15.5 The family of Heaven

Believe--Social Order part 2 (see Part 1)

The Family of God

    The Kingdom of God (or as it is called in Matthew most of the time the “Kingdom of heaven”) has come near to those of us who have entered into it through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

    But we are not supposed to sit idly here on earth until we die and are taken to heaven. We are to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. What we truly believe about God and His Heavenly Kingdom here on earth will work to improve our society and the help establish righteousness among our fellow men and women.

    Many people realize that the book of Romans, a letter which the Apostle Paul wrote to the soon-to-be-foundational church growing in Rome, is full of theological teachings. But in chapters 12 through 14, it takes a very practical turn with specific instructions of how to put that theological (or beliefs) into practice.

Read Romans 12-14.

     When individuals are born again, we are called to walk in “newness of life” (Rom. 6:3) by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. As a result of that, our social order should be impacted for the good by Christians. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick.

If Jesus spoke against the injustices in society, in government and even in religious institutions, how should Christians respond to the issues of racism, greed, sexual immorality?

Most Christians have a heart for the orphans. How should our call to respect “the sanctity of human life” impact our view of the mentally and emotionally challenged? The needy, the handicapped, and the homeless? The aged, helpless and sick?

Read James 1:19-27; James 2:8-13*

     James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote frequently about the practical and social implications of the Gospel. Some people have even called his epistle or letter to the church as “the Gospel in work-clothes.” Christians have in the Bible and throughout history spoken out and acted out on behalf of the less fortunate, the castaways from society, the unborn and fought for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. 

     Christianity and the church was instrumental in abolishing slavery and churches have been the rally location for civil and social rights. Where Christianity thrives, so does liberty, righteousness, truth and brotherly love.

     This Monday, we recognize the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, who was a minister and a Baptist who fought for and was killed for his work to bring societal change and equality. King, like his namesake Martin Luther, were following in a long line of social reformers to align our society to become more like the Kingdom of Heaven. That legacy began Biblically with Christ and continued with the Apostle Paul.

     One of the first letters to be written was 1 Thessalonians. In it, Paul was wanting to know how the church he helped to begin was doing. As a result, he sent his protégé Timothy to bring him a report.

Read 1 Thessalonians 3** on about the report Timothy brought back to Paul.

Read also Colossians 3:1-17*** on how Paul instructed another church to impact the social order.   

    In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

(Continue to Part 3)

*James 1:19-27

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

*James 2:8-13

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

**1 Thessalonians 3

1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.
6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 

***Colossians 3:1-17

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Chapter 15.5 Baptist Beliefs and the Social Order

During the weekend of Disciple Now, we are pausing from our study in the book of Believe to look specifically at the family of humanity, the family of God, and the family of the home. Much of the following is based on the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) discussion “The Christian and the Social Order” (a phrase used as title of Article 15 of the statement) and “The Family” (Article 18). Otherwise the comments and questions below are mine.

--TM

The Family of Humanity (Part 1)

    As we are at the mid-point of Believe, we saw last week that we as Christians should be totally surrendered to Christ and His Cross. After all, since He gave His all to us, in order that we should have all that He has, how can we do less?

    But what does that look like in the lives of Christians? All Christians are under an obligation to do what Jesus prayed in his model prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Many have often wondered why the Bible does not speak more about heaven and the afterlife. The reality is that Christ and the Bible speaks much more about bringing heaven to earth more than bringing humanity to heaven!

Read Luke 10:9-11; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12;  17:15*

Ask “Have you noticed that in almost every chapter under the Key Idea, the work book asks the same four questions, about the topic of the week?”

“Why does what we believe impact us personally (Question 1  in every chapter) and visibly in our attributes (Question 2)?”

“How do our core beliefs have obstacles (Question 3)”

“Why do our beliefs need action steps (Question 4 in every chapter after the Key Idea)?”

     The BF&M concludes its section on the Christian and the Social Order by stating the following: “Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.”

    Now that is something far more important than reserving our seat on the Back Row of the church. In fact, it almost makes me want to dance!

