When Being Right Isn't Right Enough

“So what do you win if you are right?” I have no idea what issue Lynn and I were arguing over at the time... there is a good chance I didn't know at the time. But I clearly remember her ending it with that question. What would I win if I continued to press the issue until (in my own mind) I won the argument? What I would “win” was a seriously ticked off wife. If I would have stopped and thought about it, I would have known that I didn't want that! But at the time, whatever the issue happened to be, it was more important to me than me having a happy wife. Sometimes it's not right to be right. Sometimes it’s a whole lot better just to be wrong or wronged and get on with life. (It's fun to kiss and make up, but it is possible to skip the argument and go straight for the kiss!)

In our reading for today from 1 Corinthians 8, Paul begins a discussion of a burning question in the church at Corinth—“Is it OK to eat meat that has been offered to idols?” This was the second of a series of questions that the church evidently sent to Paul, kind of a “stump the apostle” exercise. (The first one was some simple little query about marriage and divorce). Meat for sale in pagan cities was often dedicated to pagan gods and then sold on the open market. So was OK for a Christian to eat meat dedicated to false gods? Or... was it OK to ever eat any meat and risk eating something dedicated to some pagan god or which proceeds were supporting some pagan temple? As is necessary for any good brouhaha, there were believers on both sides of the issue.

I like to call this the “pagan ham issue.” This is a fun issue to debate because none of us have a dog in that fight. No one argues about silly stuff like this today. No, we have much more important fish to fry-- like “Can a woman make an announcement in church?” Or “Is it sinful to sing praises to God if someone happens to be playing a piano in the same room?”

Arguing over a pagan ham sandwich is just silly... unless you read Acts 15:28-29 and decide it wasn't so silly after all! There was a direct command and approved apostolic example (two of the biggies) telling the Gentile Christians not to eat meats offered to idols. Paul himself was present when that letter was written to the earliest Gentile converts. Can we see why some Christians were ready to fight over not eating the pagan ham and thus being faithful to the truth of the gospel?

So Paul is now expected to wade in and side with some of the Christians at Corinth over other Christians at Corinth. Paul doesn’t duck the question, but he prefaces his answer and application with something he sees as more important—

Now I will write about meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. 2 If you think you know something, you do not yet know anything as you should. 3 But if any person loves God, that person is known by God. (1 Cor. 8:1-3, NCV)

Paul in essence asks, “What do you win if you are right?” The side (whichever side) that pushes this issue to the point of division is wrong even if they are right. Paul will basically argue that is isn’t wrong to eat meats offered to idols BUT you don’t really win anything by being right! When we think we know “the truth,” we tend to get puffed up with our own importance. We never really argue with the other person, we always tend to argue DOWN to the other person. Thinking we’re the ones who are right usually drives wedges between us and them… and between us and God. Paul says that it ultimate doesn’t really matter so much WHAT you know as WHO you know… or Who knows you.

I like a good theological debate. I think if we keep the heat down and our hearts open, a good theological tussle can be an “iron-sharpens-iron” opportunity to grow in God. At least that is the way it should work. I am afraid that the way that it usually works is the way it was working at Corinth—battle lines are drawn and sides are chosen. Paul encourages us to choose the way of LOVE over the way of WISDOM. It’s better to be LOVING and give in than to be RIGHT and be divided.

Unless the issue is of God Himself, it’s better to GIVE IN than to BE RIGHT. I can say that with absolute confidence because I know for a fact that Lynn hardly ever reads my blog!

Welcome to Corinth

Today’s Daily Bible Reading reading is 1 Corinthians 5. Click on the link to read the text… or click on the little speaker icon in the top left and listen to the text being read to you. This is also the text that I’m preaching from on Sunday. Here is a little preview--

Several years ago, I remember hearing Don McLaughlin ask, "Where did Corinth learn that tolerating incest was OK?" We think that’s an easy question— "They learned it from their sinful pagan culture." After all, Corinth was saturated by all kinds of sexual immorality. I mean, the pagans in Corinth went to "church" to hook up with a prostitute! What do you expect from folks in Sin City? It was their culture to be immoral.

Maybe. Maybe not. Paul begins this who discussion by asserting that even pagans wouldn't have been OK with what was going on in Corinth. Oh, the pagans knew all about sexual sin; they were experts at it! But what they didn’t know about was how to feel morally superior and spiritually smug while being immoral! What has Paul so torqued is that the church not only accepted such blatant immorality; they felt so smug in doing so. It was the church that invented accepting sin while feeling and acting superior!

So here was McLaughlin’s question: Are we more concerned with guarding our church worship than we are about guarding our holiness? People will literally walk out if we do something in the worship hour they don’t like— perform a drama, present some special music, play an instrument or (horrors) have a woman read a scripture. I had a friend that was preaching and that some visitor stand up in the middle of church and yell, “Oh, fooey!” and walked out. People will walk out if you do something non-kosher (in their mind) during the worship hour.

We are concerned about doing worship right... even if right is only in our owns minds based upon our own traditions. But will we walk when something is amiss in the realm of holiness? Are we concerned enough about being holy that we will walk out (literally or figuratively) to preserve it?

• Will we walk out of movie where illicit sex acts are portrayed?
• Will we walk away if someone tells gossip or off-color joke?
• Will we walk to confront a brother/sister who mistreats their spouse?
• Will we walk to the side of someone who is the victim of racism?
• Will we walk way if someone disrespects the president we are to pray for?

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, “Why is that?” It is because we are more concerned with right church rites than we are with living a holy life before God? We think that being Christian is about how we do church! The important thing about church (we think) is being right in doctrine and worship. But if we aren't right in our holiness before God and others—if we cheat on a spouse, gossip about people, get drunk on Saturdays, lie to our boss, cheat on our taxes, or show prejudice in our treatment of others—well, nobody’s perfect! After all, we’re saved by grace, right. And we hear the tour guide say, “Folks, welcome to Corinth!”

