Galatians 2:1-10
The apostle Paul was a fighter! He was quick to recognize attacks on his freedom and to resist them.
Today is Remembrance Sunday – a day on which we remember those who have died fighting against tyranny – who have resisted threats to our freedom. Of course, this is now somewhat muddied by the widespread ambivalence (and for many people, outright opposition) towards the current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But while there is increased questioning about the purpose and value of these military operations, there seems to be also an increased desire to express solidarity with those who serve in the armed forces.
At the same time, there has been increasing controversy about the wearing or not wearing of poppies, with a particular debate about whether people on TV should all be wearing them. The irony is that a poppy – which represents the sacrifice made to gain our freedom – can itself become a form of legalism. Paul is making a similar observation in his letter to the Galatians.
Tomorrow is the twentieth anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall. This was one of the better moments of our recent history, when resistance to tyranny led to the collapse of an oppressive political system. Paul writes to the Galatians 20 years after the cross, and freedom was the issue, just as it still is for us. Paul’s message is that anything that compromises freedom needs to be resisted – the wall needs to be demolished!
Christian Freedom
Sadly, the all too typical impression people have of the ‘Christian’ is someone who is stiff, cold, boring and drab. This stands in stark contrast with the Biblical view of who a Christian is – someone who is free! Who lives a hi-def life of adventure, purity and compassion.
Why the difference?
The sad truth is that too often the Church has allowed Christian freedom to be robbed from the people of God, and Christians have indeed become stiff, cold, boring and drab!
This is weird, because Christianity is a story of freedom. We grow up on freedom stories: of Moses, David and Esther. And we sing in church each week about being set free by Jesus. Moreover the gospel promises us freedom: from the tyranny of emotions, the opinion of others, and our bad memories. But then we end up living in a strait-jacket.
Why?
Because freedom is dangerous! If we give people freedom, they might do things they shouldn’t! So freedom is suppressed for the best of motives – to preserve morality. The cart is put in front of the horse, and rather than purity resulting from a life changed by Jesus, morality tries to win the acceptance of God by being obedient.
We need to be acutely sensitive to these threats to our freedom. And we need to really believe the gospel. The problem for all of us is sin and suffering – the bad stuff we have done, and the bad stuff other people have done to us. The solution to both these problems is found at the cross. At the cross Jesus paid for our sin, and at the cross he carried our suffering. Only by the cross can we be truly free.
Threats that Paul faced: 1, Circumcise Titus
Titus was a Greek, and it was controversial to bring a Greek to Jerusalem. But Paul always worked in a team, and he always chose to travel with his team mates. Barnabas had been his first mentor, and was now his co-worker, while Titus was probably someone Paul had led to faith, the fruit of his ministry (see Titus 1:4).
As a follower of Jesus Titus was free, but the religious committee in Jerusalem wanted to run the rule over him. The expectation was that converts to Christianity should first convert to Judaism. For 2,000 years the Jews had been circumcising their sons, giving them a physical sign of a spiritual reality – that they were separated from the world, and joined to God – and they didn’t see why this should change. So for Titus to do things decently and in order, for him to be both acceptable and accepted, he needed to be circumcised.
This is what moralism does – it adds preconditions to the gospel. It says that obedience is needed to earn acceptance. Paul wouldn’t give an inch to these people! The gospel says, “You are accepted” and obedience – righteous living – flows out of that, not the other way around.
Threats that Paul faced: 2, Ministry to Gentiles
Paul’s ministry to non-Jews was controversial. Moreover, Paul didn’t fit the normal apostolic profile: He wasn’t one of the 12 disciples; he hadn’t been there at Pentecost; he had only spent 15 days in Jerusalem in the company of the other apostles; and he was going primarily to non-Jews.
At the same time, Paul was the best educated, the cleverest, the most able, the most Jewish of the apostles! He should have gone to the Jews! He should have run for parliament! But by going to the gentiles rather than doing what he was obviously qualified to do Paul aroused suspicion among the Jews in Jerusalem. They didn’t like his freedom. They didn’t like the way he broke the mould.
But the key thing was the gospel!
Peter, James & John saw that Paul was preaching the gospel and they welcomed him on the basis of the gospel.
The application of this for us is that we are free to minister wherever God has placed us. We can reach out to people who are like us (as Peter did with Jews) but we are also free to reach out to people different from ourselves. We don’t need to conform to any standard – except to the gospel! The gospel frees us! Very practically, this means we can just as freely go to either Sandbanks or Turlin Moor. The gospel is the ultimate agent of social mobility!
Paul resisted any threat to his freedom, and illustrates this to the Galatians powerfully with the story he tells in verses 11-14. This example is recorded in scripture so it might stand for all time – Paul doesn’t spare Peter’s blushes! Where Peter is a hypocrite Paul is unafraid to say so, and to keep on saying so!
Let nothing compromise your freedom! But this is a freedom that leads to fruitfulness…
Remember the Poor
Paul tells us that he went to Jerusalem in response to a revelation (v2). It is possible that this refers to the incident recorded in Acts 11:27-30, where a prophet warned of a famine that was to come, and the believers took up an offering for the poor in Judea. If this is the case, the very reason Paul was in Jerusalem was to serve the poor. Either way, it is clear from 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 that collecting a gift for the poor in Jerusalem was a major event in Paul’s ministry.
The Apostolic burden is for the poor. The gospel is good news for the poor – it just is!
Any so-called freedom that ignores, forgets or despises the poor is a bogus freedom. Our freedom in Christ results not in selfishness but in blessing to others. This is a freedom that affects even our wallets!
Our freedom to resist must include resistance on behalf of the poor. This resistance will often involve sacrifice – of our money and energy and time – but resistance always involves sacrifice. We are reminded of this on Remembrance Sunday. And we are reminded of it by the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Most of all, though, we are reminded of it by the Cross – the greatest ever act of sacrifice, and the greatest ever guarantee of our freedom.
Let’s be true to the cross, and keep resisting in the cause of freedom.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Cry Freedom, Part 2: Free to Change
The change industry is huge. I found 93,166 books on Amazon when I searched for “change.” There are books about personal change, business change, political change, climate change, style change, fashion change, partner change, sex change… You name it, someone out there will tell you how to change it!
Constant change is here to stay but most people don’t like change. Only 20 per cent of people are innovators or early adopters. That means 80 per cent of us are wired to resist change!
At the same time many of us would like to change ourselves. We’d like to be happier, healthier, fitter, better looking, wealthier, more popular, more successful…
We live in a world where all is changing; and that change is happening ever faster. In order to survive in that changing world we have to adapt and change.
So we live with this tension, where we want to change but don’t like change yet need to change!
The story of the gospel is the story of changed lives. This is either good news or threatening depending on your perspective! In his letter to the Galatians Paul tells a story of how he was changed by meeting with Jesus. Before he changed Paul didn’t want to change, or see his need to change, but he was eternally grateful that Jesus changed him.
Galatians 1:11-24
Everyone has a story to tell, and this is Paul’s story (which is also told in Acts 9). Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the church, when he was encountered by Jesus (we get further details about this incident in 2 Corinthains 12:2-4). Paul (or Saul as he was then known) was blinded in this encounter, and then received his sight when a believer called Ananias prayed for him. As Ananias prayed, Paul received not only his sight, but also the Spirit. He was then immediately baptized in water, and then went off preaching in Arabia and Damascus. Three years later Paul went to Jerusalem, to compare stories with Peter. After a couple of weeks with Peter, he was sent off to Tarsus (in Cilicia).
We can imagine Peter and Paul sitting with their feet up in front of the fire, saying, “This is what happened to me…”
Where Paul had come from
Saul was a man who wanted to impose order on the world. The followers of Christ were disrupting the social fabric and needed to be stopped.
Saul was a religious man; an ambitious man; a proud man. These are dangerous men! Saul was someone who wanted to override other peoples stories. But Saul became Paul and as well as a name change was transformed into someone who changed stories, not by force, but by the grace of God.
Peter and Paul were very different. Paul was sophisticated, urban, educated, while Peter was rural, rough. Paul never met Jesus (except on the Damascus Road) but Peter had walked beside him. But both Peter and Paul had a story to tell of how Jesus had changed them.
Learning to tell stories
Everyone loves a good story.
A love of stories is not something we have to learn – it is just hardwired into human nature. My children have loved stories from as soon as they were able to communicate in any meaningful way. At first the stories children love are very simple – ‘duck goes for a swim’ – but quickly the stories get longer and more complicated. Small children (very irritatingly!) love to hear the same story over and over again. As we get older we like to hear the same story strung out over a long time, as in a two hour movie or a novel, or even over a lifetime, as with Coronation Street! Some of the best moments in my family are when someone says, “Remember when…” Stories are important to us.
