have to do the rest. Rather, everything that was needed for us to be reconciled to God and brought into life everlasting was fully accomplished in Jesus’ death and resurrection. All that remains for us to do is to receive what He now offers as a gift. We do that by turning to Him, believing in Him, embracing Him as our Savior, and submitting to Him as our Lord.

The Risen Christ Changes Death

“O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55).

When Jesus died on the cross, He took on Himself the sins of all who would believe in Him. He drew the sting into Himself, and all its lethal venom was pumped into Him–it was spent on Him.

So, Christian brother and sister, when you are in Christ, death may seize you, but it cannot hold you in its power and sting you. It will not lead to the ultimate disaster of you standing before almighty God as a sinner who has failed to keep his law. Jesus Christ stood there for you. He faced death with the sting, and that transformed what death will be for you.

By removing its sting, Jesus has forever changed forever the anticipation of death, the experience of death, and the outcome of death—for all who are in Him. No wonder Paul says, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).

The Risen Christ Changes Life

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable… (1 Cor. 15:58).

The word “therefore” shows that there is a direct connection between confidence in the resurrection (which is what Paul has been speaking about) and stability (which is his first application). Here’s what this means: Faith soon flounders if you lose sight of the resurrection.

If you lose sight of the risen Christ, you will find yourself besieged by all kinds of questions and overwhelmed by temptation and unbelief. You may say that you have faith in Christ; but without confidence in the resurrection, you will be miserable. But faith that rests on a risen Savior will be strong, firm, and stable.

Here is the sure foundation of faith: Christ is risen! Let this be the settled conviction of your life, and when it is, you will be steadfast and immovable! When you can say, “I have a risen Savior. He sits at the right hand of God the Father for me. Nothing in life or in death will ever be able to separate me from His love,” you are building your life on something solid.

The Risen Christ Brings Joy

…always abounding in the work of the Lord… (1 Cor. 15:58).

‘Abounding’ speaks of energy and joy. Paul describes believers who are “abounding in the work of the Lord.” No reluctance here. No sense of doing God’s work in order to earn God’s favor. That’s always deadly. Instead, these believers have freedom in serving the Lord because they know that they have the smile of God over their lives.

Here are people who know that their eternal future is secure. They know that, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it won’t be long before they see the Lord and are welcomed into the eternal life of joyful service for which they were made. And knowing this, they give themselves gladly to the work of the Lord now.

Notice they are “always abounding.” It is a lifelong thing. If you come to the settled conviction that Christ is risen from the dead, you, too, can give yourself gladly to the work of the Lord when you are young. You won’t be saying, “I’ll get to that in 10 years.” And you will gladly serve the Lord in your middle years and even when you are old.

The Risen Christ Brings Fulfillment

…your labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

The word “labor” simply means hard work. We are talking here about the accumulated total of all the investments you have ever made, the sweat equity of your whole life, all that you’ve poured yourself into. And to “labor in vain” means that the effort you extended does not accomplish the objective you intended. What would it be like if everything you had given yourself to, everything you had invested yourself in, proved to be in vain, that is, without lasting value? Nobody wants to be in that position!

What Paul says in this chapter is brutally honest: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (15:14). He does not say, “Even if Christ has not been raised, Christianity is still the best way to live.” He doesn’t say that. What he says, in effect, is: “If Christ is not raised, shut the doors of the church and go home!” There’s no value in defending a tradition. If there’s no risen Savior, it’s all in vain.

None of us wants to labor in vain. We are told that if our labor is in the Lord, it will not be in vain. Which raises the question: How can you be in the Lord? Faith is the bond that unites you with Christ so that you become His and He becomes yours. Through this bond of faith, your labor will be in Him, and you can believe the promise that none of it is in vain.

Have You Found the Pearl of Great Price?

Jesus told the story of a merchant who traded pearls (Mt. 13:45-46). One day, he found a pearl like none he had ever seen before. It was a pearl of great price. Seeing its beauty and its value, he made a decision: He sold all of the other pearls that he had in order to obtain the one of supreme beauty and value.

Jesus Christ is the one pearl of great price. He loved you and gave Himself for you. He rose from the dead and offers Himself to you. He is able to change death for you, and He is able to change everything about life for you, too.

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Photo: UnsplashThis article was adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Triumph of Jesus”, from his series, Darkness Before the Dawn.

Don’t Live by This False Phrase

You may have heard of the phrase that goes like this: Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. This (wrongful) phrase is often misattributed to St. Francis of Assisi, and, as summarized by a 2012 TGC article, “is intended to say that proclaiming the Gospel by example is more virtuous than actually proclaiming with voice.”

But there’s a reverse phrase, though we may not say it out loud, that is equally wrongful: Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, do good works.

As Christians, it is crucial to know that (1) God created us for good works, (2) salvation causes good works, and (3) the world needs our good works. Therefore, good works are always necessary for healthy, maturing Christians.

1. God Created Us for Good Works

For we [Christians] are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

The first thing to say about good works is that God created us for them. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians calls Christians God’s “workmanship”—that is, his creation. This verse emphasizes our status as having been made by God through repetition: “his workmanship, created in.” This moment zeroes in on us as God’s creation.

How then does Paul describe us as God’s creation? He does so by saying we were created “in Jesus” and “for good works.”

In Jesus

God told Adam to “work” and “keep” the garden (Gen. 2:15). Adam was then in a right relationship with God, so he could do it! But when Adam and Eve sinned, God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen. 3:17–18). God had created Adam for good works, but Adam’s sin marred his ability to do them.

All of us were born into Adam’s family, and we too had a marred ability to do good works. When we would try, we would often fail. When we’d succeed, we’d take the credit for ourselves, indulging our pride.

But Christ has made us into a new creation that has a restored relationship with God. Praise Jesus Christ for restoring us to be able to do what we were created for!

