A Holy Charge (12)

 

 

“Help the weak” (1 Thess. 5:14).

 

Perhaps we all have our strengths and weaknesses, no doubt we all have our blind spots. With many of us, our greatest strengths can be our greatest weaknesses if they are not crucified with Christ, for self-sufficiency is the death of life in Christ and ministry.

 

But I think “the weak” in this passage are likely those who are constitutionally weak; folks who have a tough time with life, with faith, with understanding; who often struggle as a way of life. This is who they are, it does not mean that this is who they will always be, but this is who they are now and we need to be careful about not putting stumbling blocks before them and deliberate about encouraging them and helping them along the Way of Jesus.

 

We see what this looks like in Romans 14:1 – 15:7; you will need to ponder this passage yourself to gain deeper insight into it, but for now we’ll consider some highlights.

 

“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions” (Rom. 14:1).

 

“Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7).

 

Here is an inclusio of “acceptance.” That is, acceptance brackets all that is between 14:1 and 15:7, and what is between these verses is an element of church life, that element in which we don’t all see the same things the same way – what to do when we have this common occurrence?

 

Paul says that, in this context, we are not to judge one another. “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (14:4).

 

“But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (14:10).

 

Note that we can have confidence in Jesus, our Master, to make us all stand (see also Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:24; Jude 1:24). In this confidence we can accept and encourage one another.

 

There are three communal issues that Paul deals with in Romans 14; eating, drinking, and whether or not to religiously observe some days above others. These are all issues that have to do with our relationships with one another, for the Body of Christ meets together and eats together as it shares the Life of Christ together. That is, these issues cannot be avoided if we are going to have relationships with one another.

 

Let me point out that Paul is not engaging in points of doctrine in this chapter, at least not doctrine as we typically understand it. Elsewhere Paul is clear that the time of holy days has come to an end, that the season of viewing food and clean and unclean has come to an end; and we see this, of course, in Jesus and in Peter as well. This is important to realize for two reasons.

 

The first reason is that we ought not to read doctrine about holy days and clean and unclean food into this passage – unless it is to see that there is a certain degree of patience and liberty and grace we need to extend to one another. The second is that we are indeed called to be gracious and patient about these things – not that we place ourselves under bondage to them, as the Galatians were doing, but that we give grace to others who are (hopefully) working through them.

 

Let’s also note that this is a two-way street, Paul is writing to both the strong and the weak.

 

“The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him” (14:3).

 

There is accountability on both sides, on the side of the weak and of the strong. Furthermore, let’s keep in mind that this letter is being read publicly in the congregation(s), the weak are hearing this just as the strong are hearing it. What is going through their minds? Are they classifying each other?  Are they asking themselves, “Which one am I?”

 

Are the weak thinking, “This is me, I am weak. Do I want to remain this way?”

 

Are the strong thinking, “O my. I have been judgmental, forgive me Jesus! Help me Jesus to help my brother and sister.”

 

I have confronted these things in my own life, and I am ashamed about many of my actions and attitudes over the years. I thank God He has not left me to myself or what a cesspool I would still be in. I have played the part of the weak and of the strong. Thank God for His mercy!

 

What about you? As you read Romans 14:1 – 5:7 can you see yourself? What roles have you played? What have you learned? What are you learning?

 

We’ll return to this in our next reflection, the Lord willing.

A Holy Charge (11)

 

“Encourage the fainthearted” (1 Thess. 5:14).

 

Continuing our reflection on encouraging the fainthearted:

 

“At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the peoples might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth” (2 Timothy 4:17).

 

To encourage others we must live lives of obedience to Jesus Christ, in word and in deed – no matter the cost.

 

I wrote the following to a friend in July of this year; it is lightly edited:

 

A year or two ago I watched a short film, The Rover of Tobruk, the story of Bob Quinn, a legendary Australian Rules football player who was awarded a medal for heroism during his service at Tobruk during WWII. Quinn’s story, as a football player, a solider, a friend, a “mate,” is remarkable. I have since read a few articles on Quinn, but none really captures the full scope of his character the way the film does – the articles have generally been worth reading, but they all tend to miss important points.

 

For many years Quinn would not talk about what really happened at Tobruk that led to his medal for heroism, and his reason was profound – a life lesson for me. His unit was under intense fire, a job needed to be done, and wounded mates needed to be rescued. His comrades were frozen with fear…they couldn’t move, they couldn’t respond to orders. Quinn acted, fulfilling their mission, bringing wounded back, doing what had to be done. Quinn would not talk about this, he would not talk about his mates’ failure of courage.