The big story
There are many types of story, and they can take many different forms, but they can all be pretty much boiled down to just two broad categories: TheLove Story, and the Rescue Story. Everyone’s personal story will contain elements of these types of story, and everyone’s personal story can at some point be connected with the story of God:
The Love story: Boy meets girl. Fall in love. Live happily ever after.
This is probably the most common story of all, and is told and retold in countless forms from ‘high culture’ (Romeo & Juliet) to ‘folk culture’ (Snow White) to ‘pop culture’ (Sleepless in Seattle).
Most people’s stories will contain a lot of this story, because it is the story of relationships. Everyone has a story to tell of love fulfilled, broken or unrequited. This is the story that fills acres of newspaper print and celebrity magazines. It is the story other people tell us whenever we sit down together and say, “Tell me about yourself…”
The love story is also the story of the Bible because God’s story is about him winning for himself a bride, the love of his life, who he will lavish his love on forever. From Genesis to Revelation the story is all about a God of love and the consequences of that love. Out of the overflow of his love God created the universe and people to fill it. Out of love God pursues relationship with these people, even when they sin and mess everything up. Out of love God chooses a people for himself – Israel. Out of love God remains faithful to Israel, even when she divorces him. Out of love God comes to the earth in Jesus Christ to win his bride back for himself. The climax of the whole story is a wedding feast when Jesus and his Bride are at last brought together in the new heavens and earth.
Of all the types of story there are, this is really the one big story, because every other story is really in some way about our search for love.
The Rescue story: Boy meets girl. Fall in love. Girl captured by evil monster. Boy kills monster, gets girl. Live happily ever after.
Many of our most popular movies and TV shows are rescue stories: Die Hard, 24, The Matrix. A hero does something impossible and saves the day. Often the story ends with him getting the girl, but it might be something more than that, like Oscar Schindler rescuing hundreds of Jews from the gas chamber.
This story connects with us so powerfully because many of us (especially men) indulge a fantasy to do something heroic, and because in some way all of us need rescuing (from addictions, disappointment, mundane jobs, debt, etc.)
This is also a Bible story because Jesus is our great hero who rescues us from our most deadly enemy – Sin and death. Jesus does the impossible in going to the cross, but, just as the closing credits are about to roll, he bursts back into life unconquered and undimmed. The last enemy to be destroyed, as 1 Corinthians says, is death. This is the big one. In films, the last enemy to be destroyed is always the head villain (it wouldn’t be quite the same if Alan Rickman died half way through Die Hard, or if Jack Bauer killed the chief terrorist by 11am). The last enemy is always the most dangerous villain of all, and the reason why the other villains are there. It’s the same in Scripture. Death is the biggest of the enemies and the explanation for the others. If there was no death, there wouldn’t be any war or injustice or fear or sickness. So if you can abolish death, you can totally strip all the other enemies of their power.
And that’s the Gospel of Jesus and resurrection. On Easter Sunday, the biggest of all the villains was totally and completely undone. The tomb was empty, and it still is. And that means that at least one person has conquered the grave, smashed the last enemy, and overturned the curse of death that has afflicted every human since time began. A champion only has to be killed once. Death had a pretty strong track record, until it faced Jesus, to whom it had no answer whatsoever. His resurrection life was simply too powerful. So, as Paul taunted: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O grave, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Telling our stories
Every other type of story there is (tragedy, comedy, parable, myth, legend, biography, fairytale, fable, mystery, whodunit, epic, etc.) will contain at some point these two greater stories.
The way that we get to know people is by listening to their stories. We need to listen to one another’s tales of love and rescue. We need to share together the stories of what God has done for us, and we need to help others see how God’s great story connects to their personal story. We need to help people see that they can actually become part of the story of God – that he is the one who loves them, and can rescue them.
Paul’s story
How was it that Paul had undergone such a dramatic change? Clearly, the vision on the Damascus Road was an overwhelmingly powerful experience, but there was more to it than simply that. In verses 15-16 Paul describes for us how God had changed him…
God was at work in Paul long before he was born. God always had a plan for Paul, even when he was living in a way that seemed hell bent on destroying the work of God.
Paul was called by God’s grace. This grace was undeserved but free. That’s the point about grace! Paul deserved only God’s wrath, but instead received his love.
And then Jesus was revealed to Paul, in that encounter with the Savior on the Damascus Road.
My story is different from Paul’s, but similar as well. I haven’t seen Jesus in an overwhelming vision, but I know I have been set apart, called, and Jesus has revealed himself to me. This has changed me! It means I have a story to tell; a story of a life changed by the grace of God.
What a story! What grace! What a change!
It doesn’t matter where you come from – whether you are a Saul, or a Peter – by the grace of God you are free to change!
Paul tells the Galatians that the end result of this change is that others will worship God. This should be our aim, that we live our lives and tell our stories in a way that causes worship to raise to the Savior who has changed us.
Constant change is here to stay but most people don’t like change. Only 20 per cent of people are innovators or early adopters. That means 80 per cent of us are wired to resist change!
At the same time many of us would like to change ourselves. We’d like to be happier, healthier, fitter, better looking, wealthier, more popular, more successful…
We live in a world where all is changing; and that change is happening ever faster. In order to survive in that changing world we have to adapt and change.
So we live with this tension, where we want to change but don’t like change yet need to change!
The story of the gospel is the story of changed lives. This is either good news or threatening depending on your perspective! In his letter to the Galatians Paul tells a story of how he was changed by meeting with Jesus. Before he changed Paul didn’t want to change, or see his need to change, but he was eternally grateful that Jesus changed him.
Galatians 1:11-24
Everyone has a story to tell, and this is Paul’s story (which is also told in Acts 9). Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the church, when he was encountered by Jesus (we get further details about this incident in 2 Corinthains 12:2-4). Paul (or Saul as he was then known) was blinded in this encounter, and then received his sight when a believer called Ananias prayed for him. As Ananias prayed, Paul received not only his sight, but also the Spirit. He was then immediately baptized in water, and then went off preaching in Arabia and Damascus. Three years later Paul went to Jerusalem, to compare stories with Peter. After a couple of weeks with Peter, he was sent off to Tarsus (in Cilicia).
We can imagine Peter and Paul sitting with their feet up in front of the fire, saying, “This is what happened to me…”
Where Paul had come from
Saul was a man who wanted to impose order on the world. The followers of Christ were disrupting the social fabric and needed to be stopped.
Saul was a religious man; an ambitious man; a proud man. These are dangerous men! Saul was someone who wanted to override other peoples stories. But Saul became Paul and as well as a name change was transformed into someone who changed stories, not by force, but by the grace of God.
Peter and Paul were very different. Paul was sophisticated, urban, educated, while Peter was rural, rough. Paul never met Jesus (except on the Damascus Road) but Peter had walked beside him. But both Peter and Paul had a story to tell of how Jesus had changed them.
Learning to tell stories
Everyone loves a good story.
A love of stories is not something we have to learn – it is just hardwired into human nature. My children have loved stories from as soon as they were able to communicate in any meaningful way. At first the stories children love are very simple – ‘duck goes for a swim’ – but quickly the stories get longer and more complicated. Small children (very irritatingly!) love to hear the same story over and over again. As we get older we like to hear the same story strung out over a long time, as in a two hour movie or a novel, or even over a lifetime, as with Coronation Street! Some of the best moments in my family are when someone says, “Remember when…” Stories are important to us.
The big story
There are many types of story, and they can take many different forms, but they can all be pretty much boiled down to just two broad categories: TheLove Story, and the Rescue Story. Everyone’s personal story will contain elements of these types of story, and everyone’s personal story can at some point be connected with the story of God:
The Love story: Boy meets girl. Fall in love. Live happily ever after.
This is probably the most common story of all, and is told and retold in countless forms from ‘high culture’ (Romeo & Juliet) to ‘folk culture’ (Snow White) to ‘pop culture’ (Sleepless in Seattle).
Most people’s stories will contain a lot of this story, because it is the story of relationships. Everyone has a story to tell of love fulfilled, broken or unrequited. This is the story that fills acres of newspaper print and celebrity magazines. It is the story other people tell us whenever we sit down together and say, “Tell me about yourself…”
The love story is also the story of the Bible because God’s story is about him winning for himself a bride, the love of his life, who he will lavish his love on forever. From Genesis to Revelation the story is all about a God of love and the consequences of that love. Out of the overflow of his love God created the universe and people to fill it. Out of love God pursues relationship with these people, even when they sin and mess everything up. Out of love God chooses a people for himself – Israel. Out of love God remains faithful to Israel, even when she divorces him. Out of love God comes to the earth in Jesus Christ to win his bride back for himself. The climax of the whole story is a wedding feast when Jesus and his Bride are at last brought together in the new heavens and earth.