For Good Works

In Jesus we have been made into new works of creation in order to do good works. Do you hear the emphasis in this verse? “For you are God’s work of creation, a work done in Jesus Christ for good works.”

Ephesians 2:10 qualifies the phrase “good works” in two ways. First, Paul reminds us that this is all God’s doing. “God prepared” these works “beforehand”! Second, Paul says that God’s intention for us was that we should do those good works.

Given the force of this one verse alone, how then could we ever think of good works as less than necessary for the Christian life? Perhaps our hesitation lies in the rightful caution against legalism, or salvation by works. Let’s talk more about this hesitation as we consider the next point.

2. Salvation Causes Good Works

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 (Eph. 2:8–9).

Before Paul talked so directly about how Christians are God’s good work meant to do good works, he explains our restored relationship with God was “not a result of works” but “is the gift of God.”

Consider Paul’s repetitive focus on man’s uninvolvement in salvation: “this is not your own doing . . . not a result of works . . . no one may boast.” Paul is blunt: works do not cause salvation. Yet this does not keep him from saying that we were made “for good works.” If Paul has no qualm with saying good works are an essential component of the Christian life, then why should we?

James, Works, and Faith

James makes a bold claim about works. He says, “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26) and “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (2:24). If I were visiting a church and heard that same phrase in a sermon, I’d likely walk right out the sanctuary that instant! But this is Scripture—what does James mean?

Jesus uses the imagery of trees to help us understand: “Every healthy tree bears good fruit. . . . Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt. 7:17–19). Thus, we see that if a tree (person) is healthy, then they will bear (do/produce) good fruit.

And Jesus says, “I am the true vine. . . . Every branch in me that does not bear fruit [my Father] takes away” (John 15:1–2). Doing good works involves not our own power but the power of Jesus Christ!

Therefore, we are “justified” by works—Jesus’s works that God prepared long ago for us to walk in. We can know we are united to the “true vine” when we see Christ’s power working through us. If we do not see that power working through us, if we are not producing good works, then our faith is “dead,” as James says, and we are liable to be “cut down and thrown into the fire.”

True salvation causes good works.

3. The World Needs Our Good Works

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 5:16)

To conclude this article, I want to stress two things: Christians can do good works best and good works lead non-Christians to Jesus.

Through Christ’s Power

I mentioned before that one needs to be in a right relationship with God in order to do good works the way they were meant to be done. The world is not in a right relationship with Jesus, but Christians are. Through Christ’s power, we can do the work of healing, loving, teaching, caring, supporting, and all other good things better than the world can.

For God’s Glory

We started this article by addressing the false phrase that we are to preach the gospel, and then to do good works as they become necessary. But we have seen that good works are always necessary (since Christ is always doing them through us). And in the verse from Matthew above, we see that good works can lead others to give glory to God. Therefore, doing good works is not something that comes in addition to the work of disciple making (and it certainly isn’t in opposition to it!), but doing good works is a part of disciple making.

Let us then take part, with great joy and humility, in these good works that Christ prepared beforehand for us, realizing he also died so that we could do them.

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Photo: Unsplash

 

Help for Husbands from Ephesians 5

For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church (5:31-32).

If the Apostle Paul had said to Christians, “Hey guys, Jesus loves the church the way you love your wives”, we’d be in trouble because, sometimes, we husbands don’t love our wives very well. Thank God it’s the other way round. Paul says we are to love our wives “as Christ loves the church.”  The union between Christ and His church is the model for Christian marriage.

Paul does not say that marriage teaches us about Christ and the church. Instead, he says that the relationship between Christ and the church tells us what God intends for a husband and wife. That’s where we are to discover it.

Where Can a Husband Learn How to Love His Wife?

If you grew up in an unhappy or a dysfunctional home, if your parents were not happy together or did not treat each other well, you will have faced this question: How can I know what it means to be a godly husband? If your father was not present, or if he was not faithful or good, where can a man learn how to treat a woman?

If you want to know what a godly marriage looks like, the place to begin is not with your parents. No matter how good they were, they are going to bring all kinds of cultural and generational baggage into the picture. The place to begin is with the relationship between Christ and the church.

You may say, “Well, of course, Jesus is my model for everything in life. But Jesus was never married, so I can’t look to Him in this.” Ephesians 5 tells us that Christ has a bride, and that bride is the church. So, get to know Christ and you’ll discover what a good husband is—whether or not you saw this modeled when you were younger. Husbands, think deeply about Christ and the church, and God will teach you what kind of husband he is calling you to be. Christ’s love for the church gives you the template for loving your wife.

Here is the wonderful news of the Gospel for your marriage: Knowing God in Jesus Christ is wonderfully redemptive, no matter what your background.

How Christ Loves the Church

Christ gave Himself for the church.

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph. 5:25).

Here is Christ in heaven, at the right hand of God, but he loved the church and gave himself up for her. What does that mean?

Christ says, “I’m ready to pay any price.   am ready to endure any pain to do her good.” He puts on hold all the joys that are his in heaven, and he loves the church when there’s no love coming back. Romans 8 proves this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He endured. He suffered. He forgave.

Husbands you can pray in repentance and faith, to receive help from Christ today: “Lord Jesus, I cannot do this in my own strength. I need your Spirit. I need your love. I need your power. I need your forgiveness if I am to begin loving my wife the way that you loved the church.”

Christ leads the church.

Christ is the head of the church… of which he is the Savior (Eph. 5:23).

Christ takes the initiative with the church. Christ is always up to something good. If you read the history of the church, you see the revivals—God sweeping into the church, bringing His people new blessings that they never imagined.

What will Christ do in this church next year? There isn’t a single one of us who can answer that question. We will experience His blessing and see His love in ways that will surprise us with joy. That’s the romance of the Christian life. You never know what Christ will do next, but whatever it is, you know that it will be good. In the next year, He may sweep us all away into His everlasting glory. Do you know that he won’t do that?