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid at the Tea Party

I’m not a Tea Party sort of guy; I like coffee. But a lot of people I love are Tea Party people, and I can live with that. I did read with some interest about Glenn Beck’s rally in Washington this past week-end and number of people (evidently somewhere between 2 dozen and 2 million, depending on who is doing the estimating). You really have to admire the guy for his ability to work a crowd. The way that a successful TV personality becomes a successful TV personality is astute audience analysis and the ability to give that audience what they want-- Glenn Beck does that better than anyone.

I think there is a sense in which it is a good thing anytime anyone talks about God and morality in the public arena. So maybe Mr. Beck did some good. Paul talked about good being done despite the false and selfish motives (Phil 1:18). But then, Paul conceded that the gospel was being preaching. I can't help but suspect that Glenn Beck's real agenda is Glenn Beck. I think I'd listen to him more (and the same is true of Keith Olbermann, by the way) if I could denote an iota of humility in there somewhere. I would probably listen to them both more if I had cable TV.

I simply don’t believe that the “God and Country” message coming from either the left or right today has anything at all to do with the gospel. Let me quote a portion of a post by Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor at Highview Baptist Church. Of course, the real reason for the quote is plausible deniability. When people come after the messenger with tar and feather, it is quite helpful to be able to say, “I didn’t say that, that was him!” So here the quote—

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Leaders will always be tempted to bypass the problem behind the problems: captivity to sin, bondage to the accusations of the demonic powers, the sentence of death. That’s why so many of our Christian superstars smile at crowds of thousands, reassuring them that they don’t like to talk about sin. That’s why other Christian celebrities are seen to be courageous for fighting their culture wars, while they carefully leave out the sins most likely to be endemic to the people paying the bills in their movements.

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20). As long as the Serpent’s voice is heard, “You shall not surely die,” the powers are comfortable.

Either we believe the gospel or we don’t. We can believe the gospel and be politically conservative or liberal… or not political at all. But what we can’t do is believe the gospel and think that the answers to society's ultimate problems can be solved politically or that somehow political parties and programs have anything at all to do with the kingdom of God.

By the way, it is jaw-dropping amazing to me how many conservative, fundamentalist types Christians all of a sudden have no problem with Mormonism. Glenn Beck (and Mit Romney) are Mormon, so all of a sudden folks who are pretty exclusive in their views of who is a real Christian open their umbrella wide and embrace Mormonism as another branch of our family tree. Of course, President Obama isn't a real Christian; he is a Muslim and a proponent of Liberation Theology (never mind that you can’t be both at the same time). I'm not suggesting that all Mormons totally accept the official teaching of their church. I'm not suggesting that Mormons can't be Christians despite their church's teaching. But I am saying that this little cartoon does summarize pretty well the basic official Mormon worldview. So don't be too quick to drink the Kool-Aid at your Tea Party!

The Sanctuary

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

When I was a kid, Rule #1 of church building etiquette was "No running in the church building." It always struck me as funny that this was also rule #1 at the pool (where committed Christians wouldn't go anyway), though I never suspected any connection between the two. We were always told that the reason for the rue was the danger of knocking into some old person. I never heard of that ever happening, though perhaps it did. But I suspect that the "no running" rule had more to do with the fact that the church building was viewed as a special and holy place that wasn't to be desecrated by a bunch of kids having fun. We didn't have a sanctuary per se; we had an auditorium. But we pretty much treated the church building as if it were a sacred place, a sanctuary. I clearly remember the song the kids sang as they left the auditorium to go to their classes during VBS-- “Tiptoe, tiptoe in God’s house…”

Well, we don't follow Rule #1 at Denbigh. We got rid of our pews five years ago; we sold them to a church being rebuilt in Louisiana after Katrina. We replaced the pews with chairs that can be stacked and rolled out of the way. So now everything from VBS fun-and-games to teen laser-tag lock-ins to my 50th birthday party are held right there in the auditorium. We still call it “the auditorium because the term "worship center" for our little facility sounds too... sanctimonious. But we definitely don't see it as a sanctuary anymore. And now sometimes old people (like me) get bowled over by kids who are not tip-toeing in God's house!

The church building isn't special, but the church definitely is! In the verse above (part of today’s Bible reading), Paul says that the church is the temple of God in which He lives by His Spirit. To fracture fellowship and disrupt unity with our fusses and feuds (sometimes over how we use the building) desecrates and disrespect God's holy temple. That is Paul very point here! The church at Corinth was splintered by any number of issues and arguments that destroyed their unity and compromised their witness to the world. Paul says that such disharmony is like spray painting graffiti all over the temple of God.

The church through the years has had no shortage of issues that have become wedges that have driven disciples apart and honest seekers away. Very few (if any at all) of those issues have been anywhere near as serious as has been our ignoring God's clarion call to unity. We are the temple of God. Let's not allow God's holy temple to defiled by disunity.

Lord, teach your children to stop their fighting,
Start uniting all as one

Let's get together living forever,

As sanctuaries for you

O Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary,

Pure and holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving I'll be a living

Sanctuary for You.

Hope for the Future?

We've been reading the New Testament together as a church this year. My sermons have come from our readings, and starting in a couple of weeks, our small group lesson will also follow our daily Bible reading schedule. The readings are posted on our website, complete with a link to the reading itself on biblegateway.com. I didn't realize until yesterday that you can click on the speaker icon in the top left corner and LISTEN to the text read (by a talent reader with a British accent, because people with British accents just sound smarter). So it it helps to listen to the text read to you, then there you go. As a bonus, if you select the gender-neutral TNIV (Today's New International Version), you get a bonus-- the reader is female... though she doesn't have a cool British accent.

Mike Cope had a version of this video on his blog earlier this week. I found this one with people that I like better. If you are into hope for the future (rather than the belief that we're heading to hell in a hand-basket), you might find this video encouraging. If you aren't into hope, then you aren't into encouraging anyway, so just skip the whole thing.

The Way of the Cross

The church has always had problems. We may talk about "restoring the church of the first century," but we really don’t want to do that. At least, we don't want to restore any of the churches of the first century that we know about! The reason we know about specific first century churches is because they had severe enough problems that a letter had to be written to them to address their problems. Who in their right mind would want to restore the Corinthian church (we begin 1 Corinthians today in our daily Bible reading).