Of all the types of story there are, this is really the one big story, because every other story is really in some way about our search for love.
The Rescue story: Boy meets girl. Fall in love. Girl captured by evil monster. Boy kills monster, gets girl. Live happily ever after.
Many of our most popular movies and TV shows are rescue stories: Die Hard, 24, The Matrix. A hero does something impossible and saves the day. Often the story ends with him getting the girl, but it might be something more than that, like Oscar Schindler rescuing hundreds of Jews from the gas chamber.
This story connects with us so powerfully because many of us (especially men) indulge a fantasy to do something heroic, and because in some way all of us need rescuing (from addictions, disappointment, mundane jobs, debt, etc.)
This is also a Bible story because Jesus is our great hero who rescues us from our most deadly enemy – Sin and death. Jesus does the impossible in going to the cross, but, just as the closing credits are about to roll, he bursts back into life unconquered and undimmed. The last enemy to be destroyed, as 1 Corinthians says, is death. This is the big one. In films, the last enemy to be destroyed is always the head villain (it wouldn’t be quite the same if Alan Rickman died half way through Die Hard, or if Jack Bauer killed the chief terrorist by 11am). The last enemy is always the most dangerous villain of all, and the reason why the other villains are there. It’s the same in Scripture. Death is the biggest of the enemies and the explanation for the others. If there was no death, there wouldn’t be any war or injustice or fear or sickness. So if you can abolish death, you can totally strip all the other enemies of their power.
And that’s the Gospel of Jesus and resurrection. On Easter Sunday, the biggest of all the villains was totally and completely undone. The tomb was empty, and it still is. And that means that at least one person has conquered the grave, smashed the last enemy, and overturned the curse of death that has afflicted every human since time began. A champion only has to be killed once. Death had a pretty strong track record, until it faced Jesus, to whom it had no answer whatsoever. His resurrection life was simply too powerful. So, as Paul taunted: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O grave, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Telling our stories
Every other type of story there is (tragedy, comedy, parable, myth, legend, biography, fairytale, fable, mystery, whodunit, epic, etc.) will contain at some point these two greater stories.
The way that we get to know people is by listening to their stories. We need to listen to one another’s tales of love and rescue. We need to share together the stories of what God has done for us, and we need to help others see how God’s great story connects to their personal story. We need to help people see that they can actually become part of the story of God – that he is the one who loves them, and can rescue them.
Paul’s story
How was it that Paul had undergone such a dramatic change? Clearly, the vision on the Damascus Road was an overwhelmingly powerful experience, but there was more to it than simply that. In verses 15-16 Paul describes for us how God had changed him…
God was at work in Paul long before he was born. God always had a plan for Paul, even when he was living in a way that seemed hell bent on destroying the work of God.
Paul was called by God’s grace. This grace was undeserved but free. That’s the point about grace! Paul deserved only God’s wrath, but instead received his love.
And then Jesus was revealed to Paul, in that encounter with the Savior on the Damascus Road.
My story is different from Paul’s, but similar as well. I haven’t seen Jesus in an overwhelming vision, but I know I have been set apart, called, and Jesus has revealed himself to me. This has changed me! It means I have a story to tell; a story of a life changed by the grace of God.
What a story! What grace! What a change!
It doesn’t matter where you come from – whether you are a Saul, or a Peter – by the grace of God you are free to change!
Paul tells the Galatians that the end result of this change is that others will worship God. This should be our aim, that we live our lives and tell our stories in a way that causes worship to raise to the Savior who has changed us.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Cry Freedom, Part 1: Free to Curse
I Want To Be Free!
Galatians is Paul’s letter of freedom. Freedom is its theme, and freedom is the thing, which makes it an interesting letter to read in a culture like ours which places such high regard on personal freedom.
Whether at Woodstock in the ‘60s, the Hacienda Club in the ‘80s or Glastonbury in the ‘00s, our culture exalts freedom. This attitude was summed up by the character played by Peter Fonda in the 1966 movie Wild Angels:
This quote was sampled by Primal Scream for their 1991 track Loaded, which became the anthem of the acid house movement, and it sums up still our cultural expectations of freedom.
Our music, movies and print media all portray freedom as desirable and good. Whether it be Mel Gibson yelling out “Freedom!” with his dying breath in Braveheart, or the Jedi fighting against the evil empire in Star Wars, living in freedom is universally seen as positive.
We tend to take our freedoms for granted.
Some of our freedoms are more noble (freedom of expression, freedom of association), while others are more base (freedom of dress, freedom from moral restraint).
The unbridled pursuit of personal freedom is in many ways an extension of the American Dream, as American culture dominates popular culture throughout the western world. With the birth of the United States there was a new emphasis upon personal freedom, probably unique in the history of the world. The assumption became that I should be able to do what I want to do, as I want to do it, when I want to do it, without hindrance or interference from the state or anyone else.
But this freedom not easily attained. Even in America it has not been easily won, as exemplified by the great struggles of the civil rights movement to gain equal freedom for people of all skin colours. And we see the limitations of freedom, when America has tried to impose it on other nations such as Vietnam and Iraq. The codename of Operation Enduring Freedom to describe actions in Afghanistan and Iraq now has a somewhat ironic sound to it.
Freedom is not only difficult to attain, but is fragile, and always under threat. Threats to our freedom can lead to actions that themselves limit our freedom – hence the bitter debate about the rights and wrongs of ID cards. Sometimes our freedoms collide with one another – one persons freedom to get drunk and have a good time can impinge on someone else’s freedom to not have their peace disturbed late at night.
Freedom is difficult!
The Situation in Galatia
The world of the New Testament was very different to our world, but also shared many similarities.
It was different because there were many different social assumptions, and attitudes towards rights and responsibilities. It was different because society was so much more segmented, with Roman citizens, freemen, and slaves all in the mix. Yet it was similar, because while cultures change, people don’t change. It was also like our world in that it was a multi-cultural, multi-religious society, and a world in which commerce, entertainment and sport were regarded as very important.
Galatia was an area in Asia Minor (now Turkey) that had been settled by Gauls. Paul’s letter to the churches there is possible the earliest book of the New Testament, written in the late 40s or early 50s. This was within 20 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus, which is something we should bear in mind as we read it.
Freedom Is The Focus
Freedom is not only an issue in culture, but in the church.
The claim of the gospel is that in it is true freedom. This freedom, too, comes under attack, and when it did in Galatia Paul went on the attack against the attackers…
Galatians 1:1-12
Why Does Paul Curse?
Galatians is one of Paul’s angriest letters, and Paul is angry because the Galatians were tolerating teaching that compromised their freedom. It seems that false teachers were coming into the churches and teaching that to be a Christian, believers first had to become Jews. Paul – who was a Jew, and had no issue with Christians who were Jews keeping their Jewish customs – was furious about this teaching, because his claim was that the gospel of Jesus Christ alone brings freedom.
Paul states that his authority as an apostle is outside the normal human system, it is not from men nor through men… His focus as an apostle is on the fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Paul greets the churches with, Grace to you and peace – which is the normal apostolic greeting. The order of the words is significant, and has to be this way around. Grace is what we receive because of what Jesus has done at the cross, and it is grace that enables us to be at peace.
So how do we receive grace and peace? By what Jesus has done. Jesus has won for us freedom! This is the claim: true freedom is only found in Christ and his rescue. For Paul, faith is not a set of behaviours, nor mere acknowledgement of certain statements but a radical transformation – we were held captive by sin but Jesus has broken its power by his death and resurrection. Because of this we can know true freedom! Not the shallow, second rate freedom of a ‘free society’, but ultimate liberty because the ultimate enemy has been destroyed.
This means the church should be the freest place on earth! Which is why Paul is angry: The Galatians are not living in freedom!
What, then, does Christian freedom look like? It can’t mean just a free for all. Paul makes it clear later on in this letter that our freedom is meant to result in good works (E.g., Gal 5:13). Freedom must operate within certain parameters, in the same way that team sports are only fun to watch and play when played within certain parameters. Paul is fighting with the Galatians for where those parameters lie, and it is all set by this: Jesus’ victory over sin!
Religion seeks to impose its own parameters – it tries to say, “salvation is found in Jesus plus…” This makes Paul very angry!