What does this mean for husbands? We have the singular responsibility, if we are copying Christ’s model, to be the initiator and innovator in the home—to make sure that the marriage does not become dull, stale, or boring. When was the last time you did something completely unexpected and surprising that was for your wife’s good?  When was the last time you did something that made her say, “Oh, my!”—something that brought joy into the dull routine of life?

Christ nourishes the church.

No one ever hated His own body, but he feeds and cares for it just as Christ does the church (Eph. 5:29).

The point here is very simple. You look after your own body.  ou feed it, you nourish it, you protect it, you build your own body up. The church is the body of Christ, and this is what Christ does for the church. Christ feeds, nourishes, protects, builds up, and causes the church to flourish.  The attention and the affection of Christ are always with the church.

Christ always knows exactly what the church needs.  Husbands, love your wife like that.  He sees what she can become. Husbands, love your wife like that. The church is always on the mind of Christ, and He loves her as she is. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church!

Christ will present the church to Himself.

[Christ will] present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless… (Eph. 5:27).

The church may not always look so attractive now, but she has a glorious future as the radiant bride of Christ. Michael Griffiths, who served as president of the school where I studied in London, wrote a book about the church called, Cinderella with Amnesia. [1] Cinderella is a wonderful picture of the church. Sometimes she looks a bit ragged. There are some ugly brothers and sisters who despise her and count her of little value, and in some parts of the world, a wicked stepmother persecutes her. But Christ loves the church, and he will bring her to his palace.

Michael Griffiths takes up that picture: “The church is often like Cinderella… with amnesia.” Our greatest problem is that we lose sight of our prince and of our glorious future. We need to remember who we are and to whom we belong. Christ has chosen a bride, and his bride is the church.  He will “present us to himself.” And when he does, the church will not be in rags and tatters. The church will be “without stain, wrinkle or any other blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

There will be no zits on this bride’s face on her wedding day and no wrinkles either. If zits are the pain of youth, wrinkles are the pain of old age. They speak of tiredness, weariness, and carrying a heavy load. Christ says, “There will be no wrinkles on my church. She’ll be radiant and glorious. And she’ll share the joy of heaven forever.”

It is the church that Christ presents to himself. We should thank God for the many Christian agencies and ministries that God has raised up. But it is important to remember that their task is to support the church. Christian schools, seminaries, radio ministries, missionary societies, and evangelistic organizations are like bridesmaids who assist the bride as she gets ready for the bridegroom. The bride needs her bridesmaids, but it’s a great mistake to make more of the bridesmaids than you make of the bride.

At the end of the Bible, John the Apostle hears a great roar coming from heaven:

Hallelujah, for our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready… Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! (Rev. 19:6-9).

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Photo: Unsplash1. Michael Griffiths, Cinderella with Amnesia (InterVarsity Press, 1975).This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Bride: Christ’s Union with the Church”, from his series, What is the Church and Why Does it Matter?

Come to Rest

I often hear Christians ask for prayer that they would use their time wisely. That’s all very well, but we’ve all had days full of time but empty of energy to get things done. When we’re lethargic, unmotivated, or procrastinating, we realise we don’t need just time. Like a web page that is unresponsive and really slow, we need to be refreshed.

How are we refreshed? In some respects, the answer is easy – we need to sleep. This could be the shortest blog post ever! And the Bible does teach us that sleep is part of what it means to rest. Unlike the way that boxsets portray high powered executives who seem unlimited in their capacity to party ‘til late and rise early, we are created as dependent creatures. We need rest, an expression of our utter reliance on our God. He is the only One who does not faint or grow weary (Isa. 40:28).

Soul Rest

As someone currently doing sleep therapy for insomnia, I’m no expert in sleep; in fact, I seem to be an expert in not being able to sleep. So, you’ll be glad to know that I’m not passing on any tips and tricks in that department! In this article, we’ll explore the way that our dependence is not just expressed in our need for bodily rest, but soul rest. See how Jesus describes it in Matthew 11:25-30:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor 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.”

Whilst many people search for soul rest in techniques like mindfulness, or in achievement and success, their lack of satisfaction is well documented. For example, the incredibly successful author Leo Tolstoy, describes how his soul was tortured by the thought: “Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?” His book, A Confession, describes how he tries everything from science to philosophy, religion to distraction, to find meaning.

Why could Tolstoy not find meaning? Look again at Jesus’ words. God has hidden this rest from the wise and the learned. No one will find it by self-help but rather by coming to Christ. In my own journey I have explored mindfulness and one of the drawbacks is that it is too hard for those really sick and struggling. The beauty of the soul rest Jesus offers is that no one is too weak, too sick, too weary, or too much of a failure to receive it. Rather, these are the qualifications. We come like little children, knowing our need, willing to admit our inability.

Fullness

Another attraction of the meditation route is the promise of an empty mind. Empty sounds attractive to our culture—decluttering our homes, lives, and work—but actually, as the empty shelves early in the pandemic showed us, empty is a terrifying prospect. Jesus hasn’t come to empty our lives but to fill them full of him. A life that is light. Easy. Rest-full.

To understand why, we need to unpack Jesus’ yoke metaphor. Oxen carried yokes—the burden of their load, which Jesus likens to our lives. Jesus’ yoke—his life—was perfect. He lived in the light of perfect obedience to God. He never turned from God but always lived under God’s loving rule. God describes him earlier in Matthew 3:17 as “my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” He didn’t deserve to die. He chose to go to the cross so he could take our heavy-laden yoke of sin and death, and he invites us to take up his yoke—his perfect life lived under God’s rule.

Refreshment

Jesus’ yoke is not a decluttered life, empty of relationships and responsibilities. It is a life full of love—love for God and love for others—as summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22:36-39. True soul rest is found in relationship with God and his people. “It is not good that the man should be alone,” said God in Genesis 2:18. And so, it’s no surprise as we trace the other verses where this word rest (also translated “refreshed”) is found, to find that this light and easy life is lived in relationship with others.

