A Holy Charge (13)

 

 

“Help the weak” (1 Thess. 5:14).

 

Continuing to consider how Romans 14:1 – 15:7 relates to 1 Thessalonians 5:14:

 

“Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself” (Romans 15:1 – 3a).

 

What would life look like if we practiced pleasing one another?

 

“So then, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another” (Rom. 14:19).

 

What would we look like, as God’s People, if we pursued peace with one another? If we pursued building up one another? If we were constantly asking, “How can I build up my brothers and sisters?”

 

What would happen if, when seeing a brother or sister, we asked ourselves, “How can I build this brother up right now?” “How can I please this sister in Christ?”

 

Let’s note that Paul does not write that we are to deny what we think about food and drink and whether one day is more important than another day. We are not to pretend we are one way when we are really another way – this is true for all of us, for the weak and for the strong and for everyone in between. We are not to be something we aren’t.

 

We are, however, to put our brothers and sisters ahead of ourselves, we are to pursue peace.

 

Note the similarity of thought between Rom. 15:1 and 5:6. “When we were without strength, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.” “We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength.”

 

As Christ Jesus is, so are we to be toward others.

 

“Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food” (14:20).

 

Is it not sobering to remind ourselves that our brothers and sisters are the work of God? If they are indeed the work of God, then who are we to tear down God’s work? Don’t you think that would be pretty foolish?

 

Who wants to hear God say, “Why did you tear down My work?” What response could we possibly have to such a question?

 

We must be honest about who we are and where we are in our practice and understanding, and we must also be deferential toward one another, seeking peace and building up one another in the grace and love of Jesus. I doubt that we will always get this right, such is the nature of life and relationships. However, if we love one another and are gracious to one another, we can work through the times when we don’t get it right, when we have misunderstanding, bursts of selfishness and ego, insistence on our own agendas, and hurt feelings.

 

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law…it [the Law] is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8 – 10).

 

Perhaps there is also an element of 1 Corinthians 9:19 – 22 in our subject? “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” (1Cor. 9:22).

 

Can we not also say, “To the weak I became weak, so that I might encourage them in Christ”? “So that I might display the love of Christ to them”? “So that I might lead them deeper into a relationship with Jesus”? In other words, what is a principle of mission, is also a principle within the Body of Christ. By all means we want others to know Jesus more intimately.

 

(Speaking of 1 Corinthians, see also Chapter 8, similar to Romans 14, and Paul’s words, “For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whom Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ” (1 Cor. 8:11 – 12).

 

Do we understand that when we are ugly with one another, impatient with one another, selfish with one another, put stumbling blocks in front of one another, and judge one another, that we are sinning against Christ?

 

Of course, Romans 14:1 – 15:7 is about more than eating and drinking and special days, it is about our life in Christ as His Body, His People; it is about us loving one another as Jesus Christ loves us. This is about our Way of Life with one another.

 

I have been blessed to serve professing Christians from virtually all backgrounds, and I’ve seen the unity and love that flows when we focus on Jesus rather than on ourselves and our particular way of viewing religious tradition. I recall a new member of a small group, some years ago, who was fervent in his way of thinking. There were around 6 different Christian traditions in our group before he arrived, so he made 7. 

During his first few weeks with us he did his best to advocate his particular way of looking at things; whenever a subject came up in our Bible study, it never seemed to occur to him that there might be different perspectives on the Bible passage and how to obey the passage. For the most part we all just listened to him when he spoke, he was so adamant about what he said that he couldn’t really hear anyone but himself.

Eventually he began to appreciate and enjoy the other men, to trust them, and then to listen to what they said and why they said it. We didn’t always agree, but we were always agreeable – we valued our unity, we wanted the best for each other, and we wanted to live in the peace of Jesus Christ.

 

As Paul reminds us, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

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 as 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 – 15:7 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.

A Holy Charge (8)

 

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

 

This is a charge, once again, to the entire fellowship of believers in Thessalonica, just as we see in 5:12.

 

“But we request of you, brethren…” (5:12).

 

“We urge you, brethren…” (5:14).

 

For sure, I think, this is also a particular calling of those who serve the People of God, as we see in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

 

Note that both passages speak of patience. 1 Thessalonians says that we are to be “patient with everyone,” and Paul tells Timothy that he is to exercise “great patience.” Earlier in 2 Timothy Paul writes, “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:24 – 25).

 

I have not always been an example of patience, and I sorrow greatly over this. Perhaps one day I’ll get it right before I die, I’d like for that to happen (of course by God’s grace), but at this stage of life I’m a bit unsure about the possibility. I aspire to be like Fenelon, but I seem to be more like Jerome.