Galatians 1:6-9 is one of the most extraordinary passages in the New Testament, as Paul calls down anathemas on false teaching. Paul is furious because the Galatians are deserting the gospel. They are deserting the path to freedom and allowing other parameters to be imposed upon them.
But Christians Aren’t Meant To Curse…!
Paul himself tells us this in Romans 12:14 where he instructs us to bless our enemies rather than curse them. So when is it OK to curse?!
Biblically speaking, disobedience to God leads to coming under a curse. (Examples of this can be seen in Genesis 3 & 4; Deuteronomy 11:26-28; Malachi 1:14 – 2:2; Matthew 25:41-43; Mark 11:12-14, 20-21.) Disobedience leads to a curse – it leads to death.
But the great glorious promise of the gospel is that Jesus has carried this curse for us!
So what Paul curses is anything that would threaten this gospel. Anything that would say, “this is the way to salvation” other than Jesus is to be cursed. A curse on anything that denies the sufficiency of the cross! A curse on anything that would keep us from enjoying God’s grace!
Burning heretics was a big mistake, but so is welcoming them! Tolerance can be overrated. You would not tolerate someone raping your wife, and we shouldn’t tolerate anything that compromises the freedom of the gospel – which is a rape of the church.
Believing this gospel and cursing anything that compromises it will not always lead to popularity (Gal 1:10-12). The gospel is not popular because it comes from Jesus, not man. Paul was often a very unpopular man…!
What this gospel claims is that you are under a curse if you have not come to the cross and been delivered. But come to the cross you can! Rescue can be yours!
And what this gospel claims is that if you have come to the cross, you should curse the things that would keep you from freedom. We followers of Jesus are meant to live in freedom, confidence and liberty. We don’t need to feel guilty, because Jesus has defeated guilt at the cross. You don’t need to make a payment yourself – you are free. You don’t need bad stuff to happen to you – the bad stuff has already happened to Jesus so you can be delivered.
This is good news! And a curse on anything that would deny it!
Galatians is Paul’s letter of freedom. Freedom is its theme, and freedom is the thing, which makes it an interesting letter to read in a culture like ours which places such high regard on personal freedom.
Whether at Woodstock in the ‘60s, the Hacienda Club in the ‘80s or Glastonbury in the ‘00s, our culture exalts freedom. This attitude was summed up by the character played by Peter Fonda in the 1966 movie Wild Angels:
We want to be free! We want to be free to do what we want to do! We want to be free to ride. And we want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man. And we want to get loaded. And we want to have a good time! And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna have a good time. We’re gonna have a party!
This quote was sampled by Primal Scream for their 1991 track Loaded, which became the anthem of the acid house movement, and it sums up still our cultural expectations of freedom.
Our music, movies and print media all portray freedom as desirable and good. Whether it be Mel Gibson yelling out “Freedom!” with his dying breath in Braveheart, or the Jedi fighting against the evil empire in Star Wars, living in freedom is universally seen as positive.
We tend to take our freedoms for granted.
Some of our freedoms are more noble (freedom of expression, freedom of association), while others are more base (freedom of dress, freedom from moral restraint).
The unbridled pursuit of personal freedom is in many ways an extension of the American Dream, as American culture dominates popular culture throughout the western world. With the birth of the United States there was a new emphasis upon personal freedom, probably unique in the history of the world. The assumption became that I should be able to do what I want to do, as I want to do it, when I want to do it, without hindrance or interference from the state or anyone else.
But this freedom not easily attained. Even in America it has not been easily won, as exemplified by the great struggles of the civil rights movement to gain equal freedom for people of all skin colours. And we see the limitations of freedom, when America has tried to impose it on other nations such as Vietnam and Iraq. The codename of Operation Enduring Freedom to describe actions in Afghanistan and Iraq now has a somewhat ironic sound to it.
Freedom is not only difficult to attain, but is fragile, and always under threat. Threats to our freedom can lead to actions that themselves limit our freedom – hence the bitter debate about the rights and wrongs of ID cards. Sometimes our freedoms collide with one another – one persons freedom to get drunk and have a good time can impinge on someone else’s freedom to not have their peace disturbed late at night.
Freedom is difficult!
The Situation in Galatia
The world of the New Testament was very different to our world, but also shared many similarities.
It was different because there were many different social assumptions, and attitudes towards rights and responsibilities. It was different because society was so much more segmented, with Roman citizens, freemen, and slaves all in the mix. Yet it was similar, because while cultures change, people don’t change. It was also like our world in that it was a multi-cultural, multi-religious society, and a world in which commerce, entertainment and sport were regarded as very important.
Galatia was an area in Asia Minor (now Turkey) that had been settled by Gauls. Paul’s letter to the churches there is possible the earliest book of the New Testament, written in the late 40s or early 50s. This was within 20 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus, which is something we should bear in mind as we read it.
Freedom Is The Focus
Freedom is not only an issue in culture, but in the church.
The claim of the gospel is that in it is true freedom. This freedom, too, comes under attack, and when it did in Galatia Paul went on the attack against the attackers…
Galatians 1:1-12
Why Does Paul Curse?
Galatians is one of Paul’s angriest letters, and Paul is angry because the Galatians were tolerating teaching that compromised their freedom. It seems that false teachers were coming into the churches and teaching that to be a Christian, believers first had to become Jews. Paul – who was a Jew, and had no issue with Christians who were Jews keeping their Jewish customs – was furious about this teaching, because his claim was that the gospel of Jesus Christ alone brings freedom.
Paul states that his authority as an apostle is outside the normal human system, it is not from men nor through men… His focus as an apostle is on the fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Paul greets the churches with, Grace to you and peace – which is the normal apostolic greeting. The order of the words is significant, and has to be this way around. Grace is what we receive because of what Jesus has done at the cross, and it is grace that enables us to be at peace.
So how do we receive grace and peace? By what Jesus has done. Jesus has won for us freedom! This is the claim: true freedom is only found in Christ and his rescue. For Paul, faith is not a set of behaviours, nor mere acknowledgement of certain statements but a radical transformation – we were held captive by sin but Jesus has broken its power by his death and resurrection. Because of this we can know true freedom! Not the shallow, second rate freedom of a ‘free society’, but ultimate liberty because the ultimate enemy has been destroyed.
This means the church should be the freest place on earth! Which is why Paul is angry: The Galatians are not living in freedom!
What, then, does Christian freedom look like? It can’t mean just a free for all. Paul makes it clear later on in this letter that our freedom is meant to result in good works (E.g., Gal 5:13). Freedom must operate within certain parameters, in the same way that team sports are only fun to watch and play when played within certain parameters. Paul is fighting with the Galatians for where those parameters lie, and it is all set by this: Jesus’ victory over sin!
Religion seeks to impose its own parameters – it tries to say, “salvation is found in Jesus plus…” This makes Paul very angry!
Galatians 1:6-9 is one of the most extraordinary passages in the New Testament, as Paul calls down anathemas on false teaching. Paul is furious because the Galatians are deserting the gospel. They are deserting the path to freedom and allowing other parameters to be imposed upon them.
But Christians Aren’t Meant To Curse…!
Paul himself tells us this in Romans 12:14 where he instructs us to bless our enemies rather than curse them. So when is it OK to curse?!
Biblically speaking, disobedience to God leads to coming under a curse. (Examples of this can be seen in Genesis 3 & 4; Deuteronomy 11:26-28; Malachi 1:14 – 2:2; Matthew 25:41-43; Mark 11:12-14, 20-21.) Disobedience leads to a curse – it leads to death.
But the great glorious promise of the gospel is that Jesus has carried this curse for us!
So what Paul curses is anything that would threaten this gospel. Anything that would say, “this is the way to salvation” other than Jesus is to be cursed. A curse on anything that denies the sufficiency of the cross! A curse on anything that would keep us from enjoying God’s grace!
Burning heretics was a big mistake, but so is welcoming them! Tolerance can be overrated. You would not tolerate someone raping your wife, and we shouldn’t tolerate anything that compromises the freedom of the gospel – which is a rape of the church.
Believing this gospel and cursing anything that compromises it will not always lead to popularity (Gal 1:10-12). The gospel is not popular because it comes from Jesus, not man. Paul was often a very unpopular man…!
What this gospel claims is that you are under a curse if you have not come to the cross and been delivered. But come to the cross you can! Rescue can be yours!
And what this gospel claims is that if you have come to the cross, you should curse the things that would keep you from freedom. We followers of Jesus are meant to live in freedom, confidence and liberty. We don’t need to feel guilty, because Jesus has defeated guilt at the cross. You don’t need to make a payment yourself – you are free. You don’t need bad stuff to happen to you – the bad stuff has already happened to Jesus so you can be delivered.