…for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people (1 Cor. 16:18, emphasis added).

Therefore, we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all (2 Cor. 7:13, emphasis added).

For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you (Phil. 1:7, emphasis added).

Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ (Phil. 1:20, emphasis added).

Do you see? We refresh one another. That is how we were created to live. As those who fear the Lord speak with one another (Mal. 3:16), we find our hearts refreshed. We find comfort, benefit, and joy.

There is much about life right now that is wearying: the turmoil of the pandemic, politics, prejudice, and pressure surround us. “Come to me”, cries the sofa. Bolt the door, tune in to church online, and keep away from others. Gently, Christ calls the weary to something better:  “Come to me…and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Rest for our souls is not found alone on the couch, but in coming to Christ and, together with others, enjoying the light and easy yoke that he gives us.

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Photo: Unsplash

To Those Who are Frustrated with the Church

In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (Eph. 2:22).

If you’ve ever been discouraged with the church, if you’ve ever felt like giving up on the church (like most Christians at some point in their lives), then this article is for you. The Bible’s image of the church as a building is what you need to grasp so that you will be able to sustain a lifetime of ministry within the body of Christ, wherever He places you.

Building of People

When Jesus said, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18), he was talking about people. This image shows that the purpose of our Lord is that he wants to build us together. Peter, who is referred to as “the stone” or “the rock”, picks up this same theme saying, “You [are] living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). Christ is putting together a building that’s made up of people, and each of us is like a living stone.

But the picture here isn’t a building with bricks, but with stones—which come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors. They are hewn out of a quarry and come out with rough edges. The great skill of the Master Builder is to fit them together so that each one finds its special place within the building.

One of the joys of travelling in Scotland is seeing the “Drystane Dykes” (dry stone walls). These walls have no mortar—they are simply stones. The whole point of it is that the strength of the wall depends on the placing and the shape of each individual stone. It is something like this that the Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 2:22—each of us is like a living stone. We all have our own individuality, and Christ uses this as He builds His church.

You may come to church and say, “I’m not so sure that I’m like other people here.” Then I would respond, “That is exactly why you are needed there.” God created you as a one-of-a-kind. He redeems what he created. What He has placed in believers by creation, He has now redeemed for the good of His church and for the ultimate glory of His Son.

Work in Progress 

The Apostle tells us in Ephesians 2:21 that “the whole building… rises to become…” God’s building is not yet complete. So, no one should be surprised if the local church looks and feels more like a building site than a showroom.

The church is made up of ordinary people who are in the process of being redeemed, all of us sinners in the process of being renewed. It was Augustine who described the church as “a hospital for sinners.” He said it would be very strange if people were to criticize hospitals because the patients were sick.  The whole point of the hospital is that people are there because they’re sick, and they haven’t yet recovered.

Set your expectations of the local church wisely. It’s hard enough for two sinners to make a good marriage. So how much harder is it for 200 sinners or 2,000 sinners to make a good church? When we see Him we will be like Him, but until then we are like a building under construction.

In any congregation of believers, you will find that there are things not yet done and things that are out of place. Some things need to be taken down, other things need to be cleaned up. Many things are only roughed in and need to be finished. It will always be like that until Jesus Christ comes.

It’s easy for a critic and the cynic to come into the local church and say, “Look at all this that is not yet done. Look at all this that is not yet complete. How can Jesus Christ be present in this?” Jesus Christ is present in His church as the builder. The evidence of Christ’s presence is not that everything is complete, but that everything is in process. The fact that the church often feels more like a building site than a showroom is evidence of the presence of the builder.

If you do not understand that the church is a work in progress, you will spend the rest of your life looking for perfection, and you will end up alone.  That is not the will of God for you.

Home in Preparation

Christ will not be the builder forever. One day, the building will “become a dwelling place in which God lives by His Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). In other words, Christ will be at home with His people when all His work in and among His people is complete.

Old Testament Theme

One great theme that runs through the Bible is that of God looking for a home on earth.  At Mount Sinai, God told Moses to build the tabernacle, a meeting place between God and His people. Then the Lord said something even better:

But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there (Deut. 12:5).

The meeting place would now be a dwelling place. Later David discerned that Jerusalem was that place.  That’s why Solomon built the temple there.  And when it was dedicated, the cloud of God’s glory filled the whole place.  All the people could see the visible evidence of the presence of Almighty God.  Here was the place where God actually is.  Here was the place where God’s presence was made known, the dwelling place of God on earth.

Follow the story of the temple.  God’s people sinned against Him in various ways, the temple was eventually overrun, and God’s people became exiles in another land for 70 years. Then God brought them back in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and they rebuilt the temple. But, when they dedicated it, no cloud of glory came and filled that temple. By the end of the Old Testament, the prophets are looking for the day when “the Lord will suddenly come to his temple” (Mal. 3:1).

And then one day He did.  When Jesus walked into the temple, do you remember what He found? The leadership of the temple had lost their vision of ministry to the nations. It was no longer a house of prayer, so Jesus drove out the traders. Later, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn. 2:19). He wasn’t referring to the building. He was referring to Himself, to His own flesh. Do you see the huge significance of this: “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).

Then Jesus went on to say something extraordinary, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn. 14:23).

New Testament Promise

If you come to love and trust the Lord Jesus Christ, here’s the New Testament promise: The Father and the Son, through the agency of the Spirit, will truly come to make “home” in you. That’s why, later on in the New Testament, we find the Apostle Paul saying, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Cor. 6:19).