As Paul begins, he suggests that many of the problems at Corinth are caused because the Christians there are trying to look at things like the world sees them. They saw things from the perspective of philosophers seeking logic and wisdom and Jews who were seeking miraculous signs. Now Paul will do both of these-- logic and miracles. But listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-23 (from the NLT)

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

The church was looking for philosophy (wisdom) and religious experience (signs). Several years ago, I heard Jack Reese suggest that the church still tends to seek God through wisdom and signs. What follows is my take on these two ways (so don’t blame Dr. Reese here).

• The Way of Wisdom: We are a people of the book who “speak where the Bible speaks.” The problem is that we not always “silent where the Bible is silent.” We developed a system of received interpretations and entrenched traditions based on inferences that were not necessarily necessary and examples that were not apostolically approved. Every detail of how to do church from how to do our music to how to use our church buildings were deduced and systematized and made tests of fellowship. We defended our system was if it were holy writ itself. That is the way of wisdom.
  
  
• The Way of Signs: May rightly came to reject this head-only religion that argues over every issues as if it were the issue. They seek a more relational of God, and that has to be a good thing. But what is not good is when a willingness to leave behind the controls scripture in order to chase a religious experience. The “if-it-feels-good-do-it” approach fails theologically as well as it fails ethically. The genuineness or our worship and church experience is not tied to how it makes us feel. That is the way of signs.

Paul rejects both the way of wisdom and the way of signs for a third way— the way of the cross. In fact, it is the cross that is both God’s wisdom and sign, “Christ the power [signs] of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). When Jesus’ enemies asked him for a sign, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:18). Their sign would be the cross and the resurrection. The message of the cross was both foolishness and a stumbling block to the world, but it a foolishness that saves those who believe (1 Cor 1:20). You don’t hear much about the cross stressed by the prosperity preachers on religious TV or touted by political pundits (on both sides) who cherry-pick scripture for proof texts. But Paul said that the message of the cross was all he wanted to talk about (1 Cor 2:1-2)

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The way of wisdom and signs caused the divisions in Corinth where they argued about their preachers and their rights (wisdom). They argued about who had the best spiritual gifts (signs). The message of the gospel is that God's ultimate wisdom and sign in Jesus Christ and His cross.

That message didn't impress the wise men and the scholars of Paul's day; it won’t impress them today. But that message is the essence of the gospel and the center of who we are to be.

Unity, Restoration and Romans 14

KFC used to say that they were the best because they did just one thing. If you concentrate on just one thing, then you can do that better than anyone else. So their slogan was, “We do chicken right.” But from the very beginning of our movement, we’ve tried to do TWO things.

• Unity: The Restoration Movement began as a unity movement. The desire was to unite Christians of all denominations in one body that could work and worship together. Denominational divisions made that unity difficult, we needed to leave behind those loyalties and see unity as “our polar star.” (Barton W. Stone)
  
  
• Restoration: We saw the restoration of simple, congregational, non-denominational Christianity as the key to unity. If creeds and confessions separated believers, we would set them aside. We would go “Back to the Bible” and just be “Christians Only” who would “Speak where Bible speaks and be silent here it is silent.” The slogans were easy, but focusing on truth while maintaining unity wasn't so much!

It wasn't long before we found those issues as being in competition with one another. The more we found a certain view to be TRUTH, and harder it was to maintain any real UNITY with people who disagreed. So we eventually gave up the quest for the unity of all Christians and focused being right on the forms and formats of the faith. And our tribes divided and multiplied and got smaller.

In our reading today in Romans 14, Paul deals with how to deal with disagreements about how to do faith while maintaining unity. If there is a lesson that the church needs to learn today, it is this lesson of unity despite differences. The issues discussed in the church at Rome seem minor to us-- eating meats and observing special days. But these issues went to the very heart of the differences between Jewish and Roman Christians in a world divided. If we can’t find some more modern issues that fit Paul’s template here, then we just aren’t trying hard enough. Paul says four basic things about dealing with basic differences in the church--

• First, accept others without looking down on them (14:3). We don’t have to agree on all the issues—in fact, we can’t agree. Would Jewish and Roman Christians ever see all food issues exactly alike? Will high-church Presbyterians and happy-clappy Pentecostals ever view worship the same? We will never agree. Ever! But we must respect one another’s faith! Always! We will never really “accept one another” until we can learn to “respect one another.”
  
  
• Second, refuse to judge the motives of those who disagree with you (14:6). Even if we disagree on issues, we can share motivation to glorify God. We can fuss and feud about our preferred styles of church music… or we can thank God for our a mutual desire to praise Him! We must get much better job at looking past our issues to our motives. What we tend to do is impugn the motives of those who disagree with us. It’s too easy to dismiss someone with, “You would think that, you Bible-hating liberal!” Paul here assumes that our differences arise from a mutual love of God! We’ll get better at this church thing when we are grateful for the faith of people with whom we disagree on the details.
  
  
• Third, give up trying to CONTROL others (Rom 14:22). Why does Paul tell Timothy to stay away from “foolish and stupid arguments?” (2 Tim 2:23). It wasn’t that Timothy didn't enjoy a good tussle ever now-and-again; it was because he enjoyed it too much! That the "evil desires of youth" Paul warns against in 2:22! To constantly argue over issues only serves to drive wedges between us. There is a time to patiently study difficult issues and share our findings with others. We need to be better at that! There’s also time to treasure our beliefs and our liberty and keep them both to ourselves! Paul defends our right to private beliefs, but he wants them to stay that way!
  
  
• Fourth, we love each other MORE than we love getting our way! (14:15). The point of church is to help us get to heaven—not to make it harder! Paul says that his freedom to eat meat means that he is also free NOT to eat meat. Does that mean that UNITY more important than TRUTH? Well, maybe not… but it’s more important than me getting my way on what I see to be the truth on an issue that may or may not be all that important in the grand scheme of things. And frankly, those are the issues that have divided our churches.

