It's Not Either Or, It's Both And

All churches & all followers of Jesus tend to drift. We're human. It's impossible for us to maintain perfect holiness. Even Paul recognized this in himself when he wrote in Romans 7, "for what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Even with good intentions, the flesh has a way of rising up. That means we have to guard against that drift in our lives & in our congregations. However, that drift isn't just a drift toward overt, obvious sin. In fact, for many of us who have been in church most of our lives, it's the drift toward self-righteous, rule following legalism that we have to fight against. It's that tendency to look at the lost with disgust & say, "why can't you get your life straight?" Then when those who recognize their distance from God dares to muster the courage to enter our churches we think, "I can't believe their here." We think that before we or God can accept them, they have to get some other things right. The good news is that this isn't a new tendency. In fact it goes all the way back to the days of the early church.

In Acts 15, Paul & Barnabas have been reaching non-Jews with the Gospel, & God has been saving these Gentiles & bringing them into His people, His church. However, some Jewish believers from down around Jerusalem show up & say, "Hold on, before you can become a follower of Christ, you have to become a follower of Moses." That means they were adding the Law to the Gospel. They were beginning to make the Law the means by which people were admitted into the fellowship of the Church. This set Paul off. After all, he had been preaching the simple message of salvation through faith in Christ & Christ alone. Now these new converts were being saddled with the burden of over 600 laws & of the men, a small but sensitive surgical procedure. So what's Paul to do? What are the leaders of the early church to do? Who is the Church for? What exactly is the Gospel? What does someone have to do to be saved?

In Acts 15 there is intense debate but the input of two men settled the discussion, & their words should guide us now, 2000 years later. In Acts 15:7, Peter stands up & gives testimony to his own experience of how God led him to take the Gospel to a Gentile family & how he has seen God reach out to the non-Jewish world & bring them in with no distinction between them & the Jews. Regardless of their ethnicity or religious background, God had purified their hearts by faith. If that wasn't enough, Jesus' brother James stands up & says, "we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to Christ." The issue was settled.

Yes, these non-Jewish believers came from a different background without the Law of Moses & because of that they had some habits & customs that the Jews found offensive. However, that had nothing to do with their standing before God in Christ. It had nothing to do with whether or not the church was for them or not. The stand that those early church leaders took that day is vitally important for us today because we have certain issues that we look at & point at & say that people have to get this right before they will be expected, & we usually have a verse to back it up. However, we don't always reflect Christ-likeness in the process. After all, John says in his gospel that Jesus was "full of grace & truth." That means that we should pursue a life full of grace & truth as we pursue a life that looks more & more like Christ.

"Instead Of Drifting Toward Grace Or Truth, We Should Stand On Both."

Personally I know more Christians & church goers who struggle with the drift toward truth than the drift toward grace. We love truth. It draws a clear line in the sand, & when someone crosses it, we can point it out. However, that kind of drift ends up using the truth as a weapon. We should never ignore sin, but we should confront that sin with grace just as Jesus did. Jesus never excused sin. Instead he confronted sin with compassion & graciously invited people to a better way, namely Him. As you look at how you or your congregation engages with the world around you, do you see the drift toward law & legalism in your life? As you think about how you can fight against the drift toward grace OR truth & instead stand on both, ask yourself this:

What Would Happen If The Lost People In My Life 

Viewed Me The Same Way The Lost Viewed Jesus?

Jesus never had a problem attracting or reaching the lost. In fact, they usually loved Him. So if Jesus' people are having trouble engaging lost people, is it the fault of the lost people or the Jesus people?

Inconvenient Faith

Convenience: Americans love it. In fact, much of our lives are built around the pursuit of convenience. Now, there's nothing wrong with convenience; some conveniences make life a lot easier & less stressful. However, most of us have taken our desire for convenience to an unhealthy level. In fact, many of us have crossed over from having an appreciation for the conveniences in life to worshipping ourselves by feeding our desires for comfort & convenience. This is dangerous enough on its own, but when this infiltrates our faith, it becomes deadly to our effectiveness as followers of Jesus. After all, if we love convenience, comfort, & self that much, it will be really hard for us to radically, boldly love Jesus.

