What Every Christian Should Know #3

Here is #3 of Keith Giles' monthly series, TOP 10 THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (But Probably Doesn't). This is a very serious and difficult issue to address, but I'm glad he did it. Here's a bit of what he had to say.

Number 3- "We Are (not) Called to Judge (unbelievers)"

Paul the Apostle, in his letter to the Corinthians, also provides great clarity for us within the Church on matters of dealing with this issue. "I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you." (1 Cor 5:9-13) Here Paul clearly states that he expects that those within the Church would be discerning and would deal with those within the Body who call themselves Christians and yet continue to behave in a way that is inconsistent with someone who has truly surrendered their life to Christ.

Paul assumes that if someone behaving this way is confronted by the Church, in a loving and humble way, they will certainly repent and turn away from their sins and be restored to the fellowship. If they have not truly surrendered their lives to Jesus, then they will refuse to repent and will continue in their selfish, destructive behavior, and in that case Paul echoes Jesus (from Mathew 18) and commands that this person be removed from the fellowship and treated "as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

NOT THE EASY THING, BUT THE RIGHT THING
Many in the Church today take too lightly the idea of Church Discipline. Most of us would rather "Live and let live" than to confront another person about their ongoing sinful behavior. Many feel that to ask someone to repent of their behavior is destructive and cruel, however the truth is it's the most loving thing we can possibly do for them. If we love them, we will come to them and give them an opportunity to repent and to turn away from their destructive behaviors. It's not the easy thing to do, the right thing rarely is, but it's the most loving thing to do.

Over the last few years, I've had many opportunities to confront a brother or sister in Christ who was engaged in destructive, sinful behavior. I've always dreaded those conversations. I've never enjoyed the process at all. Many times the person's response is to run away, or to get offended, or to leave the church. Sometimes, (and I am sad to say it's rare), the person responds with tears and confession and repentance and moves forward into healing and restoration and wholeness. I wish that happened every time, but for those few times it has happened, I am very grateful.

REMEMBERING GRACE
The real test comes when that person does repent and turn away from their sin. This is the time when the Body of Christ has the opportunity to practice forgiveness and acceptance. This is where we are the ones who get to prove that we also have truly surrendered to Christ and remember the amazing grace poured out on us.

Joshua: Prologue

We begin at Joshua. At this point in time, the Israelites are camped on the east side of the Jordan River waiting for their cue to cross over.

Hundreds of years before, a man named Abraham lived in these lands. God met with Abraham and made a covenant with him. He promised that Abraham and his wife, in their old age, would have a son, and that his decedents would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. God promised a land called Canaan to Abraham and his decedents, and promised to be with them and bless them along their way.

Despite their lack of faith, Abraham and his wife, Sarah had a son. They named him Isaac. Isaac became a man and found a wife and they had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob took Esau's birthright and stole his blessing by deceiving his ailing father. Jacob then ran from his brother and found a wife (or two) in another land and had twelve sons. On his way back home to face his brother, Esau, Jacob wrestled God and was renamed Israel.

Jacob's son Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up in Egypt, where he rose to the become its ruler under Pharaoh. Desperate for food in the midst of a severe famine, Joseph's family eventually moved to Egypt and Jacob was reunited with his long lost son. The family settled into an area of Egypt named Goshen. Over time, the families of the sons of Jacob had families of their own. Eventually, they became known as the twelve tribes of Israel. The Hebrews. The Israelites.

They became so numerous that the Egyptians became frightened that they might take over. So the Pharaoh at that time enslaved them. For four hundred years the Hebrews were slaves to the Egyptians, forced to work under harsh conditions and treated poorly. Until one day God sent an escaped Hebrew named Moses back to Egypt to speak on God's behalf. Through Moses, God sent signs and terrifying plagues to the Egyptians until the Pharaoh, overcome with grief of loosing this firstborn son, set the Hebrews free.

Thus began the Exodus. The Israelites marched out of Egypt and started to make their way back to Canaan, the land of their fathers. The promised land. But Pharaoh's mind changed, and he set an army out after them. God provided an escape route by parting the sea for the Israelites and they passed on dry land into Sinai. The Egyptian army was not so fortunate, for when they made their pursuit across the parted sea, God closed it over them, destroying the army completely.

God led the Israelites through the desert appearing as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. There, he established the Ten Commandments and the law. He instructed the Israelites to construct the Ark of the Covenant, where God's Spirit dwelt with His people, and the Tabernacle, the temple prototype where the Ark was kept and offerings were made in atonement for sin. There, God established the Levites as the tribe of priests. And there the Israelites raised up and army that won many victories against formidable opponents, establishing a reputation that struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.