 

How might we think about “admonish the undisciplined [disorderly]”? What might this look like?

 

As with our entire passage (1 Thess. 5:12 – 28), so much of our answer has to do with the nature of the Church, and as such we’ll explore this throughout the passage. This includes the question, “What is the nature of our relationship with one another?” When I use the word “nature” I refer to the essence of who we are in Christ and who Christ is within us – within us as individuals and within us as a People. This is not something we often consider, whether as pastors and teachers or as congregations – our focus is typically on other things.

 

We tend to see our congregations as organizations, as religious franchises, as corporations. We tend to focus on sustaining ourselves, our membership numbers, our finances; rather than consider our Gospel mission and our Divine Nature in Christ and our call to be His Presence to one another and to the people of the world who do not know Him yet. We can even be so focused on doctrine in terms of checking the “right” boxes, that we miss the Nature of Christ in us, without which doctrine is dead letter.

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).

 

This is a wide and deep ocean, that which we can ponder regarding our Nature. Can we ever fully plumb it deepest depths? Can we ever see its farthest shores? Is not all hidden in Christ? No matter how much we see and experience of Him, is there not forever more and more and more? Must we not trust Christ, as His People, to lead us, to help us navigate, to bring us onward and upward, to teach us, to be patient with us?

 

As I look back over my own life, I remember those who cared enough to speak to me when I needed someone to say, “Have you thought about what you are doing?” “What you are doing is wrong.” “Have you examined yourself on this matter?”

 

I also look back and wonder why people who, I think, should have spoken a word of admonishment to me did not do so. There were times when my life (and the lives of others) would have been better had someone cared enough to have a conversation with me about my attitude, behavior, thinking, and yes, even insecurities.

 

To be sure, I have not always appreciated or accepted words of challenge and correction at the time they were spoken, but it is amazing how often the seed planted has grown within me and I have come to “see” the truth about myself.

 

What about you?

 

I recall a conversation I had with a parishioner a few months after arriving at a parish. This person was going in a direction that was harmful to her husband and children, as well as herself. She was digging a deeper and deeper hole and it was getting darker and darker in that hole. I decided that, as her pastor, I needed to speak with her.

 

At one point during our conversation she said, “I didn’t think pastors were supposed to have talks with people like this.”

 

Since I consider the care of souls central to my calling in Christ, and since I consider this care to be the essence of pastoral ministry, her comment was interesting to me. Do we really want pastors who love us and care for us, who actually get to know us? Do we seek relationships with one another in Christ, relationships that include “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15)?

 

Knowing when to speak and when not to speak is a challenge, at least for me. Sometimes I’ve gotten it right, sometimes I’ve gotten it wrong. Sometimes I’ve spoken when I should have but have not done it in a helpful way – O how it hurts and shames me to recall those times.

 

What about you? Have there been times when someone cared about you enough to speak to you? Have you loved others enough to speak to them?

 

Do you have relationships in which such speaking is natural and rooted in love?

 

A Holy Charge (7)

 

Returning to our core passage, 1 Thessalonians 5:12ff, after having considered the nature of service in the Body of Christ; the nature of elders, deacons, pastors, teachers and the like, we have, “Live in peace with one another” (5:13b). How might we think about this?

 

Should this be a stand-alone statement? Or is it connected to what precedes it? Is it related to the relationship between “those who diligently labor among you” and the people they serve? Is Paul focused on the relationship between those who serve and the flock they serve?

 

While obviously the Thessalonians are to live in peace with one another as a people, my sense is that the context suggests that there ought to be peace between those who serve and the people they serve. There was a reason Paul wrote that the flock is to “appreciate those who diligently labor among you…esteem them very highly in love because of their work." For some reason Paul needed to write this reminder. Perhaps there was conflict, or perhaps Paul was being preemptive. We really don’t know.

 

What we do know is that conflict (or the threat of conflict) seems to be inevitable; whether between those who serve and those who are served, or among those who serve, or among those who are being served. Conflict (or its potential) with one another is an element of life, it is in the DNA of our fallen humanity; to know this is to (hopefully) guard against it. To know this is to (hopefully) see it as the poison it can be when it appears, as it surely will. While not all conflict is poison (some of it can be necessary), all conflict should be submitted to Jesus Christ. All conflict has dangerous pitfalls.