That’s what you are.  If you’re in Christ, this is really true of you. And if you are among those frustrated with the church, I promise you this: You will be more at home in the presence of Christ, as a believer, fully redeemed in heaven. You’ll be more at home there, than at any time and any place you ever have been in your entire life in this world. You will be more at home with Christ, and He will be at home with you. Nothing about us will grieve Him on that day, because His work will be complete. To be part of this work that Christ is doing in the church is the greatest privilege of our lives this side of heaven.

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Photo: UnsplashThis article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Building: Christ’s Presence in the Church” from his series, What is the Church and Why Does it Matter?

How Opening the Bible is Bringing Hope to Japan

Sometimes, in the midst of an ordinary day, you meet an extraordinary person. This was my experience a few months ago while working as intern with Unlocking the Bible. I had the opportunity to interview (via Zoom) a Christian woman who lives in western Japan. Meet Kayoko Katayama! I pray that you, too, will be encouraged by the various ways that opening the Bible has changed her life

“Open the Bible Changed Me!”An Interview with Kayoko Katayama

Due to the time difference between the United States and Japan, Kayoko and I greeted each other with both “Good morning” (for me) and “Good evening” (for Kayoko). Then, I jumped right to asking questions and hearing Kayoko’s story of faith in Christ.

When did you first hear the truth about Jesus, Kayoko?

[smiling, as she reminisced] When I was a university student, I majored in English and wanted to read the Bible. During that time, I met a missionary from Sweden. We would often talk about Christianity, and I began attending his church. When I opened the Bible, what I read started to affect me.

What is one scripture that has particularly strengthened your faith?

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:34-40).

Jesus says, “What is the most important commandment? Love your God and love your neighbor.” I really like this verse. It is really difficult for me to do, but I always want to try.

Obeying this commandment is very difficult for me to do, too. Can you describe a time in your life that challenged your faith or caused you to doubt?

It has been difficult for me to find a church family. There are only about three churches in the area where I live, and each of those has a small congregation of only 15-30 people.

I’ve moved a lot because of my husband’s work. Sometimes I couldn’t find a good church or any Christian community at all. I doubted God and wondered, “Why did He give me such an experience?”

In 2011, there was a big earthquake in Japan, and I had met many victims. At that time, I wondered, “Why did God allow this”, but I think God wants to use these kinds of experiences to help us know more about the true meaning of life.

What was the 2011 earthquake like for your family?

At that time, we lived in the northern part of Japan. We were quite close to the earthquake, but safe. We met many people who were evacuated from the area, and we heard many stories about their experiences. I just wanted to know how to help them. From these events, we can learn to help each other and think more about how other people feel.

I like what you said about helping others. How has the Word of God helped you get through a tough situation?

I have two sons. When they were high school students, they were bullied, and we had a really hard time. A very nice pastor encouraged us, and I also told my sons what we know from Scripture: God always thinks that you are important (even if you are bullied).

How have you grown in your understanding of Scripture?

In the past, I didn’t think the Old Testament was very important. I somewhat ignored it. But the Open the Bible resource helped me understand that even the Old Testament talks about Jesus.

When I was a university student and heard pastors teach, I felt I needed a Savior. Using Open has helped me to understand so much more about how sinful we are—and that we really need a Savior. I feel that necessity more than ever before.

When did you discover Open the Bible?

I used to listen to a preacher from Sweden who preached the gospel in English. About four years ago, they stopped airing that program. That’s when I found the Unlocking the Bible website. As soon as I began using Open, I wanted to translate it into Japanese. I have already translated all 50 sessions of the “Hike” path.

What compelled you to translate the Open the Bible resource?

In Japan, many of the pastors don’t preach from the Old Testament. So, it’s really difficult for Christians in Japan to understand the Bible from the beginning to the end, in context. I think Open is a really helpful tool for Japanese Christians to learn more about the Bible and more about Jesus.

Another reason I wanted to do the translation was so that I could give the teaching to my sons. So, whenever I finish translating a session, I send it to my sons. Both my husband and sons read what I translate. My husband is quite interested in Open, and he’s quite happy about it.

How has the ministry of Unlocking the Bible impacted you?

When I read the Bible, sometimes I have questions. It’s difficult to ask my pastor in Japan because he doesn’t welcome the questions. He may not know how to answer the questions. But when I listen to Unlocking the Bible [radio programs], many of my questions can be answered by Pastor Colin Smith’s preaching. He doesn’t avoid the most difficult parts of the Bible.

What is the role of Scripture in your life?

The Bible is really important because people tend to get discouraged. If we only look at our problems, we are very easily discouraged. But if we know the God of Scripture, then we can have hope—both now and in the future. The Bible makes me wonder, “Since I have the hope of my Savior, what is my mission in this world right now?”

I really appreciate how you pointed out that Scripture leads us to knowing our mission in this world. What would you say is your mission?

I want to tell people about the Bible. I want to tell people in Japan that there is a God. Many Japanese people think that Jesus is the God for Western people only. But Jesus is not just for Western people. He is for all people, even in Japan! Jesus cares for Japan. I want to tell everyone, “Jesus is the one, true God for all the people on earth!”

 

You can read more Stories of Impact like this one at Unlocking the Bible.

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Photo: Unsplash

Five Truths About the Body of Christ

Grace was given to me… to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery (Eph. 3:9).

The Bible’s teaching about the church isn’t easy to grasp.  The church is a “mystery.” It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can really begin to understand it at all. But God wants us to know who we are, and so He teaches us through pictures, analogies, and images.

False Pictures of the Church

Before we go to God’s pictures of the church, I want to point out some of the false pictures that some have of the church today.  As we get rid of the distortions, we’ll be ready to receive the truth.  Tom Nelson, who serves as a pastor in the Free Church, has identified four distorted images. [1]

The church as a gas station—where you fill up your spiritual gas tank when you’re running low

The church as a movie theater—a place that offers entertainment

The church as a drug store—where you can fill the prescription that will deal with your pain.