 

When he finally gave the interview that led to the film, it was with the stipulation that the interview would not be released until after his death (which was in 2008).

 

Why?

 

Because he wanted to make sure that all of his mates had lived their lives and passed away. He wanted nothing negative printed about his mates on that terrible day in Tobruk. Quinn said that, before that day, he had seen their bravery, he had seen their courage, he had seen their care for one another, but on that day they just couldn’t do it again. He did not look at them as failures, they were still his “mates” and he wouldn’t let them down, not on the awful day and not afterward.

 

And this is my life lesson from Bob Quinn, if we have courage when others don’t, let’s be thankful, if we answer Christ’s call to obedience when it eludes others, let’s be thankful. After all, don’t we want our mates to survive this hell we are in as much as we want ourselves and our families to be overcomers in Christ?

 

Novatian: Well, I can understand fear. The Emperor was a terrible tyrant. Perhaps here we can learn mercy and find ways to support the weak. Paul writes that his imprisonment has given courage to others…if that is what it takes are we willing?

 

Would we not desire to welcome weak brothers and sisters back home, where they belong?

 

When I think of dear Polycarp, I think of relationship and not creed (though I dearly love the creeds). “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me!”

 

Now, as the Bard wrote, “Here is the rub.”

 

Polycarp was committed to his King, he would not deny Jesus. This is different than denying or affirming a creed, a set of beliefs, a confession. Somehow we have come to think of Christianity as belief in a few cardinal statements rather than as being in an unfolding relationship with Jesus Christ. I have thought a lot about this, but I have not yet found a fruitful way to talk about it.

 

This is personal for Polycarp, and it ought to be personal for us. Can I deny Vickie is my wife? Can I deny Jesus is my Friend, my King, my Lord, my Savior?

 

But I fear that so many professing Christians are “professing” in the sense they profess belief in a confession, but do not profess and confess a relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

My own sense is that the German church during Nazism gives us the closest image to the church in the U.S. The alignment of the Lutheran and Reformed churches with National Socialism and Germany First (Make Germany Great Again) is clear to me. The very term Third Reich with its creation myth for Germans and our own 250 years of “freedom” ought to be apparent.

 

And the marginalization of those voices within the “church” in Germany who spoke for Jesus and the Gospel…just as we see today in varying degrees within the professing church in our own nation.

 

I think the German pastors and academics knew what they were doing to one degree or another…they had their justifications just as pastors in our country have theirs…they ignored reality, ignored suffering, ignored terror…just as today. Power intoxicates, alignment with earthly authority and privilege makes us drunk. We love having crowded churches. Why we even have our own Horst Wessel.

 

I suppose I sorrow most for the congregations, for the sheep. As a pastor/teacher/whatever I am frankly afraid to violate my calling, my charge, my imperative to wed people to Christ 2 Cor. 5:11; 1 Cor. 9:16. Do we not tremble at our charge? How can we not tremble?

 

When I was a teenager I wrote Richard Baxter’s oft quoted statement in my Bible, “I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.” I have not always exemplified this, but I have never forgotten it. Does anyone even know of Baxter today?

 

The same is true of C.T. Studd’s line, “Tis only one life, twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” He gave up a career in cricket – he was what we would call a superstar – for the mission field. Just as Eric Liddell gave up his sporting opportunities for the mission field, dying in a Japanese internment camp.

 

Who do I want to be associated with on that Day? I think, by God’s grace in Christ, I’ll stand with Polycarp, Studd, Liddel, and Paul – it is absurd to me to think I even have a choice – Ha! Where else can I go but Jesus?

 

As Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

 

Amen.

 

The best way to encourage others is to demonstrate courage in Jesus Christ in our own lives, courage in word and deed, the courage of devotion to Jesus Christ. Let us carry others when needed, and teach them, in turn, to encourage others and carry them.

 

We ought not to shoot our wounded…in Jesus Christ is healing and courage.

 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).

A Holy Charge (10)

 

“Encourage the fainthearted” (1 Thess. 5:14).

 

One of the great joys in life is encouraging others, in giving others hope, in helping them see Jesus, the One who loves them so very much, in affirming them in Christ, and affirming Christ in them – He is our hope of glory and our source of encouragement.

 

The Thessalonians “received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,” and in doing so they “became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” They were following the way of Jesus and the way of the apostles by obedience in the midst of suffering (1 Thess. 1:6 – 7). Whoever the fainthearted were, there was something within them that caused them not to run from Jesus in persecution, but rather to come to Him and follow Him.