 

“Live in peace with one another,” reminds of us Jesus’s words, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50b). These words are spoken in the context of Jesus’ warning that we are not to cause others to stumble, for if we cause others to stumble then we ourselves will stumble; we will not stumble into a very good place. “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell” (Mark 9:47).

 

Elsewhere Paul writes, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col. 3:15). We are to be “Diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

 

To allow the peace of God to “rule” is to submit to the peace of God, to allow God’s peace to have authority over our thoughts and attitudes and actions. Peace is not only an experience, a condition, it is also an act of obedience in that it is an act of submission to God’s rule and authority.

 

If there is conflict, a conflict of wills and of desires; do I seek resolution and reconciliation and unity, or do I seek to impose my own will on others? Do I choose to allow the peace of God to rule in my heart and allow His peace to lead me in the situation, or do I resist and reject the authority of the peace of God and willfully seek my own way in the matter?

 

I still, at this late season of life, struggle with submitting to the peace of God. O for sure in a very significant sense I delight in His peace and would be lost without it. How can one live with any degree of sanity in this world and in our society without knowing the peace of God in Christ as his refuge?

 

Yet, there are still times when I react too quickly without first submitting to the peace Christ, without my response to people and events being a response under the authority of the Prince of Peace. I often ask our dear Lord Jesus, “Can I please just get it right for one day before I die?”

 

If Paul’s admonition to “live in peace with one another” is focused on the relationship between those who serve and those who are served, then there is a warning that those who are “being served” (the flock of God) ought to be deeply aware of – and that is that Satan is the father of rebellion against authority.

 

In our previous reflections we’ve seen that “those who serve” are to be as nursing mothers and straightforward fathers, that servant leadership is sacrificial leadership in Christ, that good shepherds lay down their lives for the sheep.

 

The sheep, on the other hand, are to honor their fathers and their mothers in the faith. Is not “Honor your father and your mother” a commandment with great promise?

 

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17).

 

This is not the place to explore the many facets of godly sacrificial leadership, what it looks like and what it doesn’t look like. Our Lord Jesus must be our center of gravity in this, and of course we see Him in His servants in the Bible. I suppose every New Testament letter displays the heart of the Good Shepherd toward His People.

 

The nature of Christlike sacrificial leadership is the love which lays down its life for others, all else flows through the deep and immeasurable love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

In response, the congregation is called to love those who serve it, to “esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:13).

 

As all of us “put on love” we experience “the perfect bond of unity” (Col. 3:14).

 

 Servant leaders find joy in the People of God, and this is a good place to close this reflection.

 

“For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thess.2:20).

 

“I have no great joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).

 

To be continued…

A Holy Charge (6)

 

 

“You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:10 – 12).

 

“For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thess. 2:19 – 20).

 

As we conclude our look at Paul’s servant leadership in Thessalonians Chapter 2, preparing to move back into the Holy Charge of Chapter 5, let’s remind ourselves that what we see modeled by Paul and his coworkers in Chapter 2 is the form of leadership Paul expected to see in the elders, deacons, and other servants of 5:12 – 13.

 

The goal of Biblical servanthood is that others “would talk in a manner worthy of God.” That others would live in intimacy with the Trinity. That others would serve others. In Paul and his coworkers, we see the tenderness and gentleness of a nursing mother (2:7) and the straightforward exhortation of a loving father (2:11).

 

The Thessalonian Christians were Paul’s “hope, joy, and crown.” Twice in verses 19 and 20 he speaks of them as his joy. Three times if we include the word “exultation.”

 

Paul terms the Thessalonians his “glory” in verse 20, “You are our glory and joy.”

 

Can we see our dear Lord Jesus in Paul?

 

“Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2b).

 

We are the joy set before Jesus, the Thessalonians were the joy set before Paul, Silas, and Timothy. The flock of God in Thessalonica was to be the joy set before the elders, deacons, and other ministry servants in the church in that city.

 

Servants of the Gospel are not called to glory and rejoice over buildings and money and numbers of people and their standing in the world and the greater church, in their music ministry or preaching ministry. Servants of Christ are to glory and rejoice in Jesus Christ (“He that glories, let him glory in the Lord” 1 Cor. 1:30 – 21) and in His People.

 

Servants of the Gospel, charged with the care of Christ’s People, are not to live for themselves but for the Flock of Jesus Christ. I believe this is actually true for all legitimate leadership in all contexts, which is one of many reasons I am puzzled by the behavior and so-called values of the professing church in our nation.

 

Do Sunday school teachers and small group facilitators glory and joy in their people, that they are living in a manner worthy of God? What about pastors and elders and deacons? Are we giving our lives for others? Are others our glory and joy?