(Continue to Part 2)

*Read Luke 10:9-11; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12;  17:15

Luke 10:9-11
9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’

Matthew 5:13-16
¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:43-48
⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor;and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 22:36-40
³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 25:35
³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Mark 1:29-34
²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. ³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Mark 2:3
³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.

Mark 10:21
²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Luke 4:18-21
¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 10:27-37
²⁷ He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denariiand gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 20:25
²⁵ He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

John 15:12
¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 17:15
¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

15. Total surrender makes a total impact on others

     I speculated in the last couple of articles that Peter influenced Stephen in his sermons. However, it is without a doubt that Stephen in his final and fatal sermon to the Sanhedrin as recorded in Acts 7 influenced a Pharisee named Saul who later became Paul.

     Compare Stephen’s sermon to one of Paul’s first recorded sermons found in Acts 13:10 and following, and you will find numerous similarities. Even though the young Saul was heartily in agreement with the stoning (“Here, let me watch your coat to help you hurl stones at this blasphemer”), Stephen’s sermon, his countenance and his vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God surely haunted the converted Paul.

     Tertullian said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, meaning that the killing of Christians in an attempt to stamp them out actually emboldens the church to grow stronger. But it you and I do not have to die for our faith in order to embolden its growth (at least I sure hope not!). A sacrificial life is just as influential as a sacrificial death.

     That is what our memory verse of Romans 12:1 is all about. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” I believe we can see both living sacrifices in the Communion. The cup represents the death of self in the shed blood of Christ. The bread represents the sacrificial Bread of Life.

     Another example of total surrender can be seen in James and John, the sons of thunder and sons of Zebedee, who are two types of sacrificial life and death we see in Scripture.

     

     If you remember the story, Mrs. Zebedee came and spoke about her boys being on either side of Jesus in His Kingdom, no small request for sure. But even James and John and certainly not their mother had any idea of what that would mean. In some aspect, the two people who were on Jesus either side when He left this earth were on the crosses to His left and right.

     But Jesus asked the boys, “are you willing to be baptized in the baptism I am going to be baptized in and are you willing to drink of the cup I am going to drink.” Unwittingly, I’m sure, they both said yes, but it is unclear if they really understood what Jesus was meaning. The disciples frequently were confused when Jesus spoke pretty plainly so it is likely they didn’t understand that Jesus was foretelling that one of the brothers, James, would be the first apostle to die, not long after Stephen’s death. The other, John, was the last disciple to die, but lived a martyr’s life.

     How about you? Are you willing to drink the cup of Jesus? Are you willing to be baptized in His baptism? 

15. What is the source of inspiration of martyrs?

     Before Peter totally surrendered to God, his first obstacle was self-absorption (“Even if all these stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” Matt. 26:33). His second obstacle was self-reliance (Peter cut off a man’s ear trying to help the Son of Living God out). His third was self-protection (“I do not even know the Man” Matt. 26:74).

    But when Pentecost came, what a wonderful change in his life has been wrought since Jesus came into his heart. The Holy Spirit of Jesus was baptized into Peter’s heart, and Peter experienced self-denial and total surrender. Before, he had been terrorized by a servant girl into denying Christ. Fifty days later, Peter denied Himself and risked it all by preaching the stars down and 3,000 were saved!

     I don’t have this on Biblical authority, but it is very possible that the future deacon and future first martyr Stephen was in this group of converts. If so, as one of BELIEVE’s “Inspiration of Martyrs,” (see Believe, page 250) Stephen was influenced by Peter’s surrendered life and message. Stephen not only was filled with faith, power and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5, 8), he was willing to go from serving tables to debating scholars from abroad. Being totally surrendered to Christ means there is nothing to low and nothing too high in the ministry and calling of Christ.

    Mordecai in the story of Esther did not obey the governmental authority and refused to bow down to Haman, as decreed by the king (see Esther 3:2-6). We see this again in the Book of Acts and with apostles (see Acts 5:28-29). We should always obey God, even if it is to the point of disobeying the law of the land. Stephen’s culminating argument before the Jewish authorities turned out to be a fatal insult. His blunt statement was that the religious leaders were the opposite of Total Surrender: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ear! You always resist the Holy Spirit…you have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” (Acts 7:51-53, page 254 in BELIEVE).  While the leaders refused, Stephen surrendered even to the point of death.