When we look at the early church in Acts we see them living boldly, praying for even more boldness, & then living with an even greater boldness. However, that greater boldness wasn't without its consequences. At first, they just spent the night in jail & were threatened, but as their boldness grew so did the pressure, the tension, & yes, even the potential of suffering. In fact, at the end of Acts 5 the disciples learned that the Sanhedrin's threats were not idle threats. The Sanhedrin had them viciously flogged for preaching the name of Jesus. So how did the disciples respond when all of a sudden they not only were a little inconvenienced by their faith but were outright suffering for it? They rejoiced; they celebrated that they had been counted as worthy. However, the suffering didn't end there. In Acts 6-8 we're introduced to an early church leader named Stephen. He was a bold, Spirit filled disciple, & it got him in trouble. In these chapters we see Steven arrested, falsely accused, & murdered for his bold faith in Jesus. In fact, this episode leads to an even greater persecution that was unleashed on the early church. However, look at what happens in Acts 8:1 & 8:4 as the persecution is unleashed.

"On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea & Samaria." 

Acts 8:1

"Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." Acts 8:4

Notice two things: First, the persecution forced believers out of Jerusalem & into the regions of Judea & Samaria. Now think back to Acts 1:8. Jesus said that His disciples would be "witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, & to the ends of the earth" So Jesus' words are being fulfilled, but perhaps in an unexpected way: suffering. Secondly, notice who went into the regions of Judea & Samaria. It wasn't Peter. It wasn't John. It wasn't any of the big-shot leaders that we would expect. Those guys stayed in Jerusalem. The people who scattered were "regular people". It was people like you & me who broke the Gospel out of Jerusalem & advanced the Gospel into the surrounding world. This supports the image of the church being the Body of Christ where everyone plays a part. Everyone has a place in the church where they serve to help advance the Gospel & make disciples. However, there's an important truth we all must embrace to join with those brothers & sisters who have gone before us.

"In Advancing The Movement Of Jesus, 

We Must Be Willing To Pay The Price To Play Our Part."

You have a place in God's Kingdom. You have a place where your ministry, your witness, your boldness is vital to advancing the Gospel & making disciples to the ends of the earth. The question is "Are you willing to pay the price to play that part?" Boldly living for Christ invites opposition & yes, even the possibility of suffering. Following Jesus will be inconvenient. Following Jesus will cost us something. Are we willing to pay that price. As you wrestle with this & seek to boldly live for Christ ask yourself this question:

"If it depended on my boldness of faith, would the Gospel ever break out of my city?"

Jesus promised that the Gospel would advance, but often it advances when we embrace the inconvenience & even the possibility that following Him could lead us to suffer for Him. However, when people outside the church see Christ followers boldly follow Christ in the face of real sacrifice, it gets their attention. Will we pay the price to play our part in advancing this movement Jesus set in motion?

Blessed Out Of Boldness

Would you characterize most Christians you know as bold? Would you consider your own faith as bold? Many of us wouldn't & in many cases we would be right. After all, American Christians live in a culture that is still the easiest culture in history in which to be a faithful, Bible believing follower of Jesus. As a result we tend to look at bold faith as only that which we read about in the Bible or on the Internet. We read of ancient disciples who endured prison & persecution; we hear of brothers & sisters on the other side of the world who are dying because they confess the name of Jesus as Savior. When we look at how easy it is to be a Christian in America we assume that we can't really have a bold faith. 

The downside of our tremendous religious freedoms is that it seems to have made us less bold which could ultimately lead to the loss of our religious liberties. Of course, none of us think that our lack of boldness contributes to the eroding of religious freedom or cultural decline but we would be dead wrong. When an offended, possibly even anonymous, party writes a letter to a school about the pregame prayer at Friday night's football game & the school responds by caving in, who is really to blame? Is it the school board, the principle, or does a good share of responsibility lie at the feet of those of us who say we follow Christ? What if the people of God were just as publicly bold as those who oppose God publicly? What if we stood up for & spoke out against those who would love to see the name of Jesus removed from public life? See this isn't the first time this has happened, not even close.