 

Are we demonstrating the tenderness of a mother, as well as the straightforwardness of a father? Are we seeking “not to be a burden to others” (2:9)?

 

When we stand in the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, will others be with us as our “crown of rejoicing”? Will we rejoice in others on that Day? Will others rejoice in us? Will we rejoice in one another?

 

Are we “imparting our own lives” (2:8) for others?

 

This, my friends, is what Gospel ministry is to look like, it is to look like Jesus Christ, the grain of wheat which fell into the ground and died, so that it would bear much fruit (John 12:24).

 

Ministry may not be successful in the eyes of the world, or of the professing church. There may not be great numbers of people, there may not be money in the bank, there may not be exciting music, there may not even be a building to call home; but if it displays the heart and soul of the Good Shepard of Psalm 23, of the Sacrificial Shephard of John 10, and of the Holy Lamb of Revelation, if it lives and glories and rejoices in the people it serves…then those men and women will one Day hear the blessed words of their Master, “Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

 

I have an idea that there will be a multitude of nondescript pastors, teachers, nursery care givers, and grandmothers, who will have many people around them on that Day, saying to them, “Thank you for making us your glory and joy in Jesus.”

 

There may also be others who have had hundreds and thousands in their buildings and listening and watching them via media, who will look around on that Day and see no one beside them, for they have given their lives for no one, their hearts to no one, their souls to no one…except themselves.

 

Is our delight in others and in our Lord Jesus Christ?

 

“This is My commandment; that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12  13).

 

Is this our way of ministry?

 

Is this our Way of Life?

A Holy Charge (5)

 

A Holy Charge (5)

 

“But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well – pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:7 – 9).

 

There are many passages where Paul writes of the nature and character of his service in Christ; they speak of the content of his Message, of his joys and sorrows, his motivations, his hopes and disappointments, and of his heart. Since these are letters he is writing, isn’t this what we would expect? Paul is giving his life for the people he writes to, he is giving them his heart. These letters are Valintine’s cards with deep love and affection, and deep content.

 

Is there a more tender picture to be found than of a “nursing mother tenderly caring for her own children”? (In verse 11 we see that he also pictures himself as a father.) Paul and his friends were not simply imparting the Gospel of God to the Thessalonians, “but also our own lives.”

 

Is this our picture of Gospel ministry today? Is this the image that servants of the Gospel seek to portray, and is it the image that congregations seek? Is it the image that elders and deacons exhibit? Sunday school teachers? Small group leaders? Is it the nature of our service to Christ and to His People, to one another?

 

Since this is the way Paul was toward the Thessalonians, it was, I think, the way he expected the servant leaders in the Thessalonian church to be toward their brothers and sisters (1 Thess. 5:12 – 13). They were to labor among the flock, and have charge over the flock, as a nursing mother with her own children, as well as “exhorting and encouraging and imploring…as a father would his own children” (2:11), giving the church not only the Gospel, but “also their own lives” (2:8).

 

Is this the way that we view leadership? This is the Way of Jesus.

 

“You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:24 – 28).

 

All moral and ethical and righteous leadership is sacrificial – whether explicitly in the Kingdom of God or in the world; Satanic so-called leadership is narcissistic, self-seeking, and self-serving – wherever it may be found.

 

Yet we have Christian organizations teaching worldly models of “leadership.” Yet we have Christians and their leaders bowing down to so-called leaders of this world and nation, aligning themselves with people and movements who exalt and glorify themselves. Are we not like ancient Israel who want a king, like the idolatrous nations, to rule over us? Are we not similar to the civic and religious leaders who shouted to Pilate, “Crucify Jesus! We have no king but Caesar!”?

 

Do our training institutions, Bible colleges and seminaries, focus on “content” to the exclusion of teaching and modeling the character and nature of Gospel ministry? What good is content without heart? Where is sustainability in the soul without love? Paul’s ministry, whether in person or through letters, is a marriage of love and content, of a nursing mother and an imploring father.

 

Pastors were once charged with the care of souls. Today they are paid to be CEOs, to produce numbers and entertainment and churn out self-help messages, to hold Sunday morning group therapy sessions, or Sunday cultural and political and nationalistic rallies. The avatars of Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and Doc Severson appear on church platforms across our nation Sunday mornings…and we call it “worship,” we call it preaching, we call it being relevant. (Sorry…not really…for the Johnny Carson reference, I am out of the loop on current entertainment figures.)

 

Is Jesus no longer enough?