     A.W. Tozer wrote “The solemn delight that those early disciples knew sprang straight from the conviction that there was One in the midst of them. They knew that the Majesty in the heavens was confronting them on earth: they were in the very Presence of God. And the power of that conviction to arrest attention and hold it for a lifetime, to elevate, to transform, to fill with uncontrollable moral happiness, to send men singing to prison and to death, has been one of the wonders of history and a marvel of the world.”

     In other words, a totally surrendered life is only achieved when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Tozer says such knowledge makes us “invulnerable to critical attack.” We can “ignore the objections of unbelieving men.” Being filled with God “overwhelms their doubts and confirms their assurance beyond the power of argument to destroy.”

    How can we explain a totally surrendered life? When the hymn writer was asked “You ask me how I know He lives?” he simply responded the best way we can ever know that God is real.

    “He lives within my heart.”

15. Total Surrender does not just mean risking failure; it will mean failure

Think about these phrases…

“But even if God does not deliver us from your fiery furnace, we will not serve your gods.”

“If I perish, I perish.”

“Lord I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

And then this one: “I do not know the man.”

Three Hebrew youth pledged their lives and were thrown in a fiery furnace. A young beautiful girl was willing to perish but instead saved a nation.

Peter pledged to go to prison and to death. He even tried to defend Jesus on his own power, as if he was going to take down an entire army of soldiers, one ear at a time.

I really feel badly for Peter. He pledged. He struck with a sword, only to be told to put it back in its sheath by the Man he was trying to defend. Sometimes a total surrender means not trying to handle it yourself and instead let God handle you.

Have you ever tried to do the right thing, only to feel the stinging rebuke from the very one you want to please? It feels a little bit like the ALS challenge from a couple of years ago…

…except water bucket dumped on you is ice cold...

...and it’s not in the heat of summer, but on a chilly winter’s day…

…And it’s ice cold because there are still ice cubes in the water! Big ones.

Total surrender is like that. We are to risk all and we have to be willing to accept the consequences. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t know how things were going to turn out. Neither did Esther. And neither did Peter.

But here’s the secret towards total surrender. Sometimes the cavalry doesn’t come over the hill just in the nick of time. Sometimes we take a risk and it doesn’t work out. Miracles are miracles because they don’t just happen every day. And sometimes you cry out “shall we strike with a sword?” while we are taking our swords out of their sheaths before we even hear God’s answer.

So what did Peter do? He was so confused that he gave up. He wanted to stay close to Jesus, but when confronted, he denied Christ, not once, not twice but three times. It’s as though he was saying, “Yeah I tried that ‘total surrender thing,’ and it didn’t turn out so good.”

So what is the secret? Don’t give up on giving up. Keep on surrendering but not to the enemy; surrender to God. Peter’s failure was not in his cutting off Malchus’ ear while trying to chop off his head. And Peter’s failure was not that he denied Christ. Not really.

The only way Peter would have failed would have been if he didn’t keep on trying to surrender to God. Peter preached 50 days later on Pentecost and I just believe that there was some guy in the crowd listening name Stephen. And he and 3,000 other people listened to a fisherman who surrendered to a man who told him to cast his net on the other side after a night of fishless fishing.

And from then on, it was the Lord who had Peter’s ear. And the rest of him as well.

Chapter 15: Total Surrender -- Don't be killing grass!

     At the Men of Integrity gathering in August, we were challenged to reach out to our community. Tony Nathan made a sacrifice when he was in high school to stand up for his beliefs and now he has been thrust into the limelight again to speak in front of crowds, something he really did not want to do. "God has a sense of humor," he told us. But he added, "If you don't move, you'll kill grass." 

     Are you moving? Are you reaching out beyond yourself. Or are you in your comfort zone and "killing grass." We need to be under the influence, not of alcohol, but of the Holy Spirit. We need to be totally surrendered to God. 

The following devotional comes from Zondervan to help us prepare to go through Believe. Be sure to get your free text book AND work book if you will not be at church on Labor Day weekend.