 

The writer of Hebrews encourages the recipients of his letter by focusing on Jesus, their Great High Priest, from beginning to end Hebrews is about “looking unto Jesus.” Hebrews has a point-counterpoint of warning and encouragement, encouragement and warning; the next time you read Hebrews you might look for this pattern and perhaps make notes of it.

 

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1 – 3).  Aren’t we always to be considering Jesus?

 

There is suffering and persecution and pressure in following Jesus, as Paul wrote, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). Persecution and pressure can take many forms, some overt, others covert, obedience to Jesus comes with a price; in Jesus we can learn to pay the price for Him joyfully, just as He paid the price for us joyfully (Heb. 12:2).

 

The writer of Hebrews encourages his readers/listeners by bringing them into the fellowship of the courageous and suffering saints (Chapter 11) and then into the courageous and suffering Jesus (12:1-3), which is a circling back over all which preceded Chapter 11 – the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. (Chapters 1 – 10 portray Jesus, Chapter 11 the saints following Jesus, Chapter 12 brings us back to Jesus.)

 

The recipients of the letter we call “Hebrews” received the Gospel as did the Thessalonians, amid persecution:

 

“Remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one” (Hebrews 10:32 – 34).

 

Considering our worship of “property,” how likely is it that we would (and do) emulate the Hebrews? Do we really believe that we have “a better possession and a lasting one”?

 

How can we encourage others?

 

While we are to speak words of encouragement, do our words matter if our lives are not faithful to Christ? That is, do our words matter if our actions do not reflect them, giving credibility to them? Furthermore, are we willing to be used by God in our own sufferings to encourage others? Are we living sacrificial lives unto Jesus Christ on behalf of others? (This goes back to the servant-leadership we previously considered.)

 

Consider Paul’s perspective on imprisonment:

 

“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear” (Phil. 1:12 – 14).

 

Consider Paul’s perspective on suffering:

 

“The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God…but if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation…” (2 Cor. 1:3 – 11).

 

It is important that we are obedient to Jesus so that others may be encouraged. Our obedience is never just about ourselves, it is that Jesus might be glorified and that others may be encouraged in Him. Obedience is vertical and horizontal, it is towards God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it is also on behalf of others and is to be a testimony of Jesus Christ to others. What people see from us should be what they hear from us, our words and our deeds are to be grounded in Christ – He is the Vine and we are the branches. The Incarnation continues in us, both as individuals and as His People.

 

It takes courage to live in Jesus, to follow Him, to share Him with others, and to live in community with one another. Living in the Light and the Truth takes courage, obedience in a world of rebellion takes courage, fidelity to Jesus in a promiscuous “Christian” religious world takes courage. It requires courage to live differently and speak differently than the world around us, than much of the professing church around us. The Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ is an offense, an offense that brings us to the end our ourselves if we will follow Him.

 

Can we hear the words of the LORD to Joshua?

 

“Be strong and courageous…be strong and very courageous” (Johsua 1:6 – 7)?

 

To encourage the fainthearted means that we must be courageous ourselves – are we? Are we living lives of courage?

 

Do our children and grandchildren see courage in us?

 

Our spouses?

 

Our friends?

 

Our brothers and sisters in Christ?

 

Is the courage of Jesus Christ living in us and through us?

 

The Lord willing, we’ll return to this in the next reflection in this series.

Who Can Fathom?

 Who can fathom immeasurable love?

As far as the rational soul exceeds the senses,

so does the spirit exceed the rational in its knowledge of thee.

Thou hast given me understanding to compass the earth,

measure the sun, moon, stars, universe,

but above all to know thee, the only true God.

I marvel that the finite can know the Infinite,

here a little, afterwards in full-orbed truth;

Now I know but a small portion of what I shall know,

here in part, there in perfection,

here a glimpse, there a glory.

To enjoy thee is life eternal,

and to enjoy is to know.

Keep me in the freedom of experiencing 

thy salvation continually.

From The Valley of Vision, page 101, Banner of Truth Trust.

A Holy Charge (9)

 

 

“We urge you brethren, admonish the undisciplined, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thess. 5:14).

 

What does it mean to be “undisciplined”? In his second letter to the Thessalonians Paul writes:

 

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

 

“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.

 

“For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies” (2 Thess. 3:6 – 11; see also 1 Thess. 1:3 – 12).

 

It seems, in the context of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, that being undisciplined has to do with not working and not contributing to the faith community. In Ephesians 4:28 Paul also writes, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need.”

