The first church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47) concentrated on three issues: Teaching, Fellowship, and Prayer. That appears to be the biblical place to start for anyone establishing a Christian church. One question that comes to mind is what did that first church teach? The answer comes in looking at what they were trying to accomplish.
Their first assignment is the Great Commission first given to the apostles: “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me [Christ]. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”
That instruction endowed each apostle, individually, into Christian ministry. Each had a role to play. I’ve concluded that, by the same token, the Great Commission also endows each believer with the same responsibility for carrying the gospel message and teaching believers “to obey everything” Christ commanded.
With that individual perspective in mind, consider this promise from Christ: “For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them” (Matthew 18:20). That confirms that Christ himself is committed to even the smallest of relationships between people, intimate person-to-person ministries.
And then consider this remark from Peter: “But you [all Christians] are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (I Peter 2:9). Together with the Great Commission, this “royal priesthood” remark suggests that God has endowed each believer with priestly responsibilities. Again, we’re seeing a one-on-one, person-to-person calling.
And then consider this from Paul: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (II Corinthians 5:20a) and “For we are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (II Corinthians 2:15-16). Again, believers as individuals are in view.
From this it’s reasonable to conclude that one-on-one ministry lies at the core of Christ’s Great Commission. Christ intends each individual believer to minister to others, as an ambassador for him Christ and as fragrance, an example to be followed (Note: Philippians 3:17-4:1; II Thessalonians 3:6-10 key verse 7a; I Timothy 1:15-17; Titus 2:7-8; I Peter 2:21). I see all this as meaning the task of carrying the gospel is not the solely for those specially called to it. It is fundamental to every believer and the central part of their personal ministry.
Paul also advises new believers to remain in their present place in life (I Corinthians 7:17-24). This suggests that a new believer’s personal ministry is to those within the immediate sphere of influence within which he finds himself as a new Christian.
Thus, a fundamental goal in the educational program of the first church was to teach people to teach people, to teach people to duplicate their Christian faith. That suggests that all believers (1) need to understand the basics of their faith, (2) They need to be applying that faith to their own lives, and (3) they need to be comfortable sharing their faith with others.
Christ had already established the pattern. He taught the apostles and sent them out to teach others (Matthew 10:5-20). Following the ascension and Pentecost, the apostles presumably taught others, a group of some 120 (Acts 1:15b); and we can, in Paul’s ministry, see how that pattern spread to the extent that ultimately Christianity “overturned” the Roman world—one believer at a time.
So, what does this ministering believer look like?
I see him as operating in Position, Process, and Purpose.
Position (Justification)
Position concerns one’s legal rights before God. Initially, he’s saved or unsaved.
When a believer is saved, he has acknowledged the New Covenant and played his part in aligning himself with it. God promised to do things for the believer and the believer promised to do things for God.
One’s formal Christian walk begins with salvation which itself begins at the moment of belief (Note: Ephesians 1:13-14; II Corinthians 1:21-22).
Prior to salvation, it’s as if the individual was wearing a sweatshirt with the inscription “Property of Satan.” Following the moment of belief, God changed the inscription to “Property of God.” The biblical term for this is justification. A believer is an heir with Christ (Galatians 4:1-7) and a temple of God, a place in which God lives through his Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16-17).
Process (Sanctification)
The New Testament also treats salvation as the process of “being saved” (I Corinthians 1:18; II Corinthians 2:15-16; I Peter 1:9; II Peter 1:10-11; Philippians 2:12-13). It marks the journey from thinking and behaving like the world to thinking and behaving like Christ.
Paul describes the process as a transformation. “Therefore, I urge you brothers, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
This process is a partnership between the believer and God’s Holy Spirit (Note: I Corinthians 1:18-2:16). The believer devotes himself to Scripture and the Holy Spirit reveals God’s will through the sense of it. As the believer acts under Christ’s lordship, he or she sees the difference that living in Christ makes in their life. Through that experience, the believer “tests and approves” that God’s way of doing things produces better results than man’s way of doing things (God’s plan for our success).
Purpose
Purpose concerns one reason for our existence. Believers are ambassadors and fragrance. As ambassadors they carry God’s message to the folks within their spheres of influence. As fragrance they illustrate the truths of God through how they live. (One’s fragrance is often more potent than the facts they carry as ambassadors.)
As ambassadors and fragrance they are among the priesthood of believers.
Believers are also living stones (I Peter 2:4-5). I believe this relates to the special callings and gifts God has placed on his kids (Note: Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:1-16; I Corinthians 12 & 13). As a believer becomes attentive to his callings and gifts, he or she also begins to understand their purpose in life. Something is a calling or gift when (1) you love doing it, (2) you do it well, and (3) when others recognize that you do it well.