KEY QUESTION: 

How do I cultivate a life of sacrificial service?
A genuine decision to follow and obey God is a decision of total surrender. When God the Father offered up his Son for our redemption, he revealed how valuable we are to him. The gift of salvation was an act of total surrender by our Savior. Are you willing to change the way you live? Are you prepared to surrender your life for his purposes?

A commitment to surrender completely to God’s purposes is easy to say but hard to do. Jesus made this clear to his disciples and never masked the harsh reality they would encounter or the impact it would have on their lives. He also never shied away from difficult conversations, as is obvious from his interactions with Peter regarding the disciple’s betrayal before Jesus’ death. Through Peter, we learn that the cost of total surrender can sometimes feel like it’s too much to bear.

Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23–26)

KEY VERSE
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1)

KEY IDEA
I dedicate my life to God’s purposes.

KEY APPLICATION:

What difference does this make in the way I live?
We offer every moment, thought, and activity of our lives as a sacrifice to God.

I never tire of hearing the story of the chicken that shared with a pig his desire to prepare a special breakfast for their farmer. The chicken said to the pig, “I will provide the eggs, and you provide the bacon.” The pig thought about it for a moment and then responded, “You are only making a contribution; I am making a total sacrifice!”

We should be willing to die for God, but he’s not asking us to be a “dead sacrifice”; he wants us to be a “living sacrifice.” Frankly, offering our lives as a dead sacrifice might be a bit easier. Someone once wisely said, “The problem with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off the altar.”

In light of what God has done to give us life, we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices back to him.

YOUR TURN

What does it mean to offer ourselves as “living sacrifices”? Join the discussion and use hashtag #BelieveTheStory.  

What about the cross?

I wrote the following for the Killeen Daily Herald with the theme of total surrender in mind. And then I read over Christmas an aggravating book by a man reportedly to be heir of C.S. Lewis's legacy (undoubtedly coined by his publisher but not undenied by the author). But his book (which will remain nameless since I don't endorse his rationale) while arrogant and wrong-directional, did put me in mind of the question for the title of this blog entry.
What about the cross?

     Christianity without the cross is unconscionable, but is not undoable. Many who profess the faith have become quite capable of practicing a cross-less Christianity.

     The cross is a stark reminder that we follow a crucified Savior who of course literally died to purchase our salvation. And yet, Christianity often seems oblivious to the repeated calls by Christ Himself for us to take up the cross and follow Him.

     No, we are not blind to the imagery of the cross. The cross dons our steeples and decorates our sanctuaries. On a wall at my home and as well as in my church are no less than a dozen ornamental “crosses,” elaborate in style and fanciful in design.

     And yet the ornate crosses bear little resemblance to the old rugged cross which Jesus bore to Calvary. Wooden. Heavy. Rough and garnered only by splinters and blood from the One who carried it.

    Mockery of the cross. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame.” Paul wrote about “the offense of the cross” (Gal. 5:11) and how “the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18). And yet this year we had churches debating whether they should be open for worship simply because Christmas fell on a Sunday. But that is not the scandal (the Greek word for “offense” is “skandolon”). The scandal is that if anything causes shame, offense or sacrifice, Christians will often forsake it. Marital vows? Purity? Promises? Faithfulness? Too many compromised pastors and parishioners alike have forgotten that Christ calls us to the cross.

     Mandate of the cross. Six out of the 16 times that the word “cross” in used in the gospels, it is not used for Christ, but rather for Christians. “Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be My disciple,” Jesus said in Luke 14:27 and elsewhere. A crucified life is not an optional for the follower of Christ. The cross is not an accessory. The famed Rugged Cross hymn proclaimed the cross was despised by the world but increasingly, it is despised by believers who refuse any sacrifice which calls for more than an hour a week (if that much) or more than spare change which jangles in our pockets.

     Martyrdom of the cross. Ten of the remaining usages of the word “cross” were for literal execution. “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” So wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian who voluntarily returned to Germany to stand with the resistance to Hitler, and was executed only days before the end of World War II. If Christ called us to the cross and the cross calls us to die, can we do otherwise than live a sacrificial life?

     What about the cross? We may cherish it and cling to it in our singing, but only until we bear its shame and reproach in our living can we expect to exchange it someday for a crown.