Here’s the irony— this text is most often used as ammunition during the very church disputes Paul is trying to mitigate. Paul is pleading the church for unity despite there differences in perspective and background, and we tend to use it in an attempt to make the other side give in! One side may say, “Paul says that I’m not judged by your conscience and I have liberty in Christ, so you have to be quiet!” The other side replied, “Paul says that you can’t do anything that causes me to stumble, so you have to quit!”

It’s kinda funny when you look at it that way, isn't it? No, it’s not funny at all!

The Kingdoms of God and Men

David Lipscomb was prominent voice in our movement during and after the Civil War. He was a Southerner who stridently opposed the war and discouraged all Christians from entering it. In fact, Lipscomb oppose all Christian participation in government at all—no serving in the military, no being a police officer, no running for public office or voting for those who ran. Lipscomb saw all human government as a sing of rebellion against God’s rule (1 Samuel 8) and an abuse of power that contradicted Jesus call to love and serve (Matt 20:24). Lipscomb had what Richard Hughes calls an “apocalyptic worldview” totally focused on the kingdom of God. That kingdom was advancing, and it was opposed by the kingdom of men. Lipscomb denied we can be citizens of two kingdoms, so we must choose whether we are going to live a citizens of the kingdom of God or the kingdoms of men.

James Abram Garfield was a preacher who contemporary with Lipscomb. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted and was made a colonel in Union army. He recruited 250 students from Hiram College, a preacher training school in Kentucky. Garfield won several battles and fought at the Battle of Shiloh. Like many army heroes, Garfield went into politics after the war, being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield was then elected 20th president of United States, still the only president elected while in House. So Garfield’s view of the Christian and government was just a bit different from Lipscomb; he saw politics and government service as an extension of faith and a blessing from God Himself.

So who was right—Garfield or Lipscomb. What is the Christian's relationship to the government? Should we avoid all contact like Lipscomb or grow up to be president like Garfield? Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…” But just what belongs to Caesar? Can I vote and be a faithful Christian? Must I vote to be a faithful Christian? Must I vote a certain way to be a faithful Christian? That depends on whether you ask Lipscomb or Garfield! If you ask Paul in today’s reading in Romans 13, you will get a pretty generic answer.

Paul’s words in this chapter on our relationship to the government can be summed up in three words—OBEY and PAY. We are to submit to the government as if we were submitted to God, obeying the law and refusing to be lawbreakers. That specifically means that we are to pay our taxes to the government, even if our tax money is used in ways with which we personally disagree. The king Paul mentions is Nero who was neither a nice guy nor careful spender of tax revenue; some of Paul’s tax money went to support the gladiator games in the coliseum; if Paul wanted to start a tax payer revolt, he missed a great chance here! Obey and pray. In writing to Timothy in the church in Ephesus, he adds one more Christian responsibility to the government-- PRAY (1 Tim 2:1-2).

The Bible’s focus is always on the kingdom of God, not on the kingdoms of men. There really is a fundamental difference in those kingdoms (Matt 20:25-28). The Kingdom of men is based on rule by power and force; the kingdom of God is about service and a cross. Lipscomb was right in that there is and always will be a fundamental tension between these two kingdoms. Garfield was right in that God can use His people for good in BOTH kingdoms. Both were wrong in seeing their views as being the essentially Christian view on the government.

No One Wins Until Everyone Wins

I remember reading somewhere of a missionary who (for some reason) tried to teach the game of croquet to the native people with whom he was working. They just couldn't get it. He laid out the wickets, explained the rules and showed them the basic skills. What they couldn't get is what happened when they hit an opponent’s croquet ball. He showed them how to place their foot on their ball and then “send” the opponent’s ball off the field. (That is the best part of croquet, sin't it?) The natives were completely confused, “Why would we want to do that?” Competition of this kind was unknown in their hunter-gatherer culture that depended on cooperation. Croquet for them became a cooperative effort; the game wasn’t over until everyone made it through all the wickets. No one won until everyone won.

That is a good description of church, “No one wins until everyone wins.” Sometimes we turn church into a contest of wills where there is a winner and a loser. The issue can be anything from worship styles to what color we paint the auditorium. We use influence and church politics to get our way so that our side wins. But church was founded by God’s love and on Christ’s cross. The way the church is supposed to operate is by love and sacrifice. When it becomes a competition where someone wins and someone loses, then it stops being the church. No one wins until everyone wins. Paul says this in our reading for today in Romans 12:14-18

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Sure this is really lousy advice if you want to win a competition. But this is a critical command if you want to live as the church of God. No one wins until everyone wins.

On Justifying Ourselves

In his book The Seven Deadly Virtues, Gerald Mann tells the story of a preacher in the south who courageously took a stand on the subject of racism at a time when that was not generally done among white, southern preachers... at least those who remained employed. Following the sermon, he was cornered by one of his members and taken to task for the lesson. The man demanded, “Well, if I ain't better than a (N-word) then who am I better than?”

“Then who am I better than?” That is likely a question that we have asked in some form at some time or another. You see, religion is often based upon the doctrine of “justification.” I’m not talking here about the great Biblical doctrine of justification by faith but the decidedly unbiblical desire justify ourselves. We know we are sinners, and that makes us uncomfortable. So we want to find ways to justify ourselves, and often the easiest way to feel justified is to point to our good points in comparison to the bad points of someone else. We have the right worship, the right doctrine, the right date on our cornerstone… the right rites. And that makes us right… right?

Wrong! That may make us FEEL right. Generally, when we say someone is just trying to “justify themselves,” what we mean is that they are making excuses for their bad behavior so they won’t look or feel so bad. I forgot my anniversary because I was so busy at work. I lost my temper because I didn't get enough sleep. I didn't gossip, I was sharing a prayer concern. All of that may "justify myself" in the sense that it makes me feel better. But I'm not justified.