The church as a big box retailer—the place that offers the best products in a clean and safe environment for you and your family

You won’t find any of these pictures in the Bible. All of them are distortions. They have one thing in common—they’re all about me. Fill me up! Entertain me! Take away my pain! Give me the programs I am looking for, for me and my family. It’s pure consumerism that, unsurprisingly, is the pervasive mindset in our culture. Let’s move away from these self-centered ways of thinking about church.

God’s Picture: The Body of Christ

And [God] put all things under [Christ’s} feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23).

The Bible uses this wonderful picture of the church as the body of Christ in two distinct ways. It’s important not to confuse them. In 1 Corinthians 12, the whole body (including the head) works together. But in Ephesians 1 we have a different picture: Christ is the Head and we are the body. There’s no such thing in the New Testament as a Christ-less church.

When you grasp that we are the body of Christ, you come to see the church in a whole new light. The gas station, movie theater, drug store, and big box retailer are means to an end. They’re not inherently valuable in themselves. But the church is not a means to an end; it is an end in itself. Local congregations gathered by God are of supreme value. The Father has exalted Christ as head over all things for the church!

Five Lessons from this Analogy

1. Christ is the head of the church.

The church belongs to Christ, not because we’ve decided to make Him the head, but because He is the head and He’s decided to make us the body. The body serves at the direction of the head. Our calling is to be responsive to Him.

2. Every member of the body needs to be connected to the Head.

John Stott speaks about the “grotesque anomaly, [of] an un-churched Christian.” [2] We must be careful not to press any analogy too far. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ.  The thief on the cross arrived in heaven without ever being part of a local church, but that’s an anomaly.

The film 127 Hours tells the story of Aron Ralston, an adventurer from Indiana who got trapped in a canyon in Utah. Nobody knew where Aron was, and he waited 127 hours with his dying arm trapped behind an unmovable rock. In the end there was only one solution. With a dull knife, Aron cut off his own arm. It was the only way to survive. Aaron can get along without his right arm, but he would surely be glad if there was a way for him to get it back. That’s how it is with the church.

Have you committed yourself as a member of a local church? If not, why do you stay detached? If you’re an amputated Christian, a Christian disconnected from the body, you’ve been a “lone ranger” for far too long. I’m praying that through the Scriptures you will hear the Holy Spirit saying to you, “The church is where you belong, and I am placing you here to do my will.”

3. Every member of the body must be responsive to the Head.

There is a story in the New Testament about a man who had a shriveled hand.  The hand was connected to the body, but it wasn’t doing anything useful.  It had lost the capacity to function. There was a breakdown between the commands of the brain and the function of this limb. Christ said to this man, “Stretch out your hand.”  I’ve always found this fascinating because it’s the one thing that this man could not do. But, the Scripture simply says, “He stretched it out and his hand was completely restored” (Mk. 3:5).

Maybe you’ve come to think of yourself as someone who is unable to function and who has nothing to contribute. But when you’re connected to Jesus Christ, you draw life from Him. You are able to fulfill the work that He has for you to do.

4. Every member of the body will suffer with the Head.

You cannot be a pastor, a missionary, or a faithful member of the body of Christ without suffering wounds. The body of Christ will always have scars.

Think about the incarnation and the physical body of Christ. He was born in the manger. What happened to His body? The same body in which He fulfilled all obedience was lacerated, pierced, and broken. It was the body in which He suffered. The world inflicted pain on the body of Jesus. In over 2000 years of history, the world has always hated the church, which is the body of Christ. It always has and it always will. Don’t expect the world to love you. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (Jn. 15:18).

If you devote your life to serving Christ, you will have scars and wounds to show for it. Paul says, “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus” (2 Cor. 4:10). We all want to be part of a healthy body, but the body of which Christ is the head is also a despised body, a suffering body in this world.

5. Every member of the body will be glorified with the Head.

One day the scarred body of the church, the body that has so often been feeble, weak, despised and hated by the world, will be taken up into the presence of God. That scarred body will become like His glorious body! The head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now.  And the body known by its scars, will be known by its glory.

Through the power of Jesus Christ, you can say, “I am so glad that I am part of the body of Christ.”

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Photo: Unsplash1. Tom Nelson, Ekklesia (Cross Training, 2010).2. John Stott, The Living Church (InterVarsity Press, 2011), 19.This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Body: Christ’s Working Through the Church”, from his series, What is the Church and Why Does it Matter?

When God Feels Far Away

Do you remember a time when you felt particularly close to God? For me, the first year I became a Christian was an extraordinary year. I was daily overwhelmed with joy to be in communion with God through the Holy Spirit. My life was forever changed. I expected that joyful feeling of closeness to God would never change. But, in the past thirteen years since, those feelings have often come and gone.

In the times I have felt spiritually numb, the Lord has taught me an important lesson on faith. It is a lesson that he has brought home again while I recently struggled with lingering effects of the COVID-19 virus. This lesson is the answer to these questions: Why does God sometimes seem so distant? And what should I do if I no longer feel his presence?

The Deadening Effect of Sin

Three months ago, I sat down to what I hoped would be a delicious bowl of pasta but quickly realized something was not right: it was tasteless. Two days later, I tested positive for COVID-19. This unseen virus has weighed me down, exhausted me, and completely deadened my senses of smell and taste.

Losing my senses of smell and taste has reminded me of what sin does to us, spiritually. The hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” tells us that “though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see”, God’s radiant beauty never changes. But sin, both within and around us, deadens our ability to perceive him. Similarly, there was nothing different about my pasta that day; I had prepared it with the same ingredients and method as always before. The difference was in me. I no longer had the ability to enjoy it.

Luke 24 tells of a similar phenomenon with two of Jesus’ disciples as they walked to Emmaus on resurrection Sunday. Though Jesus Himself was walking with them, Luke says:

Their eyes were kept from recognizing him (Lk. 24:16).