Tim McKeown is associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Killeen and blogger at timothymckeown.blogspot.com.

(This article appeared in the December 31, 2016 edition of the Killeen Daily Herald)

14. The arch enemy of single mindedness

      I’m sure my life is not that much different than everyone else’s. All this week, I’ve had a lot of distractions away from the office and at home. My wedding anniversary, my son’s birthday, my family is coming down, Hannah came back from England, we are celebrating Christmas early, different things breaking down at the house, plus my time in the office.

     Most translations don’t have the word single-mindedness in the Bible, but there are two uses of the word “double-mindedness” in the book of James, which is more of the opposite of being single-minded in its use this week in BELIEVE.

     Since our reading doesn’t include the passages from James, I thought I would write on those today. James 1:8 and James 4:8 both speak of the consequences of doublemindedness.

     James 1:8 says, “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

     Unfortunately, doublemindedness does not stay in the mind. It leads to beyond our thoughts.

     Our preoccupations. I think it is interesting that “worry” is translated into Spanish as “preocupación”.  Martin Luther said, “I have so many things to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” I think for men it is easier to be single-minded, but just not always on the things of the Lord. For Luther, he was single-minded on God and especially to prayer. For other men, it’s easy to be distracted from serving the Lord. You know, the age-old example of a man not stopping for bathrooms until he gets to the Grand Canyon, even if he’s driving from New York. 

     On the other hand, it’s biologically and psychologically easier for women to multi-task, and as a result to get distracted from being focused on God. The synapses between the two halves of the brain are demonstratively proven to be more interrelated for most females than most males. Yet both genders have their distractions.

     Our passions. James 4:8 challenges us to purify our hearts. Our passions will often follow our thoughts and our desires will often lead us astray. Do you ponder things that you know are going to lead you to being dissatisfied emotionally? Some people will say, “It doesn’t matter what I think about, I’m not going to do anything about it.” Unfortunately, that is not the case. Yes there are a few times when out of a moment of unanticipated passion someone acts on a sin. But most of the time our actions are premeditated.

     Our paths. James 1:8 says that we will be “unstable in all his ways.” One of the consequences of being doubleminded is instability in many areas of our lives. If you go upwards just a couple of verses in James 1, he speaks about praying in faith, and not wavering, which leads us back to Martin Luther’s quote. Do you have so much to do today or between now and December 25^th? If so, you must spend time and center your thoughts and prayers and mind on Christ. Then all the rest of the things that preoccupy your passions and paths “shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:23).

    

Believe Chapter 14. Keep Christ in...Christianity

     Killeen schools made the news this week because a teacher was told to take Christ out of the Charlie Brown Christmas. I loved how much Christ was in our Christmas programs at church this week and also at the Mother’s Day Out program last night. I am impressed with how our doors down the preschool halls are decorated with Christ. But even the church must be diligent to keep our focus on Christ.

     Last week, I had not read far enough ahead to notice that BELIEVE was going to go back to the first parts of Deuteronomy 6 to include the command that it is the parents who are charged to teach their children about the Lord. But it doesn’t hurt to again say to parents as well as principals and public officials that Christians cannot deny, ignore or omit Christ. Parents, read the Christmas story to your kids this holiday, and not the Clement Clarke Moore one. No, the one from Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 2:1-12. And while you are at it, read it from the good ole King James…there is only one thee and one thou in the whole passage!

     That doesn’t mean we can’t seat our kids on Santa Claus’ lap (although my sweet little 13 month old grandson didn’t seem to care for the experience) or sing about Rudolf or Hippopotamusses or even laugh about reindeer running over grandma (although even before she was a grandma, my wife cared even less for that song than my grandson cared for Santa!).

     “Seek ye first” was a sing-a-long song we would sing based on Matthew 6:33 as teenagers. “In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths,” says Prov. 3:6. The first day of the week is the Lord’s. The first-fruits belong to Him. The first 10 percent goes to God. The first part of my day is my time before the Lord. Before our meals, we should pray. Before we sleep, we should thank Him for our day. More than keeping Christ in Christmas, we must strive to keep Christ in Christianity.