This is good news! And a curse on anything that would deny it!
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Get in the Game, Part 5, Body Life
Ephesians 4:1-16
The last part of this series pulls together all the other parts, because Body Life defines how we play football (Friendship, One-anothering, Outreach, Teaching, Body Life) together.
Paul’s favourite metaphor for church is the human body. Ephesians 4 is one of Paul’s great appeals for unity and the flow of gifts, with the human body as an analogy. (The other passages in which he does this are Romans 12 & 1 Corinthians 12.) This has been a key passage for many churches over the past 30 years as we have sought to recover “Ephesians 4 ministries.” And it is a key passage for understanding Christian maturity – which only happens in the body.
1. Body Life: responds to grace
Any gifts that we have come from grace. This must be the starting point for believers: it is all grace. Our natural gifts are God’s grace, as are spiritual gifts. Without God’s grace, we wouldn’t have them! Gifts are not earned – they are gifts!
It is easy to start thinking our gifts are earned, or the result of our own skill. If we start to think like this we will start to use the gifts for our own ends, rather than for God’s. But the gifts are given, and they are given for the common good.
As well as God distributing different gifts amongst his people, he gives different measures of grace. This can feel unfair to us. We might ask, What if someone else has the same gift as I do, but more of it, so I never seem to get to use my gift, because all the focus is on them?
The answer to this is that we are to live as Paul instructs us in this passage, with humility and patience and love. If it feels like we are a little finger while someone else is a thumb, we are not resent them, but trust God that he will use what he has put in us, for his glory and the good of his people – because its all of grace!
So the question is, What is your gift? Or, put another way, What is your grace? Whatever God has given you grace for, it is to be used to his glory and the service of the church. Rather than say, “Lord here I am, send my brother,” you need to use the grace you have been given, in the measure to which it has been given.
2. Body Life: results in growth
Growth is dependent on grace, and grace’s mechanism for growth is gifts.
Ephesians 4 describes the “5-fold ministry gifts” that are needed when churches are started and to help in their on-going health: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. These are grace gifts given to build up the church, and we gladly welcome such gifts to Gateway. But the point of these gifts is they equip the church so we can grow ourselves – the aim is that, the body builds itself up in love (v16).
In this all the glory goes to God, but God works through people. God doesn’t bypass the physical in order to impart the spiritual. Rather, he works through the physical. We see this in many of Jesus’ miracles (such as making mud to heal someone who was blind), and in any area where we want to grow it will take gifts of grace working through the people of God.
We want to be a growing people, therefore, we need to use our gifts!
3. Body Life: requires others
By definition, gifts are worked out with other people. God gives gifts for the good of the body, and the bigger the body gets the greater the range of gifts we should see in operation. Body life is about seeing all the gifts in operation to strengthen the body
I once visited an orchard with over 500 varieties of apples, and was told “taste whatever you want!” This is very different from a typical supermarket with only three or four different sorts of apple. Church should be more like that orchard! We need to see a release of creativity, with everyone bringing their gifts to the table.
Let’s do Boby Life together!
The last part of this series pulls together all the other parts, because Body Life defines how we play football (Friendship, One-anothering, Outreach, Teaching, Body Life) together.
Paul’s favourite metaphor for church is the human body. Ephesians 4 is one of Paul’s great appeals for unity and the flow of gifts, with the human body as an analogy. (The other passages in which he does this are Romans 12 & 1 Corinthians 12.) This has been a key passage for many churches over the past 30 years as we have sought to recover “Ephesians 4 ministries.” And it is a key passage for understanding Christian maturity – which only happens in the body.
1. Body Life: responds to grace
Any gifts that we have come from grace. This must be the starting point for believers: it is all grace. Our natural gifts are God’s grace, as are spiritual gifts. Without God’s grace, we wouldn’t have them! Gifts are not earned – they are gifts!
It is easy to start thinking our gifts are earned, or the result of our own skill. If we start to think like this we will start to use the gifts for our own ends, rather than for God’s. But the gifts are given, and they are given for the common good.
As well as God distributing different gifts amongst his people, he gives different measures of grace. This can feel unfair to us. We might ask, What if someone else has the same gift as I do, but more of it, so I never seem to get to use my gift, because all the focus is on them?
The answer to this is that we are to live as Paul instructs us in this passage, with humility and patience and love. If it feels like we are a little finger while someone else is a thumb, we are not resent them, but trust God that he will use what he has put in us, for his glory and the good of his people – because its all of grace!
So the question is, What is your gift? Or, put another way, What is your grace? Whatever God has given you grace for, it is to be used to his glory and the service of the church. Rather than say, “Lord here I am, send my brother,” you need to use the grace you have been given, in the measure to which it has been given.
2. Body Life: results in growth
Growth is dependent on grace, and grace’s mechanism for growth is gifts.
Ephesians 4 describes the “5-fold ministry gifts” that are needed when churches are started and to help in their on-going health: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. These are grace gifts given to build up the church, and we gladly welcome such gifts to Gateway. But the point of these gifts is they equip the church so we can grow ourselves – the aim is that, the body builds itself up in love (v16).
In this all the glory goes to God, but God works through people. God doesn’t bypass the physical in order to impart the spiritual. Rather, he works through the physical. We see this in many of Jesus’ miracles (such as making mud to heal someone who was blind), and in any area where we want to grow it will take gifts of grace working through the people of God.
We want to be a growing people, therefore, we need to use our gifts!
3. Body Life: requires others
By definition, gifts are worked out with other people. God gives gifts for the good of the body, and the bigger the body gets the greater the range of gifts we should see in operation. Body life is about seeing all the gifts in operation to strengthen the body
I once visited an orchard with over 500 varieties of apples, and was told “taste whatever you want!” This is very different from a typical supermarket with only three or four different sorts of apple. Church should be more like that orchard! We need to see a release of creativity, with everyone bringing their gifts to the table.
Let’s do Boby Life together!
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Get in the Game, Part 4: Teaching
Teaching is one of the core values around which we want to build our Life Groups. Teaching is one of the “one-anothers” (Col 3:16) and it is important that our meetings together have content. We want the word to be central in our meetings because we want Jesus to be lifted up. Jesus’ instruction to his disciples was that they should, “Go and make disciples.” Disciples help one another follow the teachings of their master, and we want this to happen in Life Groups through the application of the preached word.
Why is teaching so important to the Christian faith?
Matthew 28:18-20
1. The centrality of teaching
When Jesus said “Go!” he said “Go teaching.”
Christianity is a message: There is something to be taught! What we teach is Jesus – all he has commanded us and all that we know about him. Jesus himself is the Word (John 1:1), so when we use words to teach about him we are not just airing opinions or merely engaging in philosophical discussion. No, we are dealing with a person, the living word of God.
This is why the phrase, The Word, is used in the book of Acts to describe the spread of Christianity:
The word of God continued to increase (Acts 6:7)
The word of God increased and multiplied (Acts 12:24)
The word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily (Acts 19:20)
There is a sense in which the word about Jesus and the word who is Jesus become inseparable.
As we read the New Testament we also see that Jesus taught, and there is at least as much an emphasis on his teaching as there is on the miracles he performed.
For example, Mark tells us that, Jesus saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34). The way Jesus showed compassion was by teaching!
Even after his resurrection Jesus still taught. Rather than overwhelming the disciples with supernatural tricks, Opening the Scriptures he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).
In the first years of the Church we see that the Apostles had a high view of the preciousness of the message they had been given to share. This message resulted in,
• High levels of commitment among the believers: They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching (Acts 2:42)
• Power to transform lives: You who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed (Rom 6:17)
• The qualification by which the apostles measured themselves: This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor 4:1). We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts (1 Thes 2:4).
The message is about Jesus! It is not ‘thought for the day’ or a ‘moral message’ or even a ‘great teaching’ like the teaching of other great teachers. Instead it is the story of how I can connect with God’s story. It is the message of how I can be made right with God; not because of what I do but because of what Christ has done.
Teaching this teaching requires words. There is an oft-quoted, but misquoted and misapplied statement attributed to St Francis, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary use words.” Yes, our lives should ‘preach’, but there can be no real preaching without words, which is why Paul says that “faith comes by hearing” (Rom 10:13-17). Which leads to my second main point…
2. The purpose of preaching
Preaching is an important part of how we teach Jesus.
Jesus claimed all authority for himself, and preaching is an authoritative act.