In fact, just a few weeks after Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, & ascension, the Jewish religious leaders tried to eliminate "this name" from public conversation. Go read Acts 5. The apostles were threatened over & over for speaking about "this name". However, they could not stop talking about Jesus. Here we are today, 2000 years later, & "the name" is under attack still. Where is God's church rising up saying, "Sorry this name offends you, but we can stop speaking about what we've experienced in Him."?

Could it be that as American Christians we've been blessed out of boldness? Could it be that we are so afraid of being considered intolerant, mean, or offensive that what we become is weak, whiny disciples who allow the enemy to take more & more ground around us? It's time for the people of Jesus to rise up.

"Boldness Is Saying Or Doing Something 

When It Would Be Easier To Say Or Do Nothing."

What can you do today to boldly speak & live the name of Jesus. In Acts 4 the disciples prayed for boldness, & the truth is that when you pray for boldness what you're really praying for is the opportunities to be bold. When you sincerely pray that prayer, God will send you those opportunities or open your eyes to the opportunities that were there all along. Then what will you do? What will you say? It will always be easier to shrink back & fade into the background, to not risk offending anyone, but the Gospel is offensive. It confronts us with our desperate need, but it doesn't leave us there. Instead it introduces us to our hope, our redemption as we place our faith in Jesus.

What can you do today? How can you be bold at work, at school, at home for the name of Jesus & so that those who need to hear the Gospel will see it at work in you?

Let's Pray

What do you normally pray about? Think about it, what are the things that seem to always show up in your prayer time? Are your prayers marked by some of the things that my prayers are marked by?

"Thank You for the day..."
"Lord bless me..."
"Lord keep me..."
"Lord give me..."
"Lord protect me..."

You get the picture right? Do you notice something about most of our "prayer cliches"? The word "me" tends to find its way in there a whole lot, maybe even to the point of a really unhealthy obsession with me & mine. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with thanking God for the day or asking God to bless you or protect you. However, if that's the extent of your prayer life, maybe there's a reason why so many of us complain of a dry, uninspiring prayer life. When we look back at how the early church prayed in the book of Acts, it becomes even more convicting. In Acts 4 the actual words of a prayer of the early church is recorded, & sadly, it doesn't sound like my prayers or the prayers I often hear offered up in our congregations.

The background of the passage is that the Gospel is spreading. Peter & John have healed a man & preached the Gospel in the name of Jesus. That attracted the attention of the Sanhedrin, the political & religious elite of Israel, & oh by the way, big opponents of Jesus. The arrest Peter & John, throw them in jail overnight, interrogate them, & threaten them before releasing them. When Peter & John reunite with the other Christ followers, they pray. However, they don't pray like many of us would. They don't pray for wisdom as they formulate a security plan for the apostles. They don't pray for funding so that they bail the apostles out of jail & keep a defense attorney on retainer. Instead in Acts 4:29 they ask God to enable them to speak boldly the name of Jesus. Wait a minute. Don't they already have boldness? Isn't boldness the very thing that landed them in trouble to begin with? Yes, but they pray for even more boldness. However, they're not praying for boldness simply for boldness' sake. They want to be bold so that those who are far from God may be reconciled to God through the Gospel of Jesus. Their prayers were intensely outwardly focused. Their prayers weren't for their own good but for the good of the lost. That's how the early church prayed, & the result was radical unity &  an explosive advancing of the Gospel. Is that how we pray? I know for me, the answer is usually a resounding "No". Yet there is a powerful & convicting truth that we should note here:

"How We Pray Indicates Whether We've Strayed."