    Linus had it right. “That’s what’s Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” he said. 

Day 14: Single-Mindedness

     As we approach the mid-point of our study on BELIEVE at FBC Killeen and also the mid-point of the second act of the Think, Act and Be Like Jesus theme, I cannot think of a single lesson in all of BELIEVE that would be more appropriate for the weekend before Christmas than “Single-Mindedness.” Just look at the key question:

KEY QUESTION:
How do I keep my focus on Jesus amid distractions?

     No, the readings from BELIEVE this week may not be from the Christmas story, but it is a hard thing to focus on Christ at Christmas, despite the frequent reminders of Him being the “Purpose for the Period” (just go with it, you know how to use a thesaurus too).

     But it is not just the trappings of (dare I use another cliché?) the hustle and bustle of the shopping, the terrible traffic that exists everywhere even in places nowhere near a mall, the intense pressure of buying things we can’t afford with money we don’t have to impress people who won’t remember what they got and from whom they got them in less than a month. It’s also the darkening of the skies earlier and earlier, the colder temperatures that chase people to spend more time indoors, all these things combined with less than perfect memories from the ghosts of Christmases past which lead to the least wonderful time of the yearn (with all due apologies to Andy Williams).

     As we look to the Belief of being Single-Minded, we must remember the first of the ten commandments (You shall have no other gods before me) and the greatest commandment as taught by Jesus (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength) both focus our worship and our love towards God.  

     What King Herod missed, the lowly shepherds found. What all but the inn keeper in Bethlehem rejected, the wise men traveled from afar to not only receive but also brought treasures to give. Keep the Christ in Christmas this year (yes, I just had to throw in another cliché, didn't I). Don’t let anything, especially Christmas, eclipse your focus on Christ. 

The following devotional comes from Zondervan's BELIEVE, chapter 14 which focuses our attention on the belief of being Single-Minded.

     In the first of the Ten Commandments, God commanded the Israelites to serve him exclusively because he was worthy of their trust, as he had proved by delivering them from Egypt. Later, just before Moses died and the Israelites entered the promised land, God inspired Moses to remind the people of their single-minded calling.

     God’s people needed to submit fully to his authority and believe he could provide all they needed. It’s this kind of trust that Jesus calls us to demonstrate as his disciples.

     Unfortunately, Jesus’ disciple Peter had a bit more trouble retaining his single-minded focus when he was met with distraction. Peter’s experience is a good reminder of how we are to think about Jesus, and keep our eyes on him, even when our thoughts get sidetracked or we feel frightened. (See Matthew 14:22-36).

KEY VERSE
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

KEY IDEA
I focus on God and his priorities for my life.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live?

We set goals informed by God’s agenda and will. We don’t ask God to bless our plan but to bless my alignment to his plan. We trust God to meet our needs and desires.

YOUR TURN

Paul tells us “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). What does that admonishment mean to you? 

13. Bible Study Assimilates the Vitality of the Word of God

    Psalm 119 teaches us to value God’s Word, even though it was written when really all that the psalmist and the people had was Genesis through Job, if that much. What’s more, the Bible was nowhere nearly available like it is today; it was in limited supply in scrolls and only at the places of worship, if even there. No wonder they had to hide and treasure it in their hearts!

     Because the Bible is so available today, there is no excuse for us not to study it and then assimilate it into our lives.

     For the past few days, I’ve quoted one of my favorite preachers and perhaps one of the greatest proclaimers of God’s word in the late 20^th Century, Adrian Rogers. In his Legacy Bible (page 672), he lists five key ways that we can assimilate the vitality of the Word of God to make our Bibles come alive. Using Psalm 119 as his text, read the following and if you are familiar with Rogers’ great preaching voice, imagine him saying out loud his “recipe” for assimilating the God’s Word:

Now, you don’t just read the cookbook, you eat the meal. If you don’t assimilate it, no matter how much you appreciate it, it does you no good…I always read the Bible with a pen or a pencil in my hand. If you don’t do that, it tells me you’re not expecting to receive anything. And you sure aren’t planning to remember anything. You simply get a pad to write on when you open the Bible and you pray, ponder it, and you get ready for God to speak to you.