Jesus preached; the apostles preached; and the history of the church has been shaped by preaching. Yet in our day preaching often comes under attack. It is derided as not being relevant, and being not visual, and being too long…
The thing is, we need to submit ourselves regularly to the authority of preaching because so much of the time we are receiving messages from elsewhere, that often are not at all helpful for us. A report from Ofcom reveals that, Every day in 2007, an average UK consumer spent 7 hours and 9 minutes watching TV, on the phone, using the internet or using other telecom services.
We need to listen to preaching and not just the telly!
Sitting under preaching is a necessary act of submitting to the authority of the word, and was taken very seriously in the early church. We see the importance attached to preaching in the life of the early church in the shockingly un-pastoral response of the Apostles to the complaints of widows who were being overlooked, It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables (Acts 6:2). The apostles knew that even more important than the material care of widows was faithful preaching of the message.
When preaching is weak, the church is weak. Moralistic, 10 minute homilies do not save souls! In contrast, times of revival have been times of mighty preaching. O God give us those days again!
It is probably helpful at this point to deal with some misconceptions about preaching…
1. I don’t remember everything that was said
No problem! Preaching is not a lecture. A lecture is about transferring information, while preaching is an appeal to the heart as much as to the mind. Preaching is about lifting up Christ! Even if you do not remember what is preached, consistent listening to preaching over time has a shaping and moulding effect on us, just as water dripping onto a stone eventually shapes the stone.
2. Lets have less preaching and more time for the Spirit to move
D’oh! The Spirit doesn’t leave when the word is preached! He comes among us. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).
One of the longest sermons recorded in the New Testament is that by Stephen, just before he was martyred. Stephen preached, and Stephen was full of the Spirit! (see Acts 6:10; 7:55)
3. Isn’t 40 minutes too long?
I normally preach for about 40 minutes, so we’ll use that as a measure… Truth is, everyone concentrates for longer than 40 minutes on the stuff that interests them – whether it is a TV show, or a football game, or whatever. If we are devoted to the word 40 minutes will not seem to long to listen!
Also, it doesn’t matter if you dial in and out of the preaching. The important thing is that you are sitting under it. We can’t set the length of sermons according to the minimum attention span of the most inattentive church member – our standards need to be higher than that!
So, why preach?
Because in preaching we lift up Jesus!
In the Party Political conferences that are happening at the moment all the attention is on the leaders closing speech. Christian preaching is very different from this. It is not about the personality of the preacher, or about the preacher trying to sell his program. Instead real preaching is all about Jesus! Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Col 1:28).
This is a message that has power to change lives: I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved (1 Cor 15:1-2).
Why is teaching so important to the Christian faith?
Matthew 28:18-20
1. The centrality of teaching
When Jesus said “Go!” he said “Go teaching.”
Christianity is a message: There is something to be taught! What we teach is Jesus – all he has commanded us and all that we know about him. Jesus himself is the Word (John 1:1), so when we use words to teach about him we are not just airing opinions or merely engaging in philosophical discussion. No, we are dealing with a person, the living word of God.
This is why the phrase, The Word, is used in the book of Acts to describe the spread of Christianity:
The word of God continued to increase (Acts 6:7)
The word of God increased and multiplied (Acts 12:24)
The word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily (Acts 19:20)
There is a sense in which the word about Jesus and the word who is Jesus become inseparable.
As we read the New Testament we also see that Jesus taught, and there is at least as much an emphasis on his teaching as there is on the miracles he performed.
For example, Mark tells us that, Jesus saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34). The way Jesus showed compassion was by teaching!
Even after his resurrection Jesus still taught. Rather than overwhelming the disciples with supernatural tricks, Opening the Scriptures he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).
In the first years of the Church we see that the Apostles had a high view of the preciousness of the message they had been given to share. This message resulted in,
• High levels of commitment among the believers: They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching (Acts 2:42)
• Power to transform lives: You who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed (Rom 6:17)
• The qualification by which the apostles measured themselves: This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor 4:1). We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts (1 Thes 2:4).
The message is about Jesus! It is not ‘thought for the day’ or a ‘moral message’ or even a ‘great teaching’ like the teaching of other great teachers. Instead it is the story of how I can connect with God’s story. It is the message of how I can be made right with God; not because of what I do but because of what Christ has done.
Teaching this teaching requires words. There is an oft-quoted, but misquoted and misapplied statement attributed to St Francis, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary use words.” Yes, our lives should ‘preach’, but there can be no real preaching without words, which is why Paul says that “faith comes by hearing” (Rom 10:13-17). Which leads to my second main point…
2. The purpose of preaching
Preaching is an important part of how we teach Jesus.
Jesus claimed all authority for himself, and preaching is an authoritative act.
Jesus preached; the apostles preached; and the history of the church has been shaped by preaching. Yet in our day preaching often comes under attack. It is derided as not being relevant, and being not visual, and being too long…
The thing is, we need to submit ourselves regularly to the authority of preaching because so much of the time we are receiving messages from elsewhere, that often are not at all helpful for us. A report from Ofcom reveals that, Every day in 2007, an average UK consumer spent 7 hours and 9 minutes watching TV, on the phone, using the internet or using other telecom services.
We need to listen to preaching and not just the telly!
Sitting under preaching is a necessary act of submitting to the authority of the word, and was taken very seriously in the early church. We see the importance attached to preaching in the life of the early church in the shockingly un-pastoral response of the Apostles to the complaints of widows who were being overlooked, It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables (Acts 6:2). The apostles knew that even more important than the material care of widows was faithful preaching of the message.
When preaching is weak, the church is weak. Moralistic, 10 minute homilies do not save souls! In contrast, times of revival have been times of mighty preaching. O God give us those days again!
It is probably helpful at this point to deal with some misconceptions about preaching…
1. I don’t remember everything that was said
No problem! Preaching is not a lecture. A lecture is about transferring information, while preaching is an appeal to the heart as much as to the mind. Preaching is about lifting up Christ! Even if you do not remember what is preached, consistent listening to preaching over time has a shaping and moulding effect on us, just as water dripping onto a stone eventually shapes the stone.
2. Lets have less preaching and more time for the Spirit to move
D’oh! The Spirit doesn’t leave when the word is preached! He comes among us. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).
One of the longest sermons recorded in the New Testament is that by Stephen, just before he was martyred. Stephen preached, and Stephen was full of the Spirit! (see Acts 6:10; 7:55)
3. Isn’t 40 minutes too long?
I normally preach for about 40 minutes, so we’ll use that as a measure… Truth is, everyone concentrates for longer than 40 minutes on the stuff that interests them – whether it is a TV show, or a football game, or whatever. If we are devoted to the word 40 minutes will not seem to long to listen!
Also, it doesn’t matter if you dial in and out of the preaching. The important thing is that you are sitting under it. We can’t set the length of sermons according to the minimum attention span of the most inattentive church member – our standards need to be higher than that!
So, why preach?
Because in preaching we lift up Jesus!
In the Party Political conferences that are happening at the moment all the attention is on the leaders closing speech. Christian preaching is very different from this. It is not about the personality of the preacher, or about the preacher trying to sell his program. Instead real preaching is all about Jesus! Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Col 1:28).
This is a message that has power to change lives: I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved (1 Cor 15:1-2).
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Get in the Game, Part 3, Outreach
Thinking like a missionary
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
If there is one word we would use to sum up what the church is about it is, “Mission!” Like the Apostle Paul, we need to learn to think like missionaries, always being on the lookout for ways by which we can connect the story of the gospel to peoples lives.
Anyone who is a follower of Jesus is a frontline missionary! Missionaries are not only people slogging it out somewhere in Africa, but all of us are called to be on a mission right where we are.
Mission: the heart of the gospel
God’s sovereign plan is to reach all peoples (tribes, tongues, and nations) through the church. Jesus’ last command was to “Go!” The Holy Spirit was poured out in order that we would be empowered to go. The church exists to make Jesus known.
This Jesus is returning again for a people – for worshippers. The cosmic end game is that the people of God should be gathered in worship before him. And the amazing thing is that we are sent to do the gathering! As Paul puts it in Romans 10:11-15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The gospel is blessing! This is good news!
Mission: of Global Importance
The goal of mission is that, “the nations be glad” (Ps 67). We need to get a heart for global mission because mission is of global significance.
It is sometimes hard to feel a passion for what is happening in other nations – it can just feel too far away – but there are things we can do to help stir this passion in us. Reading books about mission, and praying for other nations will help. Giving money to mission will help! Join a mission trip or a Life Change Team. Even going on holiday to a different country can help stir a passion for world mission in you.