 

What Paul writes to the Thessalonians about Gospel ministry and servant leadership was counter cultural 2,000 years ago, and it is counter cultural today. It was counter cultural within Judaism then; it is counter cultural within Christianity today.

 

Yet, this is the Way of Jesus.

 

“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).

 

What is your view of leadership?

 

Is it Biblical? Does it align with Paul?

 

With Jesus?

 

A Holy Charge (4)

 

 

“For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is witness – nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority” (1 Thess. 2:3 – 6).

 

As we read the first lines above, we may recall Paul’s words to Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Also, “Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).

 

Doctrine and dogma matter, navigation matters; this is not primarily an intellectual endeavor, it is a spiritual necessity, for our thinking molds our minds, our hearts, our souls. Error corrupts our souls, desecrating the image of God within us; rightly understanding God’s Word, the Word of Truth, draws us to Jesus and transforms us into His image.

 

A “way of deceit” can take many forms. It can take the form of overt false teaching, such as trying to convince others that the Bible is unreliable and that there is a higher way, a better way, than Jesus as our Way. It can take the form of repudiating the image of God in mankind – this occurs in myriad ways. It can take the form of religious pragmatism, in which money, wealth, numbers, popularity become our religious goals. It can take the form of legalism and seeking to bring us back under the Law, whether the Law of Moses or the law of other religious traditions.

 

It can also take the form of making us think that if we are having a good time in our gatherings, getting pumped up, feeling better about ourselves, and having perpetual group hugs that that is all we need. There are more forms of deceit than we can possibly number, playing whack-a-mole is never helpful; what is helpful, what is necessary, is having our focus on Jesus Christ and only on Jesus; this is the only way we can ensure that we are not leading others astray and that we are not being led astray.

 

Not all error, I think, is intentionally deceitful, much of it is simply that we don’t know; we don’t intend to teach or model error, but we do. This is one reason why we desperately need the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and one another. It is one reason why we need to constantly be asking God to search us and try us, it is why we need to collectively examine ourselves, our practices, our teachings. Diligence is a lifelong way of life, for our own sake and most importantly for the sake of others.

 

Paul writes that they “did not come with flattering speech.” This may remind us of what he wrote to the Corinthians, “When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:1 – 5).

 

I confess that I wonder how many times I have been more focused on the method of my preaching rather than the content of my preaching. Paul was vulnerable with the people he served, being with them in weakness, fear, and much trembling; do I know what it is to be like this? Do you? We must not attempt to be something we are not, we must remember that the word “hypocrite” carries with it the meaning of “to wear a mask.” Would we have welcomed Paul with his “weakness, fear, and much trembling”? Would we have invited others to come and hear this man? Keep in mind that rhetoric and oratory were highly valued in Paul’s time, people were trained in it, it was not only a form of learning, it was a form of entertainment. If we take Paul’s words at face value, he would not have compared well with professional orators.

 

When Paul writes of “not pleasing men,” I think of his statement in Galatians, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). We cannot be people pleasers and serve Jesus Christ; we cannot be people pleasers and teach the Gospel. We must not be people pleasers if we are to serve the flock of God.

 

Yet, do not our congregations expect their pastors, elders, and deacons to please them? Do we not have such turnover in pastors because the pastors do not please their congregations?

 

A person called to Gospel ministry must be a bondservant of Jesus Christ. He or she must be Christ’s servant, owned by Christ, belonging to Jesus Christ; the servant of Christ no longer has a life of his or her own, he belongs to Jesus and only to Jesus.

 

When Paul speaks of God who examines the hearts, I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 5:9, “We also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or evil.”

 

What other dimensions of Gospel ministry do you see in 1 Thessalonians 2:3 – 6?

A Toy

 

A Toy

R. L. Withers

 

A toy – portal into imagination.

A toy not played with – sorrow.

Children who cannot play nor eat.

The belly of gluttony here; the belly of starvation there.

Do we care?

 

Building blocks never to be played with to build

Castles, homes, and skyscrapers.

Toy cars never to be driven on a floor.

Stuffed bears and dolls never to be hugged – is that a tear?

Do bears cry?

 

A toy box once full of hope, its contents now strewn about,

Each toy going its own way. - collateral damage they say. 

Little fingers will not grasp them, nor will little hands hold them,

Nor innocent arms embrace them.

Will little voices squeal with delight?

 

Will little eyes sparkle bright?

Little faces smile?

Little hearts beat with joy?

Or will the little ones not meet their toys,

Until they are both in the landfill of life?