Does this mean they were under a spell or that Jesus had purposefully disguised himself? The text makes no mention of such things. Rather, we see simply that two disciples who loved Jesus are now disillusioned by his apparent absence. Even as they spoke with their risen Lord face to face, they just “stood still, looking sad” (v 16).

After the weekend’s tragic events, hopelessness was in the air and spreading like contagion. The disciples spoke of their hope in Jesus in the past tense only, saying “we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (v 21).

Jesus diagnoses their condition as “slow of heart to believe” (v 25). Their faith had come under attack, and their presenting symptom was now the inability to perceive the very presence of their Lord.

For Christians, you will, at times, become disillusioned with God and his apparent absence in your life. It may seem like he is behind a double-locked door and all your prayers are falling flat against it. The question you must settle is this: does God withdraw himself from us? Scripture’s answer is as clear and certain as the bedrock facts of the solar system:

I will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5).

Like the sun, God does not move or hide himself from his people. But when sin drains our faith, our sense of him will become dulled or deadened.

What Can We Do?

In Christ we are freed from the penalty and power of sin, yet we continue to endure its presence. We do not yet live in the city of God, the home of righteousness. We live in a land where we groan from sin, the greatest pandemic of all time. It is always attacking our faith, and deadening our ability to perceive God. What can we do about it?

Keep Feeding Your Faith

Jesus’ prescription for his disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus is the same one he offers us today.

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Lk. 24:31).

As the disciples began to see Christ in the Scriptures, they were finally able to see him in their midst as well. First, he broke for them the “bread” of the word, explaining the Scriptures, and their hearts began to burn within them (v 32). Then, as he broke the physical bread for them, “their eyes were opened” (v 31), and they recognized that Jesus had been with them all along!

When we feel that God is far away from us, the greatest temptation we will face is to neglect the sustenance of the Bible, both in personal study and corporate worship. But, Scripture is the very thing that provides the cure to everything that ails us.

While the coronavirus attacked my body I needed nutritious food more than ever. How foolish it would have been for me to blame my food for its tastelessness and refuse to eat it at the very time when I needed it most!

No matter how spiritually numb you might feel, don’t let that keep your soul from the nourishment it needs. As Pastor Colin Smith says, “Christ is known through the Scriptures… Spiritual life is sustained as we draw strength, energy, faith, hope, love, peace, and joy from Christ, and Christ feeds us through his Word.” [1]

As you open your Bible, ask God to help you behold Jesus. He can renew your faith, warming your heart and reviving your senses to freshly perceive him.

Keep Hoping for Healing

Only Jesus knows the reality of being cut off from the loving presence of God. He endured it on the cross, crying out, “My God my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46). He willingly suffered that pain of separation so that believers will never know that reality. Regardless of how we feel, the truth is that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). This brings hope for today’s battles with unbelief.

We also have the future hope of a greater and more permanent recovery. If you have known seasons of intense intimacy with the Lord, then treasure those as the preview of your unending life to come. One day, our battles with sin will end, we will see Christ as he is—beholding His beauty (1 Jn. 3:2). We will forever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17).

When you are spiritually numb and disillusioned by God’s silence in your life, remember to keep eating the bread of God’s word. As the Holy Spirit makes Christ known to you through its pages, you will soon recognize that he has indeed been with you all along, even when you could not sense his presence.

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Photo: Unsplash1. Kristen Wetherell, “Q&A: How Pastor Colin Smith Unlocks the Bible”, Unlocking the Bible (September 22, 2016), https://unlockingthebible.org/2016/09/qa-how-pastor-colin-smith-unlocks-the-bible/.

 

We Need a Biblical View of the Church

You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church (Matt. 16:18).

In the eyes of the world, the church is weak, ineffective, out of touch, the enemy of progress—and the list goes on. In the eyes of Christ, the church is uniquely precious, supremely valuable, and infinitely glorious.

65% of Americans claim to be Christians. [1] With a population of over 330 million, that means 215 million Americans claim to be believers. Of that number, only 97 million say they attend worship services at least once or twice a month. [2] Only half of those who claim to be Christian gather with other believers for worship.

Why are So Many Leaving?

If we could talk with the 118 million Americans who have no living connection with a congregation of believers, my guess is that we would hear many different stories. Some would only have a faint connection with Christianity. They may have been baptized as infants. They might say they believe that Jesus died and that He rose, but they have never experienced the living power of Jesus Christ in their lives. Others would say that they have served and believed, and they’ve been burned. They saw some sin or scandal in the church and determined they would never go near her again.

The three stumbling blocks that have most often plagued the church are the same stumbling blocks that plague the world: money, sex, and power.  Find a person who is alienated from the church and there’s a good chance that an offense involving one of these three lies at the root of it.

Others came to church and simply got nothing out of it. There was no spiritual substance, nothing that related to life. It was entertainment, but you can get entertainment many other places, so why get it at church? Others may just have drifted, got involved in other activities, or just never found a church that felt like home. It’s not hard to find reasons to abandon the church.

We live in a highly individualistic culture. Of all the cultures that have ever existed in the history of the world, this is the most individualistic. Our natural pragmatism asks, “What’s the most efficient way to get things done?” and the local church doesn’t look the most likely vehicle for changing the world.

Some are saying, “The church is damaging to your spiritual health.” They say the church is toxic to spiritual life, and that if you really want to follow Jesus what you should do is leave the church, because you can’t follow Him there. [3]. You can read more about the church-leaving movement and find good answers to it in the book, Why We Love the Church. [4]

The Church Through Jesus’ Eyes

Christians in America desperately need a new and compelling vision of the church. We need to see the church as Jesus sees her. We need to discover and then share the passion of Jesus Christ.

If three Christians meet at a bus stop every morning, are they a church? What if they talk about the Bible on the train or at Starbucks? Is your small group a church? And if not, why not? A growing number of Christians have the idea that “church” is simply the plural of “Christian.” They feel that any group of Christians meeting at any time or place is a church. Are they right?