Every good church is filled with priests but God has also blessed each priest with unique burdens, callings, and gifts. Each church is different because of the nature of these callings and gifts, and yet each church is the same concerning its priestly message.
Thus, I have concluded that the key teaching role of the church is to duplicate believers, to encourage each participant (1) to understand the message, (2) to apply it to their lives, and (3) to comfortably share it with others. Based on the New Testament message, that appears to have been the focus of the first church and I believe that’s what Christ wants for our focus today.
Showing posts with label The Apostles' Truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Apostles' Truth. Show all posts
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Bible Study - Seeking the Truth
With every question I had, my second mentor, Robert A. Lillie (Cincinnati Bible Seminary), began with, “Let’s see what the Word says.” For him, the Bible was the final authority. It was the measure against which one could measure anything. As I began my first serious pass through the New Testament, I found the same themes recurring. It made sense to capture those themes and compare what the various passages said about them.
After several attempts at a card file to contain the information, I finally chose a three-ring loose-leaf notebook with alphabetical dividers. Since I wanted to know it all, I followed every theme and idea I found. Not knowing any of the fancy Christian words for things, I identified each idea with the word or phrase that best described it for me.
As I worked on, I realized that Christ and the apostles were teaching from the same body of truth. That defined my goal, to discover the body of truth from which Christ and the apostles taught. I called it “The Apostles’ Truth.” After more than twenty passes through the New Testament and amassing seven three-inch binders of results, I figured I was ready for Bible college.
One other thing: Because my goal was accuracy, I spent all that time working hard NOT to draw conclusions, even the obvious ones. I wanted all the facts before me before I began figuring out what they meant. My allegiance was to the Word, not to any mentor, denomination, or books about the Word. I was then, and remain today, in full submission to the Word. I go where it leads (after I deal with my characteristic stubbornness).
After Bible college (where I discovered how much I didn’t know) I went to work trying to reduce the biblical message to its basics so it could easily be shared with others. My goal was to transplant the Bible college experience into the churches. I knew it was a daunting task, but I figured I could do it in a couple of years. (It’s taken 40, but that’s me. I’m a slow worker.) More than that, my goal remained accuracy in both understanding the message and then in its practical application. On the Day of Judgment I wanted God to at least be able to say, “Nice try, Chuck.”
My first task was to get the Christian message right. With over 200 different sects and denominations roaming the American landscape, lots of opinions demanded attention. Which were accurate? Which were not? So, in the midst of the muddy Christian waters, the doctrinal jungle, where was the safe place to start? I believe my answer to that question makes my results at least worth your consideration.
Realizing that one’s rules of biblical interpretation colored the interpretation, I wanted to find the best rules, God’s rules, if you will. Supported mostly by my friend, Gary Cleaveland, I spend a year and a half studying about Bible study. I went back three generations of Bible scholars trying to discover the safe ground on which to make my stand. Finally I found a book called How To Read A Book. It was written by Mortimer Adler (general editor of Encyclopedia Britannica) and Mark VanDoren (the guy who cheated on that TV quiz show). (I think it was Mark. I've since misplaced the book.) Both were well-known secular scholars and neither had a Christian bias to defend. That was important because many of the Christian books on Bible study championed rules that lead readers to draw a specific doctrinal conclusion, not necessarily God’s.
My favorite bad rule is this one: “The book of Acts is a transitional book and therefore one is unwise to base doctrine on it.”
Acts is transitional in that it documents the transition from the Old Testament to the New, from Jehovah to Christ, from the Law to Grace.
While it seems reasonable to hold that view, the Bible itself makes no such claim. Every book in the Bible, even Philemon, carries the same weight. They are all equally authoritative.
The only doctrinal distinction Scripture makes is the fact that we are now living under the New Covenant. That means the New Testament governs but it does not thereby lessen the authority of the Old Testament. The universal truths that underscore the Old Testament are the same as those that underscore the New. Weakening the authority of the Acts influences at least two controversial Christian doctrines, the role of baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit.
In any event, the How-To-Read-A-Book rules are free of Christian denominational influences. Here are some of the rules that book champions:
The goal of interpretation is to have in your mind when you’re through reading what the original writer had in his when he wrote.
The author can never mean what he never intended to mean. (Although we need to keep in mind that the Bible has two authors, God via the Holy Spirit and the individual human writers.)
One is wiser to understand a piece of writing in the context in which it was written.
One is wiser to understand a piece of writing in terms of the genre in which its author chose to present it.