As a church we need to be praying for people from other nations to join us, which will help us feel a greater connectedness with those nations. Our expectation should be that we will send out increasing numbers of workers into other nations. We need to be committed to church planting, which is the strategy to reach the nations. And we can be inspired by the example of others. For example, I was challenged by an interview with Rick Warren, leader of Saddleback church in California, in which he said that Saddleback is, “The first local church in Christian history to send members as missionaries to literally every nation.... We have 58 nations left to go to and already have the 2,000 more who've volunteered to go to those before the end of 2010.”
Incredible!
Even if you never go to a different nation, you need to see yourself as part of world mission.
Mission begins at home
While we need a passion for world mission, we need to understand that mission starts where we are!
The apostle Paul was always thinking about the gospel. It didn’t matter where he was or who he was with – the gospel was what he was all about.
This passage in 1 Corinthians shows how Paul did what we now call “enculturation.” Wherever he was, he found ways to connect with people. Paul repeatedly compromised his own culture and comforts in order to never compromise the gospel!
Two striking examples of this are found in the book of Acts. In Acts 17:16-20 we read that Paul shared the gospel in the synagogue, and in the marketplace, and in the Areopagus. These three places represented very different cultures. The synagogue was a place where Paul would have felt at home – with fellow Jews, doing what Jews the world over did. The marketplace was a different story – it was the place where pagan life was in full view, in all its colour and sin. The Areopagus was different again – the greatest seat of learning in the Greek world. But to Paul it didn’t matter – whether he was talking to (in our terms) church folk, or prostitutes, or university professors he was able to connect the story of Jesus to their story.
Another example can be found in Acts 21:17-26. Paul had returned to Jerusalem and agreed to go through Jewish purification rituals in the Temple. As a follower of Jesus Paul didn’t need to do this – but as a follower of Jesus who was also ethnically Jewish he was free to practice Jewish customs. He did this in order not to compromise the gospel.
We need to be more like Paul!
Freedom in the gospel
It was Paul’s freedom in Christ that allowed him to fit in so easily in such different cultures. Paul didn’t engage in peoples sin, but he did engage in their culture.
We mustn’t fear pagans! And we mustn’t go all weird and spooky. We must believe in the power of the gospel. Paul was able to walk confidently through all kinds of cultures and situations – he had beautiful feet and knew the power of God, so he didn’t get freaked out by the idol worshippers and pimps, the MPs and professors. He just got on with talking about Jesus.
If you are a believer you are called on a mission. This is not just for professional missionaries, or pastors or evangelists, but for every Christ-follower.
You might not have Paul’s missionary gift, but you are still called to mission! You are a representative of Christ right where you are.
At Gateway this means we need to be people who do not view culture as dark and dangerous and something to hide from. Neither are we to end up simply reflecting the culture, but redeeming it. We are to be a bible-believing, Jesus-loving, mission-focused, people-loving church. We are to live differently from the world, but not in an adversarial way.
Living like a missionary
Living like a missionary means thinking about the mission! It means being alert to opportunities as well as creating opportunities. It means praying about the mission, and investing time, money, and energy into it.
It means that we don’t just talk about the gospel, but are in on it!
Application for Life Groups
We want our Life Groups to be Communities together on a mission for Jesus.
This means that our LGs are not just a meeting in the week, but something that gives Christlike shape to life. Life Groups are places where friends introduce their friends to our greatest friend – Jesus. Life Groups are places where we share in the blessings of the gospel together.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
If there is one word we would use to sum up what the church is about it is, “Mission!” Like the Apostle Paul, we need to learn to think like missionaries, always being on the lookout for ways by which we can connect the story of the gospel to peoples lives.
Anyone who is a follower of Jesus is a frontline missionary! Missionaries are not only people slogging it out somewhere in Africa, but all of us are called to be on a mission right where we are.
Mission: the heart of the gospel
God’s sovereign plan is to reach all peoples (tribes, tongues, and nations) through the church. Jesus’ last command was to “Go!” The Holy Spirit was poured out in order that we would be empowered to go. The church exists to make Jesus known.
This Jesus is returning again for a people – for worshippers. The cosmic end game is that the people of God should be gathered in worship before him. And the amazing thing is that we are sent to do the gathering! As Paul puts it in Romans 10:11-15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The gospel is blessing! This is good news!
Mission: of Global Importance
The goal of mission is that, “the nations be glad” (Ps 67). We need to get a heart for global mission because mission is of global significance.
It is sometimes hard to feel a passion for what is happening in other nations – it can just feel too far away – but there are things we can do to help stir this passion in us. Reading books about mission, and praying for other nations will help. Giving money to mission will help! Join a mission trip or a Life Change Team. Even going on holiday to a different country can help stir a passion for world mission in you.
As a church we need to be praying for people from other nations to join us, which will help us feel a greater connectedness with those nations. Our expectation should be that we will send out increasing numbers of workers into other nations. We need to be committed to church planting, which is the strategy to reach the nations. And we can be inspired by the example of others. For example, I was challenged by an interview with Rick Warren, leader of Saddleback church in California, in which he said that Saddleback is, “The first local church in Christian history to send members as missionaries to literally every nation.... We have 58 nations left to go to and already have the 2,000 more who've volunteered to go to those before the end of 2010.”
Incredible!
Even if you never go to a different nation, you need to see yourself as part of world mission.
Mission begins at home
While we need a passion for world mission, we need to understand that mission starts where we are!
The apostle Paul was always thinking about the gospel. It didn’t matter where he was or who he was with – the gospel was what he was all about.
This passage in 1 Corinthians shows how Paul did what we now call “enculturation.” Wherever he was, he found ways to connect with people. Paul repeatedly compromised his own culture and comforts in order to never compromise the gospel!
Two striking examples of this are found in the book of Acts. In Acts 17:16-20 we read that Paul shared the gospel in the synagogue, and in the marketplace, and in the Areopagus. These three places represented very different cultures. The synagogue was a place where Paul would have felt at home – with fellow Jews, doing what Jews the world over did. The marketplace was a different story – it was the place where pagan life was in full view, in all its colour and sin. The Areopagus was different again – the greatest seat of learning in the Greek world. But to Paul it didn’t matter – whether he was talking to (in our terms) church folk, or prostitutes, or university professors he was able to connect the story of Jesus to their story.
Another example can be found in Acts 21:17-26. Paul had returned to Jerusalem and agreed to go through Jewish purification rituals in the Temple. As a follower of Jesus Paul didn’t need to do this – but as a follower of Jesus who was also ethnically Jewish he was free to practice Jewish customs. He did this in order not to compromise the gospel.
We need to be more like Paul!
Freedom in the gospel
It was Paul’s freedom in Christ that allowed him to fit in so easily in such different cultures. Paul didn’t engage in peoples sin, but he did engage in their culture.
We mustn’t fear pagans! And we mustn’t go all weird and spooky. We must believe in the power of the gospel. Paul was able to walk confidently through all kinds of cultures and situations – he had beautiful feet and knew the power of God, so he didn’t get freaked out by the idol worshippers and pimps, the MPs and professors. He just got on with talking about Jesus.
If you are a believer you are called on a mission. This is not just for professional missionaries, or pastors or evangelists, but for every Christ-follower.
You might not have Paul’s missionary gift, but you are still called to mission! You are a representative of Christ right where you are.
At Gateway this means we need to be people who do not view culture as dark and dangerous and something to hide from. Neither are we to end up simply reflecting the culture, but redeeming it. We are to be a bible-believing, Jesus-loving, mission-focused, people-loving church. We are to live differently from the world, but not in an adversarial way.
Living like a missionary
Living like a missionary means thinking about the mission! It means being alert to opportunities as well as creating opportunities. It means praying about the mission, and investing time, money, and energy into it.
It means that we don’t just talk about the gospel, but are in on it!
Application for Life Groups
We want our Life Groups to be Communities together on a mission for Jesus.
This means that our LGs are not just a meeting in the week, but something that gives Christlike shape to life. Life Groups are places where friends introduce their friends to our greatest friend – Jesus. Life Groups are places where we share in the blessings of the gospel together.
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Get in the Game, Part 2, One-Anothering
‘One-another’
The Bible contains many instructions for Christians to ‘one-another’ one another! These include the following:
• Love one another
• Encourage one another
• Instruct one another
• Live in harmony with one another
• Welcome one another
• Greet one another (with a holy kiss!)