Sometimes our religion is too much about justifying ourselves. Maybe that why a guy I know who hadn't been to church in years argued so strongly (obnoxiously) with a co-worker over the doctrine of baptism. It made him feel justified. Maybe that's why a guy I heard about put some extra bucks in the collection on Sunday ever time he had a rather rowdy Saturday night. It made him feel better. Maybe that's why some of us point so strongly to our right worship/doctrine/church and point our how others are doing it so wrong. Hey, if I ain’t better than a Baptist/Pentecostal/Catholic, then who am I better than?

But we can’t justify ourselves. No amount of good works can make up for the rebellion against God that the Bible calls sin. No matter how hard I try to do good, be good or worship good, I’m just not going to be able to justify myself. Paul says at the end of our reading today, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Rom 3:20). No amount of doing good, following the rules, and doing the right rites rightly will ever justify us. Only Jesus can do that.

21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

Maybe we need to stop trying to justify ourselves and live as those who justified by faith.

One View From the Pew

Denbigh has for many years now partnered with Denbigh United Christian Outreach (DUCO). This association of churches in the Denbigh area serves as something of a clearinghouse for benevolent work done in the Denbigh and surrounding areas. Maria Cory serves as director of this fine work, and she occasionally visits DUCO’s member churches’ worship services. Maria was here with us Sunday, and she sent the following email to me on Monday morning. This was so encouraging to me that I thought I would share it on my blog. It is always helpful to see yourself through the eyes of other people. It is helpful to hear people who have complaints and criticisms— like the guy who told me once, “I’m from out of town, but I would never come to church here; you’re a lousy preacher.” (Those were his exact words; believe me, I remember!) But it sometimes also helps to hear people who appreciate what you are doing and who are pointed to God by it. Maria is obviously not from our religious tribe, but she is a committed follower of Jesus. Her words warmed my heart; I hope they warm yours--

Where do I begin? My heart is simply exploding with incredible emotion and inspiration after having worshipped with the Denbigh Church of Christ family this morning! While I am not searching for a new church home, it is a pleasure to visit and grow in relationship with our long-time DUCO Covenant Partner.

Today’s experience has been an enormous blessing with so many anointed branches interlacing in one beautiful vine! Glorious music reverberates throughout God’s home at 205 Denbigh Boulevard—and, surprisingly to some, all without instrumental accompaniment. Having had the wonderful opportunity to share in and appreciate a multitude of worship settings and styles, I can honestly say that DCOC’s music ministry is among the most magnificent I have ever heard. What a splendid blend of traditional and contemporary hymns. If I have ever contemplated how the heavenly hosts would sound, it would be the angelic voices that excited my soul today. It truly was “music to my ears.”

Pastorally, the DCOC community is so very fortunate to have the shepherding of Tuck and
Roger (two gentlemen whose voices I still confuse when they answer the phone). The
Christ-passion, energy, skill, wit and humor from the pulpit and through the music leadership are divinely God-given gifts and talents. In our humanness, it is no small feat for pastors to keep one’s congregation alert, attentive and inspired throughout the service and the message. As would be said, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” My eyes did not once blink in fatigue; my mind did not once wander off our purpose this morning. I was so enthralled in the God-moment that I didn’t even notice (until Tuck pointed out) that there were no windows through which light would normally shine in a sanctuary. It did not matter; stained glass was not needed; the Light was clearly present.

In addition to praising the All in All, this morning included reflections of thankfulness for being among brothers and sisters in the faith. It always warms my heart to see Jacob
Peterson, your faithful volunteer who regularly visits DUCO with your gifts to equip our pantry. He is undoubtedly one of the most positive, upbeat people who has graced my life. And Roger…he has faithfully dedicated his time, for so many years, counseling people one-on-one when they come to DUCO for emergency assistance. In addition to his wise counsel, if the ministry’s challenges cause our spirits to lag, rest assured, comedic Roger will reenergize us (at the expense of ribbing Maria). ;-) We, of course, are also grateful for neighbor Lynne Bean who continues to serve as your committed DUCO Liaison.

There were so many other positive points—from the invitational and encouraging prayers lifted up by various members to a great instructional piece in the bulletin guiding guests regarding what to expect during worship.

The Denbigh Church of Christ family is a treasure to the Denbigh community and beyond.
Thank you for our sharing this morning and for your unwavering support of our ministry together through Denbigh United Christian Outreach!

On Quitting Christianity

Yesterday on her Facebook page, author Anne Rice announced that she was quitting Christianity. Rice is best known for her series of books on vampires, the best known being Interview with a Vampire. She returned to her Catholic roots and dedicated her writing to Jesus Christ, beginning a wonder series of historical novels on Jesus (Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana). Rice says that she is still committed to following Jesus, but she is done with following His followers. Here two Facebook posts were short and matter-of-fact--

For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

These were posted without much context-- between observations on eBook publishing and the dangers of art being destroyed in times of war. There were thousands of replies (I didn't read all of them) which seemed split between people who agreed with her and many who did not. Her latest post seems to emphasize that she remains committed to Christ, but she seems done with the Catholic Church… and any other church for that matter.

My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.

Two thought came to me as I read this. First, I must confess that my first thought was, “Please don’t let this mean that you are quitting the 'Christ the Lord' series." OK, that is a little selfish, but I love those novels. Second, I thought about my post yesterday and how many people want to be spiritual (and Christian) but not really religious (or connected to a church). Anne Rice is a brilliant writer; her appendix to Out of Egypt does a masterful job dismantling Jesus Seminar dismissals of the gospels as reliable literature. The two Christ the Lord novels are obviously written by someone who reveres, respect and loves Jesus Christ. But in seeking Christ, Rice is no longer willing to accept the doctrinal, social, moral baggage of her church. And face it, when you are Catholic, there is a lot of baggage.

What should Anne do (besides finish the Christ the Lord series)? The Christian faith is meant to be lived in relationship with others. Maybe she could find a small group of Christ-followers and truth-seekers who share some of her concerns as well as basic faith in Jesus. Maybe she could meet with this loosely organized group to pray, study and encourage others. What the Bible calls a group like that is “church.” Anne, you didn't quit the church; you quit a church. We have all allowed the church to become a word with organizational, political and social baggage. But those original bands of brothers and sisters who huddled in catacombs to encourage one another to be faithful until Jesus returned had no baggage; they had each other. Anne, you don’t need to leave either Christianity or the church; you need to come back to it in its original form! In fact, maybe we all do!