When you boil down all their rules you get this: “If you can read and understand the newspaper, you can read and understand the Bible.” In Christian terms, the Bible is accessible to anyone wanting to understand it, and that appears consistent with God’s desire for it.
God didn’t give us the Bible so we couldn’t understand it. He gave it to us so we could know the truth, knowing that the truth would set us free. While the Bible is intellectually challenging at many levels—and does in fact contain and allude to various mysteries—its basic message is easily comprehended by those wanting to comprehend it. (Although for some it may take 40 years.)
After several attempts at a card file to contain the information, I finally chose a three-ring loose-leaf notebook with alphabetical dividers. Since I wanted to know it all, I followed every theme and idea I found. Not knowing any of the fancy Christian words for things, I identified each idea with the word or phrase that best described it for me.
As I worked on, I realized that Christ and the apostles were teaching from the same body of truth. That defined my goal, to discover the body of truth from which Christ and the apostles taught. I called it “The Apostles’ Truth.” After more than twenty passes through the New Testament and amassing seven three-inch binders of results, I figured I was ready for Bible college.
One other thing: Because my goal was accuracy, I spent all that time working hard NOT to draw conclusions, even the obvious ones. I wanted all the facts before me before I began figuring out what they meant. My allegiance was to the Word, not to any mentor, denomination, or books about the Word. I was then, and remain today, in full submission to the Word. I go where it leads (after I deal with my characteristic stubbornness).
After Bible college (where I discovered how much I didn’t know) I went to work trying to reduce the biblical message to its basics so it could easily be shared with others. My goal was to transplant the Bible college experience into the churches. I knew it was a daunting task, but I figured I could do it in a couple of years. (It’s taken 40, but that’s me. I’m a slow worker.) More than that, my goal remained accuracy in both understanding the message and then in its practical application. On the Day of Judgment I wanted God to at least be able to say, “Nice try, Chuck.”
My first task was to get the Christian message right. With over 200 different sects and denominations roaming the American landscape, lots of opinions demanded attention. Which were accurate? Which were not? So, in the midst of the muddy Christian waters, the doctrinal jungle, where was the safe place to start? I believe my answer to that question makes my results at least worth your consideration.
Realizing that one’s rules of biblical interpretation colored the interpretation, I wanted to find the best rules, God’s rules, if you will. Supported mostly by my friend, Gary Cleaveland, I spend a year and a half studying about Bible study. I went back three generations of Bible scholars trying to discover the safe ground on which to make my stand. Finally I found a book called How To Read A Book. It was written by Mortimer Adler (general editor of Encyclopedia Britannica) and Mark VanDoren (the guy who cheated on that TV quiz show). (I think it was Mark. I've since misplaced the book.) Both were well-known secular scholars and neither had a Christian bias to defend. That was important because many of the Christian books on Bible study championed rules that lead readers to draw a specific doctrinal conclusion, not necessarily God’s.
My favorite bad rule is this one: “The book of Acts is a transitional book and therefore one is unwise to base doctrine on it.”
Acts is transitional in that it documents the transition from the Old Testament to the New, from Jehovah to Christ, from the Law to Grace.
While it seems reasonable to hold that view, the Bible itself makes no such claim. Every book in the Bible, even Philemon, carries the same weight. They are all equally authoritative.
The only doctrinal distinction Scripture makes is the fact that we are now living under the New Covenant. That means the New Testament governs but it does not thereby lessen the authority of the Old Testament. The universal truths that underscore the Old Testament are the same as those that underscore the New. Weakening the authority of the Acts influences at least two controversial Christian doctrines, the role of baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit.
In any event, the How-To-Read-A-Book rules are free of Christian denominational influences. Here are some of the rules that book champions:
The goal of interpretation is to have in your mind when you’re through reading what the original writer had in his when he wrote.
The author can never mean what he never intended to mean. (Although we need to keep in mind that the Bible has two authors, God via the Holy Spirit and the individual human writers.)
One is wiser to understand a piece of writing in the context in which it was written.
One is wiser to understand a piece of writing in terms of the genre in which its author chose to present it.
When you boil down all their rules you get this: “If you can read and understand the newspaper, you can read and understand the Bible.” In Christian terms, the Bible is accessible to anyone wanting to understand it, and that appears consistent with God’s desire for it.
God didn’t give us the Bible so we couldn’t understand it. He gave it to us so we could know the truth, knowing that the truth would set us free. While the Bible is intellectually challenging at many levels—and does in fact contain and allude to various mysteries—its basic message is easily comprehended by those wanting to comprehend it. (Although for some it may take 40 years.)
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