 

Yet, there is more I think, for if we look at the example that Paul and his friends provided the Thessalonians, we see that it is more than about simply working, as important as that is; it is primarily about giving themselves for others, about laying their lives down for others, about not only not being a burden, but also about being a blessing.

 

As Paul frames it with the Ephesians, those who once took from others, are now to work so that they can give to others. It is more than about supporting oneself, it is about giving to others. We are to work so that we can give. The grace of Christ transforms us from takers to givers.

 

This can be a hard message in our narcissistic culture, so permeated is the professing church with the world system. Do we wake up wondering, “How can I be a blessing today?” Do we wake up praying, “Lord Jesus, help me to be a blessing to others please. Help me to share you. Help me to touch others with your Presence. Help me to give to others”?

 

When we gather as God’s People, do we seek to bless those around us? Do we even care how our brothers and sisters are doing in this world of challenges, sorrows, anxieties, and needs? When we ask our brothers and sisters how they are, do we really and truly want an answer?

 

The love and grace of Jesus, and obedience to His Word, form us into His image, and that image manifests itself in a certain discipline of life, it is a laying down our lives for one another, a submitting of ourselves to one another since we are members of one another in Christ (John 15:12 – 13; Eph. 5:21; Rom. 12:5).

 

How critical is this? It is critical enough that Paul writes that the Thessalonians are to “keep away from every brother who leads an undisciplined life” (2 Thess. 3:6; see also 3:14 - 15).

 

What might this look like in our own lives, in our own churches and gatherings? I’m not really sure.

 

I have seen authoritarianism and I know that isn’t the answer, as much as it appeals to some people. I have seen legalism, and I know that isn’t the answer. I have seen churches without any accountability, and I know that isn’t the answer.

 

It seems to me that when we have deep-rooted relationships in Christ that Biblical accountability is embedded in those relationships. To be sure, relationships can break down; to be sure accountability can break down; lack of accountability can shatter relationships, and broken relationships can destroy accountability.

 

In our society if we don’t like one local church, we can simply start attending another church; or we can foster a church split.

 

If we aren’t members of something bigger than ourselves, in this case the Body of Christ, then our selfishness will always be the center of gravity. Selfishness always leads to an undisciplined life in one way or another.

 

Without “life together,” to use a term Bonhoeffer appreciated, it is hard to see how we can live life in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, and in the Word of God with our Father’s blessing. Without life together it is hard to see how we can live disciplined lives, since disciplined lives are focused on others and not on ourselves. If there are no “others” then we are members of nothing, attached to nothing.

 

The “communion of saints” is more precious to me all the time. I could not have lived this long in Christ, and I would certainly not be writing these words, were it not for my koinonia with brothers and sisters. I value those times when others have loved me enough to speak a word of correction and challenge; and I regret those times when I dearly needed such a word but no one apparently cared enough about me to talk to me. Believe me, I know I can be difficult to approach, I know I can be strong-willed…but all the more reason that I need others to tell me the truth, or at least the truth as they see it in a given moment. We can trust our dear Lord Jesus to sort things out…if we will only love one another, truly love one another.

 

Paul’s charge to “admonish the undisciplined” (1 Thess. 5:14) is addressed to the entire fellowship, to all of the people as well as the servant-leaders. A healthy fellowship is a self-correcting fellowship, or at least has the potential to be. For certain, as we see from the New Testament letters, including Revelation, there are many times special admonition and correction must be given, there are times when there is willful violation of the grace and love of Christ and His Word, there are times when false teaching and practices are propagated in the church and must be publicly dealt with in the Name of Jesus Christ.

 

Can we do this today? It’s a challenge for sure, for a great many reasons. I don’t know that it is fruitful to explore the reasons…so I won’t at this time. I imagine that each context has its own challenges.

 

However, I will say this; we all need relationships in Christ that mean so much to us, that we value so highly, that we will fight for them, that we will endure for them, that we will persevere in them – through conflict, through speaking the truth in love, and in which we make tough Biblical decisions with redemption as the goal. Are my relationships with my brothers and sisters more important to me than getting my own way? Than my own willfulness? Than my personal sense of being right? Are my relationships with others more important to me than me being the center of gravity and attention?

 

Do I love others enough to speak to them when I sense they need it, and to listen to them when they sense I need it?

 

Such relationships can be elusive, and we need not look for quantity, but we sure need quality. When we find them, we need to treasure them, guard them, and treat them as holy ground, as sacred trusts.

 

I need not love everything my friends say to me, but I sure do need to love my friends.