Spiritual AND Religious

The fastest growing religious group in America is “none.” That doesn’t necessarily mean that people are en masse losing their faith in God. What it means is that people are choosing to become more private in their faith—they believe in God, but not the church. The way that this is most often expressed is someone will say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Of course, being “spiritual” can mean anything from believing in a mystic oneness with the life-force in nature (as in Avatar) or it can mean holding fairly orthodox beliefs about Jesus sans any connection to a church or faith group. Spiritual, but not religious. Kinda catchy, isn’t it?

It is also very postmodern. And very self-centered. One with spiritual beliefs that are uninformed by an external authority (Bible) or spiritual family (the church) is basically free to pick and choose the religious concepts that fit him or her at the moment. There is no obedience or discipline. There is only what makes me feel good right now, a Burger King religion that lets me have it my own way. The “organized religion” that we know as “church” has indeed spent too much time in the past arguing over intramural issues that really don’t amount to much. But at its best, the church encourages and emboldens us to be better than we would be if left free to choose to do what we want. As Jennifer Walters, dean of religious life at Smith College in Massachusetts, puts it--

Hymn-singing, forms of prayer and worship, teachings about social justice and forgiveness-- all these things are valuable elements of religious wisdom. Piecing it together by yourself can be done, but with great difficulty.

We need the church to teach, inform and encourage us. Or as Paul put it, “Reprove, rebuke and exhort.” Has it been true that many Christians in the past have settled for a religiosity of external rituals without a true focus on God or serving others? Sure, they were wrong. But what about the (post)modern spiritual guru who wants picks and choose religious concepts a la carte based on what best seems to fit at the moment? Well, they are wrong too. Amos condemned the Jews who pointed to their external religion without any life commitment. But Malachi condemned the Jews who had no problem at all with hearts mixed with idolatry but who didn’t show proper respect to God in offering their tithes and offerings.

It seems that God wants us to be both spiritual and religious.

Pattern: Breaking Bread and Preaching Until Midnight?

One of the things that is distinctive about worship in my religious tribe is that we eat the Lord’s Supper every Sunday morning (and on Sunday evenings for any who are “providentially hindered” Sunday mornings). Most churches have communion on a more infrequent schedule-- often once a month or once a quarter. Some (even some in my church) suggest that having communion every Sunday makes it less special and more apt to be done by rote or remote control. I’m sure that is true to a point, and we have to make effort not to fall into auto-pilot mode when the trays are passed.

The text to which we normally point to “prove” that communion must be done every Sunday is Acts 20:7 (our reading for today), “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.” Every week has a first day, so if we are to follow the New Testament pattern, we should have communion every first day. We do know there was a collection every first day, at least at Corinth during the time Paul was raising funds for needy saints in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:2).

But Acts 20:7 doesn’t work too well as a pattern. This text takes place in the middle of the Luke’s travelogue as he describes what Paul and his fellow wanders did on their mission trip. Paul certainly didn’t go through Troas on every first day of the week. On the Sunday that he did go there, the church was meeting together to “break bread.” What we know for sure is that one time when Paul was passing through Troas, the church met to break bread. And we don’t know for sure what exactly Luke means by “breaking bread.” In Acts 2:42, “breaking of bread” seems to imply communion, but in Acts 2:46, they “broke bread” daily, referring to common meals together. In Acts 20:7, the church met on the first day of the week “to break bread” but they didn’t get around to “breaking bread” until after Paul preached to midnight and Eutychus was raised to life after falling out of a window… because Paul preached to midnight. Maybe Luke was using Jewish time here so that the first day of the week began Saturday at sundown. Or maybe the church met to eat communion on Sunday night but didn’t get around to it until early Monday morning? Or were they gathered just to eat a meal together and that’s when Paul met with them? It COULD be a lot of things. That’s why Acts 20:7 doesn’t really make a good pattern. We certainly don’t take it as a pattern for how long sermons must be!

So what about eating communion on every first day of the week? I’m 100% all for it. Why? Not because of Acts 20:7. At the center of Christianity is the cross. Jesus died on the cross for us; he calls us to the cross to die for each other. The church is the community that is shaped by the cross and should be shaped like a cross. If indeed the cross is who we are and what we are called to be, then it should be central to our worship. And what better way to keep the cross at the center of our worship and our corporate life than to remember it and participate in it in precisely the way Jesus teaches us—through the Lord’s Supper?

BTW, there are many Christian groups that have communion one a month, once a quarter, and even once a year. But they take up a collection every week! Does that say something about priorities… or am I just being snippy?

A Debt of Honor

Another year at camp has come and gone for me. Together with 40 wonderful campers and 18 super staffers, I spent the hottest week on record (109 degrees heat index) at Camp Idlewild in Surry County, VA. Camp Idlewild and I go way, way back. My first year was as a 9 year-old in 1966... which was also Idlewild’s first year of operation. Lynn’s first year was also at age 9... and my mother was her first counselor. In fact, camp was such a big part of our lives that I drove us to camp to give Lynn her engagement ring. (OK, we broke the camp rule against kissing that one time). I once turned down the chance to speak in a lectureship in Germany because I had already committed to direct camp. Some of my best friends in ministry have worked with me on the “Idlewild Bible Faculty” during camp. I was at Camp Idlewild for 30 straight years before taking an unplanned hiatus several years ago. Three years ago, Denbigh took charge of the Middle School Week and Idlewild and I renewed our old acquaintance.

As I've gotten older, I look forward to camp with a little less enthusiasm. I don’t have the wheels I used to and the camp hasn't gotten any smaller. There are fewer and fewer churches in our area supporting the camp, so the work is harder for those who are still involved. There is never enough money and never enough volunteers.