    In other words, Pastor Rogers was saying that Bible Study, if done properly, is the entire purpose of Bible reading. If you truly believe you were to hear from the Lord, you will not only hear but do the following:

1. Pray (“Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees,” Psalm 119:12) Jesus said in John 14 (BELIEVE, page 220) that “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, (that is with the same power and authority that was held by Jesus, who in turn came in the Father’s name. See John 5:43 and 10:25) will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
2. Ponder (“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways,” Psalm 119:15, see also verse 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99 and 148). Meditation does not mean to empty your mind with meaningless chants or mantras. It is the opposite, you saturate your mind with the truths of God’s word. It is beyond memorizing in your mind; meditation is implanting God’s word in your heart!
3. Preserve (“I delight in your decrees; I will not forget your word,” Psalm 119:16, see also verse 11, 83, 93, 109, 141, and 176). Memorization is a part of meditation, but is the mechanical foundation that leads into implanting God’s word on our hearts.
4. Practice (“Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey your word,” Psalm 119:17, see also 1-4, and verse 9). It is not enough to read God’s Word, we must heed God’s Word; that is, put it into practical application.
5. Proclaim (“With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth,” Psalm 119:13, see also verse 46, 172). Some say that they proclaim the gospel with their lifestyles, but in my experience, few are that good that they can live so perfectly before others that people beat down their doors begging them to tell them about God’s Word. Proclamation must be accompanied by numbers one through four above, but those four can never replace the clear presentation and proclamation of the Gospel!

13. Apply the Virtues in Bible Study

Even a smorgasbord of food will not supply your nourishment
if only eaten once a week.

     In Psalm 119 (see BELIEVE pages 216-218), we see in almost every one of the 176 verses something that we can gain from studying the Word of God. But it is not enough to read the virtues of God’s word, or even to hear them taught, as we see in the two foundations of rock and sand, found in the Sermon on the Mount. No, we must not only hear but also do what the word of God says.

     Adrian Rogers illustrates how we need to apply the virtues of the Word of God: Imagine a person who says, “Oh, pastor, I’m just so physically weak, I can hardly get out of bed. I’m so worn out.” After the pastor asks a few questions, he finds out that the man only eats one day a week, but only when it’s good weather and only when he feels like going to the restaurant. He doesn’t eat again until the next Sunday afternoon. No wonder he is physically weak.

     In the same way, some only eat spiritual food on Sundays. They not only don’t read or study the Word of God the rest of the week, they also do not apply the virtues found within the Word of God throughout the week. As a result, they have no spiritual vitality.

     What are some virtues that we need? First we need to be anchored in the walk found and prescribed in the Word of God. Look at Ps. 119:10, “Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments,” (KJV). I mentioned earlier the two builders on foundations of sand and rock. The house built on the hearing and doing of the words of Christ is the house that will stand against the storms of life. Anchor your path on the firm rock of Christ’s teachings by studying His word. Proverbs 2 speaks about another pair, but these, like Robert Frost’s two roads found in the yellow wood, will make all the difference between a path to destruction or a path to deliverance.

    Secondly, we need to be built up in our faith through Bible Study and practical application. The Bible says Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). Studying the Scriptures will not only anchor you with a firm foundation, it will also build up your faith. Are you wavering in your faith? Study the Word of God. Are you weak in your beliefs? Seek out Godly counsel with others who have travelled the road a little further along than you have. Are you weary in well doing as it says in Galatians 6:9? It is probably because you are reaping what you have sowed and if you are not building up your faith in God’s Word, your faith will not grow strong.

     Thirdly, we need to cleanse ourselves by the washing of the water of the Word. King James reads Psalm 119:9 this way, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” Paul said that the water of the word of God washes, cleanses and sanctifies us (Eph. 5: 26). In John 15:3, Jesus said, “You are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.” God’s word reminds us we are cleansed at salvation, it refreshes us in the present and will reward us in the future when we are ultimately cleansed from our sins at the resurrection.

    So how can we apply the virtues of the Word of God? It’s as simple as ABC. Let the word of God Anchor our walk with His firm foundation, Build our Faith, and Cleanse our past, present, and future.