What does the word “church” mean on the lips of Jesus?  Whatever Jesus means when He uses the word “church” is what we want it to mean for us. There are only two occasions in the four gospels where the word “church” occurs. Our Lord used the word “church” twice, and what He said defines the church for us.

The First Time Jesus Used the Word “Church”

I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).

Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The church that Christ is building has to refer to all believers in every age and every place, because there is only one.  “My church” is singular! It encompasses all Christians.

Universal

Christ is not speaking here about a local church, which is only one church among many. Our Lord isn’t speaking about the Baptists, the Methodists, the Lutherans, or the Catholics. He speaks here about all believers in every age and in every place.

The church is built on the solid rock of Christ Himself. Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, and Jesus says to him, “The Father has revealed this to you” (Matthew 16:17). Peter is in touch with reality when he says that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus says, “Peter, on this reality that I am indeed the Son of God, I will build my church.” The church stands on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Then Christ says, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). You can’t say that about any local church or denomination. All over the world there are sad stories of churches and denominations that have lost their way. Travel through Europe and look at all the churches that have closed. The gates of hell prevailed over them.

Known

Any local church will be a mixed bag of those who truly belong to Christ and those who do not.  We should expect this because Jesus said the wheat and the tares grow together (2 Tim. 2:19), and sometimes you can’t tell the difference. That’s why there are disappointments in the church.

We are not joined to Christ by belonging to the church. We belong to the church by being joined to Christ. In 2 Timothy we read about men in the church like Hymenaeus and Philetus who wandered away from the truth, and whose teaching spread like gangrene in the church.

The Apostle says, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm… The Lord knows those who are His, and, everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness” (2 Tim. 2:19). God knows who are his. He knows the real from the hypocrite. He knows the wheat from the chaff. Nobody fools him. No one deceives him.

Veiled

Since the church is the full company of all believers in every age and in every place, nobody on earth has ever seen it; only Christ can see it. The church will be unveiled in all its glory on the day when Christ stands with a great multitude that no one can number of all his redeemed people.

On that day, Christ’s people will say, “Salvation belongs to our God” (Rev. 7:10). They will be there because they have been washed by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who took away their sins through His sacrifice on the cross (7:14). And the Lamb will lead them into springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (7:17). 

The Second Time Jesus Used the Word “Church”

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault just between you and him alone… if he does not listen, take one or two others along… if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church (Matt. 18:15-17).

The second time Jesus speaks about the church, He is talking about a dispute between two believers. So, this cannot mean, “Tell it to all believers in every age and in every place.” Jesus is clearly speaking about a local congregation of believers.

Local Congregation

Alan Stibbs points out that when you see a thin crescent in the sky, nobody says, “There’s part of the moon.”  We say, “There’s the moon”, for the “part that is visible is genuine moon, and it is more; it is actually, though to us invisibly, united with all the rest of the moon. Similarly, a local Christian congregation is genuine church become visible. It is ‘body of Christ’ and invisibly one in Him with the whole of His body.” [5]

Called Out to Worship

Let my people go so that they may worship me (Ex. 7:16).

In the Old Testament, God’s people believed His promise, painted the blood on their doorposts, and God brought them out of slavery. What a liberation that was! He took them safely through the Red Sea and gathered them for worship at Mount Sinai.

The great purpose of the Exodus was that God was gathering a people for Himself, a people who would worship Him together. God said to Moses, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me…” (Deut. 4:10).

When the Old Testament was translated into Greek, the word used there for “assemble” is “ekklesia.” This word was used to describe a gathering or congregation. That same word “ekklesia” is used for church in the New Testament. Literally, “ekklesia” means “called out.” God says, “Call the people out to worship! Call them out to hear my Word, so that they learn to revere me.”

God’s pattern of life for Israel was that His people would assemble for worship, where they would place themselves under His Word and His presence would be with them.

Sent Out to Serve

I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isa. 49:6).

God’s people in the Old Testament were not only called out by God to worship, they were sent out by God to serve. And Jesus chooses this word with all its rich background of Old Testament meaning and he says, “I will build my ekklesia—a community of people called out by God to worship and sent out by God to serve. This ekklesia will be visible on earth in local congregations of believers.”

Writing to the church in the New Testament, Peter says, “You are a chosen people…that you may declare the praises of Him who brought you out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9). Every local congregation has what John Stott calls the double identity of the church:

We come to Christ in worship.
We go for Christ in mission.” [6]

None of us is here by accident because it is God who gathers the church. The church is not a self-selecting group of people. It’s never—you, me, and a few friends who we choose. The church is gathered by God, and he adds to it—daily—the people who are being saved.

The Privilege of Belonging

Do you belong to that great company of men and women, boys and girls from every culture, place, and generation who confess with Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? You don’t belong to Christ by joining the church. You belong to the church by being joined to Christ.

If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are part of the community of those whom God has released you from the tyranny of sin and death and hell. He has set you free in a new exodus, through Jesus Christ. He has called you out so that you might go and declare the praise of Jesus Christ.

I cannot imagine a greater privilege than that.

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Photo: Unsplash1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States2. https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/3. This is not new. Bishop Ryle, writing in in 19th century says, “Let me warn men not to be shaken by those who say that all visible churches are necessarily corrupt, and that no man can belong to them without peril to his own soul. There have never been wanting men of this kind, men who have forgotten that everything must be imperfect which is carried on by human agency, and have spent their lives in a vain search for a perfectly pure church.” Excerpt from Knots Untied (James Clarke & Co., 1964), 286.4. Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church (Moody Press, 2009), 30.5. Alan Stibbs, Such a Great Salvation (Mentor, 2008), 234.6. John Stott, The Living Church (InterVarsity Press, 2011), 20.This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “What is the Church and Why Does it Matter?”, from his series What is the Church and Why Does it Matter?