But working at camp during the camp week is pure joy when I see the enthusiasm and delight on the faces of these kids. Camp is still the highlight of the year for some of our kids... just like it was for me. Some examples of how some of these kids feel about camp—

• Rachel planned her baptism at the because somehow making the commitment to follow Jesus for the rest of her life seemed more special because she did it at a place and surrounded by the people that were so special to her. (Two other campers were also baptized).
  
  
• Netanya fell off the slide in the pool and gashed her arm and needed 8 stitches. She was very upset… until she found out that she wouldn't have to leave camp early. The stitches were no big deal; she was extremely brave through that whole ordeal. But she wasn't going to leave camp early!
  
  
• Tia asked me on Wednesday not to use the microphone during my devotional talk. She said that the microphone reminded her of me doing the closing ceremony on Saturday and she didn’t want to be reminded that camp was going to end.

The reason I go to camp every year is not because I enjoy it as much as I used to enjoy it… but because our kids enjoy it as much as I used to enjoy it! I have a debt of honor to people like J.E. Thompson, J.L. Thompson, Steve Pugh, Maggie Dossett and a host of people who gave a week of their lives to make camp a sacred place for me. I hope last week was a great week for our kids. I hope it stays an important week of fun and spiritual growth for many generations to come.

728-B

My friend and former fellow member of the Bible faculty at Camp Idlewild has a great blog he calls “Acceptable Offering.” In a recent post, he told about how powerful an impact the song Our God, He Is Alive had on his life. No matter what the number is in our present hymnal, this will always be song # 728-B and, as Bob suggests, the unofficial Church of Christ anthem.

Bob says that his first church home didn't have the right color hymn book and thus 728-B wasn't there, neither the number nor the song. And it was such a great song. I don’t remember whether Bob was on the bus that went from Freed-Hardeman to Denton, Texas to hear Thomas B. Warren debate atheist Anthony Flew on the existence of God. We sang 728-B over and over again after the debate all the way across Texas and Arkansas.

But the song wasn’t in Bob's hymnal, and back then you just didn't sing songs that weren't in the hymnal. Then he learned that you could buy sheet music of Our God, He is Alive the right size to paste inside the cover of the hymnal. He went to the elders to tell them about this wonderful discovery and looked forward to soon singing his favorite in church. The elders told him that they would have to have a meeting to discuss whether or not the song was scriptural (after all, it wasn’t in the book).

I’ll let Bob pick up his story at this point--

And then the next Sunday the minister approached me and said we needed to talk.

“The elders told me you want to paste that new song in the back of our hymnal.”

“Yes, it’s a wonderful song!”

“Well, did you know it was written by somebody in the ‘anti-cooperation’ church of Christ? It would send the wrong message if we sang that song. The answer is ‘no,’ and please do not ask again.”

That day I knew something was wrong. Terribly wrong. That day I began realizing that everything was not 100% perfect at that church. That day the scales fell off my eyes. And as the scales fell, I began a new season of searching.

A lot of people have special memories of “728b.” The catchy tune. The inspiring words. That wonderful bass line. But for me, it was the song that opened my eyes. I will always be grateful.

I had an epiphany story very close to Bob’s story (so close it happened in the same church building, but that is another story for another time). Once you dispense with the dangerous fiction that your church is always right because it is, after all, the one true church, then you are free to move in a whole different direction... even if you stay in the same place.

Risky Business

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)

Jim Woodroof once suggested that had it not been for the apostle Paul, we would still be drinking the blood of our enemies out of their skulls. What he meant was that it was largely the work of Paul who carried the gospel to the pagan world. Without the influence of Christ, we would all still be pagan, and it was Paul who was Christ's messenger to the non-Jewish world. The impact of this one man on history cannot be over-emphasized.

And it almost didn't happen! After the baptism of Saul of Tarsus, the church was hesitant to accept the former persecutor into its midst. Yes, he had debated the Jews in Damascus; yes, he had to flee that city because of persecution. But the Christians were afraid that it was all a ploy to allow him to infiltrate the church so that he could do more harm to Christians. When Saul came to Jerusalem, no one would have anything to do with him. No one, that is, except Barnabas, the "Son of Encouragement."

26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:26-27)

Without the willingness of Barnabas to take the risk to embrace Saul and make use of his many gifts, Saul of Tarsus may have never become the apostle Paul.

What risks have you taken for Christ and on other people? Chances are you will never have to take a chance on a converted terrorist. But what about reaching out to someone at work, in the neighborhood or even at church who does not seem to have many friends? Are you willing to take a personal risk in associating with someone upon whom you can have a great impact. Sure, pouring yourself into the life of others is always risky business. It was risky for Barnabas to embrace Paul and take him under his wing. But it is possible that Paul would have never been able to go across the world with the gospel had not Barnabas been willing to go across the street with encouragement and acceptance. Think about it.

Crossing the Rubicon

The Rubicon is a river in northern Italy that flows from the Apennine Mountains into the Adriatic Sea. It also once marked the northern border between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy proper. Roman law forbade any general from leading a legion across that border. Following the victories of Julius Caesar in Gaul and his rise to popularity and power among many in Rome, the Senate ordered him to disband his army and return to stand before the Senate. Caesar decided instead to return to Rome with his army and become, well, Caesar. When he took his army across the Rubicon River, it was his point of no return. The expression “crossing the Rubicon” is stilled used as an expression today when someone reaches a point of no return. Actually, Caesar gave us another expression at the crossing of the Rubicon. He is reported to have said, “The die is cast” as he went across the river.

The fledgling church of Jesus crossed a Rubicon of sorts in our reading today from Acts 8:1-3. Stephen was killed by mob violence at the end of Acts 7. The days of “enjoying the favor of all the people” in Acts 2 has passed. Now the unofficial opposition by Jewish people has become an official persecution by Jewish leaders. Christians have reached the point where they must decide HOW MUCH they believe in Jesus.