But they were human. And as all humans do, they complained. They griped and they yelled at God on several occasions. And because of their impatience and disobedience, God made it known that the generation the came out of Egypt would not live to see the promised land.

For forty years, they wandered in the desert, waiting for the word of the Lord to come. Year after year, they looked out over the Jordan River, yearning for their promised home. And one by one, the older generation died. Until finally Moses died after naming Joshua as his successor.

And so, at this point in time, the Israelites are camped on the east side of the Jordan River waiting for their cue to cross over.


And the Lord speaks...

New Reading Project

I'm cracking open my Bible again and beginning a read through and study of the history of Israel. I'll start in Joshua with the initial conquest of Canaan and read my way chronologically through the Old Testament. I've never really gone though the entire history before, but I'm very interested in this subject right now. I'll be chronicling my progress here on my blog, kind of thinking out loud to myself and getting the info straight.

What Every Christian Should Know #4

Here is #5 of Keith Giles' monthly series, TOP 10 THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (But Probably Doesn't). This is one that may or may not be controversial, but I totally agree with him. Here's a sample:

NUMBER 4 – "SALVATION IS A PROCESS, NOT A POINT IN TIME"
by Keith Giles

One thing I find fascinating as I study the New Testament and the practice of the early church is that their concept of salvation was much different than mine. When I think of salvation, I usually think of that one day when, as a nine year old boy, I walked forward and prayed with my pastor to ask Jesus into my heart. However, Peter and Paul seemed to have a different view of salvation. In their minds, salvation was an ongoing experience, not a one-time deal....

...As I've said many times before, our question needs to be, "If you'd be alive tomorrow, who would you follow and how would you live your life?" and not, "If you died tonight, do you know you'd be in heaven tomorrow?” One question is about how you will die, the other is about how you intend to live. Salvation is about life, not death, and following Christ is about the life you're living right now, not the life you hope to live after you die and go to Heaven.

Following Christ, by definition, suggests a daily pattern of life modeled after Jesus and seeking His wisdom and guidance for daily decisions. It does not suggest a single event that took place years ago on a Sunday morning.

What Every Christian Should Know #5

Here is #5 of Keith Giles' monthly series, TOP 10 THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (But Probably Doesn't). I've been slacking off for the past six months, so these posts should occur in rapid succession now. Here's a sample of what he had to say:

5- "Humility Is Essential"

"God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble."
- (Proverbs 3:34)

This verse speaks volumes, doesn't it? We are handed a simple choice; To humble ourselves and receive Grace, or to continue in our pride and have the creator of the Universe oppose us. Sadly, my own pride has often been the catalyst in my life for failure, bad judgement and hurt feelings. I have learned to hate my pride and to keep a close eye on it, just in case it tries to rise up and do something stupid.

When Jesus went out and spoke to the people of his day, he centered his teaching on something called "The Kingdom of God". He told stories to illustrate what life was like in this Kingdom. He used everyday moments to point out Kingdom values. Jesus was almost always teaching his disciples, and anyone else in earshot, what the Kingdom of God was all about.

One interesting thing about the Kingdom of God is that to enter it you must first humble yourself, (see Mark 10:14-15). That's because the Kingdom of God is quite simply that place where the absolute will of God is done. This means that God is King, and that you and I are not. So, if we will not humble ourselves and submit to God's will in every way, we cannot enter the Kingdom. Better said, when we refuse to humble ourselves, we have left the Kingdom of God and entered our own Kingdom, where our will is done.

New Year, New Start

The Spring 2008 semester is about to begin here at Western and I've just returned from a three week vacation. It was the most restful three weeks I've ever experienced and it was probably the first time in the last year that I've felt relaxed at all. I needed that. Badly.

For the last few months I've lost the motivation to blog. Maybe I'm getting tired of it, maybe I'm boring now, or maybe it just takes a lot of time and thought to make post after post and I'm just too busy trying to focus on school to do it on a regular basis. Perhaps it is the beginning of the end for my humble blog, or perhaps it's just another phase. Who knows? We'll see I guess.

I come back from break feeling different, though I'm not sure why. It's a strange feeling. A kind of more mature feeling. A feeling that I'm growing up and starting to look to the future in a very practical and hopeful way. Perhaps it's because I'm in my last stages of college life and many of my friends here are slowly being phased out of my life as they approach the end of their college lives.

Maybe this feeling means something, maybe it's nothing at all. Who knows, this feeling could fade like so many countless others in past years. But then again, it could be the beginning of something new.

And if I am becoming different, if I am changing, I hope it's for the good.


Oh yeah. I'm digging Conan O'Brian's beard too.