The early church paved the way for all of us who were to come after. We don't have to emulate every little thing they did, but we should walk in their footsteps of faithfulness. And the way they prayed exposes the weak, timid, & self centered faith that many of us have. Do we pray with intensity & urgency that God would use us mightily so that the lost may be saved? Do we pray that God would enable us to be speak & live boldly in the name of Jesus? Or our are prayers focused on what we want or think we need. What if our prayers for protection are in someway in opposition to God using us for His glory & the salvation of the lost? What if the lost can only be reached by Christ followers living & speaking boldly & therefore risking their material comfort & security? 

What do your prayers say about whether or not you've strayed or how far you've strayed?

More Leaders Please

As we continue looking at the early days of the Church in the book of Acts, we see an important & probably awkward conversation take place in Acts 1. Peter stood up & pointed out an important issue that needed to be dealt with as they prepared for what God was going to do. They had to deal with a leadership vacancy created by that guy Judas that nobody really wanted to talk about. Judas was sort of the black eye of the group. He was the colossal failure that nobody in the church really wanted to bring up, but it had to be deal with. Peter understood that this created a leadership need that had to be dealt with, & the way Peter led the Church through that issue is amazing, especially when you consider that it was Peter. He used godly, scriptural based wisdom to lay out the need to replace Judas, the qualifications for the replacement, & the process by which the replacement would be chosen.

Coincidentally, this seems to be the last piece of the preparation puzzle for the Church before the Holy Spirit comes in Acts 2. However, this wasn't the last leadership issue that the Church would deal with. In Acts 6 the Church faces its first big controversy. The amazing thing is that the problem that arose came about because of the radical growth of new believers & disciples. The Church simply couldn't keep up organizationally. Therefore, there were people in need who weren't being ministered to because the Church was simply overwhelmed. Again Peter & the apostles masterfully lead God's people to a solution. And the solution wasn't for the leaders to do more; it was to have more leaders. Peter & the apostles had a specific call & ministry, & it wouldn't have been appropriate for them to neglect that calling in order to directly deal with this issue. Instead, more leaders needed to be set aside to handle this particular ministry. The result of this is seen in Acts 6:7 as even more people came to faith in Jesus, even Jewish priests serving at the Temple. These events teach us an important truth about the movement called Christianity.

"Growing Godly Leadership Is Vital To 

The Continued Growth Of The Movement Of Jesus."

No congregation on earth is exempt from this truth. In order for the Gospel to continue advancing & for more & more people to grow as disciples, more & more people must step up & lead. We all have influence. Therefore, we are all leaders, & as followers of Jesus we're called to use that influence to continually lead people to Jesus. Whether we're leading them toward saving faith or deepening faith, we're called to point people toward faith in Jesus. The only question is whether we are or not. For some of us this leadership will mean taking on an official role in your local congregation. For others it simply means taking advantage of the opportunities you have to lead people toward Jesus. Ask yourself these questions, "Who can I lead?" & "How can I lead them?" What can you begin to do to sow the Gospel into the lives of those you influence everyday? How you leverage that influence is absolutely essential & vital to the continued growth of this movement that Jesus launched 2000 years ago.

The Waiting

A long time ago Tom Petty said that "the waiting is the hardest part," & he's right. When we have a good idea, especially if we sense that God is guiding us, our inclination is to take off & get to work. However, many a good idea has met with its untimely demise due to the excitement that comes with the idea. We get caught up in the excitement & immediately try to get it done, but in the process we forget that many times the difference between success & failure is found in the waiting. Waiting & preparing gives us the opportunity to refine an idea, prepare ourselves & those we need to accomplish it, & to make sure our timing is as good as it can be. We understand this when it comes to business, financial planning, & other areas, but we often overlook this principle in the spiritual realm. However, Scripture is filled with references to the value of waiting on God. In fact, waiting was crucial to the launch of the Church in Acts 1 & 2.

Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus gives His disciples the stirring mission found in Acts 1:8. He lays out that they've been called to reach the entire world with the good news of salvation through Him. Like anybody who would have experienced that, I'm sure the disciples were excited & ready to get to work & to tell people all that they had witnessed. However, just before He gives them this exciting mission, Jesus instructs them to go back to Jerusalem & simply wait. Remember, this group was led by a guy named Peter who was a pretty self-motivated doer. I don't think Peter liked waiting. I'm guessing he would have been miserable in a doctor's office or at the DMV, but when Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter led that small group of believers back into Jerusalem, & they waited. The gathered together & waited. Why wait? The simple answer is that they waited because they weren't quite ready to actually accomplish the mission that Jesus had given them because that mission hinged on something: the Holy Spirit. They had to wait for God to move before they could move, but they needed to be ready when He moved. This teaches us a valuable truth:

"We Can't Produce A Movement Of God, But We Can Prepare For One."

Neither Peter & those early disciples nor can we today produce a genuine movement of God. It is totally dependent upon His sovereignty & providence. However, we can be prepared to join Him when He does move. Notice what the disciples did when they returned to Jerusalem. They got away from the hustle & bustle & prayed. What did they pray? We don't know for sure, but I'm pretty confident there was some powerful, worshipful prayers, some deeply repentant confession, & some passionate prayers for the boldness that would be needed when the time came. Perhaps today we need to stop trying to manufacture a movement of God & simply create more opportunities for God's people to prepare themselves to join with God when He decides to pour out His Spirit in a fresh way. Finally, think about this for a moment. Will God move in a powerful & might way in our midst if we haven't prepared ourselves to be a part of that movement? Or will He choose to move among those who have done the work of preparing themselves to be used by God to advance the Gospel & make disciples? 

This episode of the early church's history ends with the disciples gathered to pray. Then the Holy Spirit shows up. They preach the Gospel & 3000 lives are changed as they repent & turn in faith to Christ. How will our little chapter of church history end? Who knows, but perhaps our willingness to prepare will determine how, when, & if God moves among us. We may not like waiting but perhaps waiting isn't just the hardest part, but it's also one of the most important parts.

Your Church Is Not The Church

Yes, you read that title correctly. Your church & my church is not The Church, that is if you define your church as that building you go to every Sunday to sing songs & study God's Word. However, I find myself automatically responding to the word "church" by thinking of a building or location. I envision the church I grew up in, the sanctuary, the Sunday School classes, my youth pastor's office, & the slide I fell off of when I was like 5. But that's not the church, & neither is that place you go to every week.

The truth is that while that building is used for a very holy thing, it's still bricks & mortar, wood & nails, wiring & plumbing. That building, that property is not the church. You are The Church & I am The Church. In the New Testament the word translated as "church" is the little Greek word "ekklesia" & it simply means the gathering. Throughout Scripture God's people are the key, not a place or a location. The Old Testament speaks of the "assembly" & the New Testament speaks of The Church, but the core truth is the same.

"The Church Is God's People Not The Location Of A Building."

If you think this is not a big deal, you couldn't be more wrong. Jesus launched the movement of Christianity & The Church when there was no building for them to meet in, & it grew faster than they could keep up with properties & facilities. In fact, it grew so quickly that it drew the not so nice attention of people who wanted to stamp it out, so gathering in a central location actually became a very dangerous thing. In fact, in many places in the world things haven't changed that much. The Church is the gathering of God's people around Jesus, His resurrection, & our mission. If you have a building, that's great, but it's not The Church. You are & that means you have a mission that can't be contained by the walls of your buildings or the boundaries of your property. You & I have a mission that is global in scope & eternal in significance. 

So remember church doesn't just happen when we gather on Sunday. It happens when you take the mission with you to work. It happens when you live out the transforming power of the Gospel in front of your family. It happens when you go to another believers home for small group or when you pray for a friend in their hospital room. When you & I, The Church, embraces our mission, we reconnect to the movement Jesus launched 2000 years ago when He said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, & you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth." But when we reduce church to a place, we'll limit our ability to really fulfill our call as God's people.