• Care for one another
• Comfort one another
• Agree with one another
• Serve one another
• Bear one another’s burdens
• Bear with one another in love
• Be kind to one another
• Be tenderhearted towards one another
• Be forgiving to one another
• Sing to one another
• Submit to one another
• Teach one another
• Admonish one another
• Exhort one another
• Stir up one another to love and good works
• Confess your sins to one another
• Pray for one another
• Show hospitality to one another
• Serve one another
• Show humility to one another
These ‘one-anothers’ are not lovey-dovey or soft, but robust. And they are not, ‘Its all about me’. Rather, they illustrate that Christianity is a team exercise. The aim of these instructions is that the body (the church) should be built up – the health of the body is always in view.
Today we are looking at a passage that emphasises the ‘us’ and ‘we’ of being a Christian.
Hebrews 10:19-25
Jesus Our Priest (vv19-23)
The writer to the Hebrews says we can be confident when we come to God. Confidence makes a big difference to performance. In sport, confidence is hugely important – who wins out of two roughly matched individuals or teams often comes down to which is the most confident. Confidence creates an atmosphere of freedom. Paul says something similar in Ephesians 3:12 where he tells us that in Jesus we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Because of what Jesus has down we are now free to enter the holy places. The comparison being made is between the old priestly system and the new covenant. Now we can come right into the presence of God, whereas before the people of Israel had to make animal sacrifices and were separated from the holy place by a thick curtain.
The blood of the sacrifice demonstrated the seriousness of sin. Sin is so abhorrent to God that it is only solvable by death. And Yahweh was understood to be so dangerous that people had to be kept out of his presence – just as you wouldn’t want to enter a nuclear reactor, no-one wanted to go beyond the curtain where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.
But Jesus turns everything upside down!
Jesus is our priest! He is the one who has stood in our place and been our substitute. He died for our sins so that we don’t have to. It is Jesus who intercedes before his Father for us. It is Jesus who makes it possible for us to come into the presence of God – with confidence! Now, we can come close to God because Jesus has cleansed us. He gets to work on us, body and soul, and makes us presentable to God, inside and out.
In response to what Jesus has done, and the promises he has made, we are to persist in our faith. As a community together we are to hold on to the faith and faithfully follow our great high priest. In fact, it is only possible for us to do this as part of the body – it is in the communion of God’s people that we are held in faith.
Provoking One Another (vv24-25)
What Jesus has accomplished for us has then to be worked out by the way we do life together.
The word that is translated as ‘stir’ or ‘spur’ in our English Bibles could also be translated provoke. The Greek word is ‘paroxysmos’, which only occurs in the Bible here, and in Acts 15:39. There is it used to describe the ‘sharp disagreement’ between Paul and Barnabus that led to them separating from each other.
‘Oxys’ means goad, so what the writer to the Hebrews is saying is that we are to spur/stir/provoke/goad one another into doing the right thing. He tells us that we are to consider how we are to do this – that is, we need to think about it!
The truth is that often we need goading into showing love and doing good deeds, because we tend to get passive, and we tend to be selfish. We all need the body around us, helping us to be healthy members of the body.
Because Christianity is a team exercise we have to meet together. If we are to provoke one another we need to be together in order to be provoked! I would say that coming on Sunday and attending a small group is the minimum amount of meeting together that any believer should do.
This a very clear instruction from the Bible: Meet together! Why do we need to do this? In order to encourage one another. Why do we need to do this?! Because life is tough!
Meet together; encourage one another; help each other to live for Jesus.
Application to Life Groups
How – practically – can we spur one another on to love and good works? How can we help each other be fruitful?
Life Groups will help us!
The first thing to understand is that pastoral care happens through small groups. Pastoral care doesn’t primarily happen by one pastor running around after everyone, but is an exercise in community. We are meant to care for one another, so if you are not in a Life Group it is going to be hard to look out for you.
There are many practical things we want Life Groups to do in order to spur one another on. It might be that someone in the group needs financial help, and you can give them some money. It might be that you encourage one another to invite your unchurched friends along to a Life Group social event, or to church on a Sunday. Life Groups will hopefully be places where there is honesty and a godly correction of one another. And we want spiritual gifts to flow in these groups – prophecy is very useful in encouraging and spurring us on!
We want our groups to be communities together on a mission for Jesus where together we help one another live faithfully for the gospel and the good of our neighbours.
The Bible contains many instructions for Christians to ‘one-another’ one another! These include the following:
• Love one another
• Encourage one another
• Instruct one another
• Live in harmony with one another
• Welcome one another
• Greet one another (with a holy kiss!)
• Care for one another
• Comfort one another
• Agree with one another
• Serve one another
• Bear one another’s burdens
• Bear with one another in love
• Be kind to one another
• Be tenderhearted towards one another
• Be forgiving to one another
• Sing to one another
• Submit to one another
• Teach one another
• Admonish one another
• Exhort one another
• Stir up one another to love and good works
• Confess your sins to one another
• Pray for one another
• Show hospitality to one another
• Serve one another
• Show humility to one another
These ‘one-anothers’ are not lovey-dovey or soft, but robust. And they are not, ‘Its all about me’. Rather, they illustrate that Christianity is a team exercise. The aim of these instructions is that the body (the church) should be built up – the health of the body is always in view.
Today we are looking at a passage that emphasises the ‘us’ and ‘we’ of being a Christian.
Hebrews 10:19-25
Jesus Our Priest (vv19-23)
The writer to the Hebrews says we can be confident when we come to God. Confidence makes a big difference to performance. In sport, confidence is hugely important – who wins out of two roughly matched individuals or teams often comes down to which is the most confident. Confidence creates an atmosphere of freedom. Paul says something similar in Ephesians 3:12 where he tells us that in Jesus we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Because of what Jesus has down we are now free to enter the holy places. The comparison being made is between the old priestly system and the new covenant. Now we can come right into the presence of God, whereas before the people of Israel had to make animal sacrifices and were separated from the holy place by a thick curtain.
The blood of the sacrifice demonstrated the seriousness of sin. Sin is so abhorrent to God that it is only solvable by death. And Yahweh was understood to be so dangerous that people had to be kept out of his presence – just as you wouldn’t want to enter a nuclear reactor, no-one wanted to go beyond the curtain where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.
But Jesus turns everything upside down!
Jesus is our priest! He is the one who has stood in our place and been our substitute. He died for our sins so that we don’t have to. It is Jesus who intercedes before his Father for us. It is Jesus who makes it possible for us to come into the presence of God – with confidence! Now, we can come close to God because Jesus has cleansed us. He gets to work on us, body and soul, and makes us presentable to God, inside and out.
In response to what Jesus has done, and the promises he has made, we are to persist in our faith. As a community together we are to hold on to the faith and faithfully follow our great high priest. In fact, it is only possible for us to do this as part of the body – it is in the communion of God’s people that we are held in faith.
Provoking One Another (vv24-25)
What Jesus has accomplished for us has then to be worked out by the way we do life together.
The word that is translated as ‘stir’ or ‘spur’ in our English Bibles could also be translated provoke. The Greek word is ‘paroxysmos’, which only occurs in the Bible here, and in Acts 15:39. There is it used to describe the ‘sharp disagreement’ between Paul and Barnabus that led to them separating from each other.
‘Oxys’ means goad, so what the writer to the Hebrews is saying is that we are to spur/stir/provoke/goad one another into doing the right thing. He tells us that we are to consider how we are to do this – that is, we need to think about it!
The truth is that often we need goading into showing love and doing good deeds, because we tend to get passive, and we tend to be selfish. We all need the body around us, helping us to be healthy members of the body.
Because Christianity is a team exercise we have to meet together. If we are to provoke one another we need to be together in order to be provoked! I would say that coming on Sunday and attending a small group is the minimum amount of meeting together that any believer should do.
This a very clear instruction from the Bible: Meet together! Why do we need to do this? In order to encourage one another. Why do we need to do this?! Because life is tough!
Meet together; encourage one another; help each other to live for Jesus.
Application to Life Groups
How – practically – can we spur one another on to love and good works? How can we help each other be fruitful?
Life Groups will help us!
The first thing to understand is that pastoral care happens through small groups. Pastoral care doesn’t primarily happen by one pastor running around after everyone, but is an exercise in community. We are meant to care for one another, so if you are not in a Life Group it is going to be hard to look out for you.
There are many practical things we want Life Groups to do in order to spur one another on. It might be that someone in the group needs financial help, and you can give them some money. It might be that you encourage one another to invite your unchurched friends along to a Life Group social event, or to church on a Sunday. Life Groups will hopefully be places where there is honesty and a godly correction of one another. And we want spiritual gifts to flow in these groups – prophecy is very useful in encouraging and spurring us on!
We want our groups to be communities together on a mission for Jesus where together we help one another live faithfully for the gospel and the good of our neighbours.
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