And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:1–3, TNIV)

Saul of Tarsus (who I believe is brought up later in Acts) leads the effort to round up and imprison believers in Jesus. There will be no more gathers of thousands in the open to worship God in the name of Jesus. Now that name puts a price on their heads. Christians could give up the name of Jesus and go on with their lives or they could risk their lives for the name. What most decided was to take the name of Jesus on the road, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). The Rubicon was crossed, the decision was made and the church grew throughout the world.

When we accept, confess and act on the name of Jesus, we cross the Rubicon and reach the point of no return. To be honest, we would like to have it both ways—to be have the favor of all the people AND be faithful to Jesus. The world doesn’t let us do that, at least, not for long. We have to decide who is Lord. But then, if we are Christians, we have already decided that!

No Freedom Without Sacrifice

Sunday's service focused on freedom. After all, it isn't all that common for July 4th to fall on a Sunday, and we decided to use that emphasis to our advantage. We sang some patriotic songs (a medley of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "America). We even had a flag up on the podium. I must confess that both of those make me a bit uncomfortable. I think its too easy to entwine God and country to the point where we get the two confused. It's easy to think that "God is on our side" politically and then justify what we do as a country as "God's work." But at the same time, the freedom's that our country afford as gifts from God and it is right and just that we thank Him for those... and occasionally doing that in church is probably a good thing.

Freedom always means responsibility. Freedom is never free. Peter tells us to "live as free men" (1 Pet 2:16). Paul says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1). Christ gave us freedom at the cross, and we are to live that freedom. But we often assume that freedom means that we can do what we want. When we say, "Hey, it's a free country," we often mean, "I can do what I want and I don't have to care what you think." Freedom means that I am free for myself.

Peter and Paul both beg to differ. Peter says, "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." Paul says, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." (Gal 5:13-14). Freedom means that we have been set free (from sin) to serve God. And am not free FROM others but free FOR others. Big difference. When we understand the price Jesus paid for our freedom at the cross, that places us under an obligation. We are free, but freedom has an obligation, a responsibility, a price.

The 1998 Steven Spielberg movie Saving Private Ryan is a powerful parable of of this message of grace and freedom. Two Ryan brothers died during D-Day invasion; a third had died earlier; their mother would receive all three death notifications on the same day. The Chief of Staff learned that her fourth son James Ryan (played by Matt Damon) is behind enemy lines. He decides that a fourth Ryan son is not going to die, so he sends Cpt. John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) and either Army rangers to find him and bring him home. One by one, the Rangers lose men until Miller himself is mortally wounded. As he lay dying, Miller pulls Ryan close and says, “Earn this… earn it.” Pvt. Ryan is given the gift of freedom, but freedom is never, ever free. He now has the responsibility to live in wuch a away to respect the sacrifice. Years later, Ryan stands at Miller’s grave and wonders if he has indeed lived up to that sacrifice. It's the most powerful part of the movie.

We owe Jesus everything. OK, Jesus never says it us “Now earn this.” We can’t do that. But Jesus does say, “Follow me.” There is no freedom without sacrifice, and freedom for Jesus meant a cross. And that is exactly what freedom means for all of us. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). There is no freedom without sacrifice— no freedom without a cross.

A Secret Faith is No Faith At All

My sermon yesterday focus on today’s reading from John 19 and the role of Joseph and Nicodemus in the burial of Jesus. Both men were “secret disciples” of Jesus. John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea followed Jesus “secretly because he feared the Jews.” (John 19:38). He identifies Nicodemus as “the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night” (John 19:39). Of course, there are plenty of reasons that Nicodemus may have come at night—maybe he worked during the day or just wanted to avoid the crowds. But it seems possible if not likely that he came to Jesus during at night because he didn’t want to be seen talking with Jesus. In John 7, when Nicodemus did speak up to defend Jesus, he was shouted down with charges of being a disciple, “Are you from Galilee, too?” (John 7:52)

It was these secret disciples who came forward to claim the body of Jesus. They may have stayed incognito during Jesus ministry, but they were willing to risk identifying themselves as the disciples of Jesus by coming forward to ask for the body of Christ and taking charge of his burial. That was a risk in two ways. Romans tended to see the associates of insurrections as enemies of the state; going to Pilate to request the body of Jesus would have painted a target on Joseph and Nicodemus. And they also would have painted a target on themselves in the minds of their Sanhedrin associates who went to so much trouble to have Jesus killed. But they were willing to take the risk in order to serve Jesus in this last (so they thought) way. It would have been a lot easier and safer to keep their faith secret, but then a secret faith is really no faith at all.

I wonder if we too often try to keep our faith secret. We live in a world that is becoming increasingly antagonistic to faith. It is just a lot easier on the job and out in the community to keep quiet about faith. We might not realize that we have become secret disciples, but that is in effect what some of us are. Consider the following questions—

• Do the people you spend time with know about you favorite sport, music or movie, but don’t know anything about your faith? We do tend to talk about things about which we are passionate and interested, right? People know about our kids or grandkids, our favorite music or movies or that we are fans of this team or that. Do the people around you know all these things but not that you are a believer in Jesus? If so, maybe you have a secret faith… which is really no faith at all.
  
  
• Do you get into conversations about political issues and current events, but then you find yourself shying away from issues of faith? Do the people around you know all about what you think on healthcare reform, immigration law, the bank bailouts and the BP oil spill, but they have never heard you talk about faith? I’m not expecting anyone to preach at people from soap box; that kind of thing does more harm than good. But if you tend to avoid faith discussions, then maybe yours is secret faith— which is no faith at all.
  
  
• Are those that you work with or go to school free to sin around you? I have to be careful here, because I’m not suggesting that we should be self-righteous critics who constantly criticize those around us. But if the people we’re around feel free to take God’s name in vain, tell dirty jokes, brag of their latest sexual conquest or how they got wasted over the weekend, then maybe its because they have no inkling that you would disapprove of such. Maybe you’ve never let them see by your example that you believe there is a better way. If any of this gets close, then maybe your faith is a secret faith… which is no faith at all.

The cross served to jolt Joseph and Nicodemus into acting on their secret faith. The cross should give us that very same jolt!