As I’ve been studying, Ecclesiology, I want to share with you some of the key things I’m learning. Not just for your sake, for I honestly have no idea how many people actually read my blog, but for my sake to have a place to look back and remember these incredible truths.
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| doodle: the church |
“Even though Christianity is individual, it is not individualistic.” Francis Schaeffer
In class we talked about the many divisions in the universal church, we talked about how easy it is to pridefully say “I’d be better off living in a log cabin the woods, just me and God”, and we acknowledged the fact that the Lord is working on so many different levels through so many different grids of theology. Who am I to say someone might have wrong theology when there is more visible fruit in their life then in mine? Can we be okay with this? What would the body of believers look like if we agreed to disagree on some things...and still be able to fellowship together and spur each other on in the grace of Christ to good works?
Oh how important it is to hold firmly to truth and respond in grace and humility toward those you disagree with. As soon as I respond in pride to someone I disagree with I am in the wrong... I pray for humility, I pray that I might see Christ’s perspective of each believer.
As the church we have grace upon grace upon grace...what would it look like to extend that?
Professor Myers gave us three purposes of the Church that are right on:
1. The upward purpose of the Church is to joyfully and eternally express the Greatness and Goodness of God together in worship.
2. The outward purpose of the Church is to communicate the Gospel to the unsaved and call them to faith in Jesus Christ.
There is a great cost to this purpose, and “the sufferings of Christ are completed in the suffering of His saints.” (Myers) (Col 1:24,29)
3. The inward purpose of the Church is to express the grace and truth of God to one another in fellowship, service, and teaching.
These purposes amaze me and cause me to both praise God and pray...because I see this in some churches but not in others...
We have the Spirit of God indwelling us, He gives us a desire to connect with each other. What might be wrong in the times I don’t want to connect with other believers? Me, sin, flesh... Is what is wrong. Me says I don’t need to love every believe, me says if they have different theology then me then most likely God’s not working in and through their life, and me doubts the power of the gospel to continue to transform and refine each believer...including myself.
Professor Myers pleaded with us to be aware of blind stops in our perspective:
All that the New Testament has to say about our potion in Christ is corporate! We must participate in each others needs, through prayer and serving. Confessing together, calling sin “sin” brings a deep Spirit of unity and allows the grace of God to work deeply.
Lastly this quote really stopped me in my tracks: read it carefully...
Apology of Aristides (to Emperor Hadrian, 125 AD)
“[Christians] love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the spirit and in God. And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his necessity, and if it is possible to redeem him they set him free. And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needs of their lack of food.”
....that is the early church for you...how have we changed...how have we stayed the same?
Pray for the Church, pray that we choose wisely our ‘hills to die on’ and the differences we can let go...pray we never compromise the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Most of all, together, pray for the Name of God to be hallowed and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven and for the Nations to truly know Grace... Pray, pray, pray....in the spiritual realm, on our neighs before the Father is where true unity is found.
1 comment:
A lot of great thoughts here, Trudi, it's so awesome to see your passion for Christ's body.
First, the quote by Schaeffer stuck out to me: "Even thought Christianity is individual, it is not individualistic." My husband and I were literally just talking about this concept a few minutes before I read your post. During the end prayer today at church, a guest speaker gave an opportunity for unbelievers to raise their hands if they wanted to turn to Christ and wanted to be prayed for. The speaker acknowledged a person and prayed for them, which was awesome. But then the sermon ended and we went all about our business. My husband was commenting on how strange it is that turning to the Lord is often so secret in our churches. How beautiful - and I believe more biblical - it would have been to rejoice with that person, to come alongside them and encourage them in their faith. But we don't know who they were and we didn't make a big deal out of their apparent decision.
When there is division in my local church body or I don't agree with the way things are, I sometimes catch myself thinking things like you mentioned: "I'd be better off not going to church and just staying home with my family, or go out with an encouraging friend, or having time alone with Jesus..." But that's not the church, as you rightfully were saying. I am in the midst of learning what it means to be a part of the Church even when I disagree and leaning when it is appropriate or even helpful to voice that disagreement.
I often have to remind myself that if I could see all the ways God was working in my local church body, I'd be blown away. I need Jesus to make me gracious and humble.
But what I'm struggling with is what do you do when there are sin problems? Or when the way we do things actually serve as a hindrance instead of a help to others' faith? Because those things may be conversations and disagreements worth having.
It's just so hard because we are to be gracious and loving to each other, but we are also to sharpen each other and deal with sin. With both aspects to the body, it's difficult to know what to do. But at least PRAY, PRAY, PRAY and wait on the Lord to reveal.
Obviously, Christ is what true believers all have in common. But there are "side issues" that affect the gospel, fruit, and effectiveness for the kingdom.
For example, (this is totally not true for me personally!) let's say that I don't believe that many events in Genesis actually happened. But I do believe that Jesus created me and that the only way to be saved from my sin is through belief in Christ's sacrifice. OK, so I may be saved because of my faith in Jesus, but how does my belief about Genesis affect my son. He could easily take it a step further and say, "If I can't take Genesis to be true, how can I take the rest of it to be true." Then he may actually not take Jesus seriously because of wrong theology I had. So sometimes we may get the Jesus part and possibly be saved, but I do believe that other theological things can affect salvation. Maybe not our own, but maybe others.
I think the church - certainly including myself - does need to return to being more gracious. And part of that is being more real about our sin, I think. When we see how much Christ has done for us and don't pretend to have problems for which we need forgiveness and growth, it is so much easier to be gracious to others. It's when pride hardens our hearts that we don't see the needs of others.
Thank you for sharing your heart!
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