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Category: Salvation (Page 22 of 34)

Following Through

September 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

The Church is not perfect. Maybe you’ve noticed.

God’s Church is made up of imperfect people living in an imperfect world and acting in imperfect ways. We’re not perfect.

But we are faithful. You, my friend, are faithful.

Somebody reading this post has had to forgive a spouse in the past few days. At some point this week or last, you’ve had to forgive your spouse for some imperfect word or deed. Maybe you struggled to do that. Maybe you still don’t feel really good about what your husband or wife did or said that required your forgiveness. Maybe it’s been really difficult. But you made the decision to remain faithful to that spouse. You made the choice. You did what was right. You acted to honor the covenant.

Most of you reading this article today have had to make a tough choice (or two) already this week on personal fidelity to Christ. You had to make a decision to be faithful to God in worship. Faithful in service. Faithful in sacrifice. Faithful in relationship. Faithful to our Lord in word and deed. Not because it felt so good at the time, perhaps. Not because it necessarily was the popular thing to do. But because it was the right thing to do. You acted to honor the covenant.

God’s faithfulness to us knows no limits. He is faithful to his promises to us even when we are faithless toward him. He goes all the way to the cross to prove that fidelity to his holy Word. And in order for us to reflect that facet of his eternal glory, we are to be faithful in our commitments, faithful to our word, faithful to one another. Nothing should come between us and following through on the things we’ve started. Even when it’s hard. Even when we don’t feel like it.

That’s the mind of Christ. That’s “Christ formed in you.” That’s the “hope of glory.”

Peace,

Allan

Let’s Astonish the World

August 14, 2013 / / 0 Comments

What a tremendous response! What a terrific reaction to what our God revealed to us at Central this past Sunday! And, my, how it continues even now into the middle of the week! The emails and texts that began pouring in during lunchtime Sunday are still being received today in a fairly steady stream. There’s an enthusiasm over what we’ve discovered together as a church family. There’s an overwhelming resolve to jump wholeheartedly into what our God has put in front of us. There’s a continual hum, a buzz, a current of Holy Spirit energy that’s tangible in this place. It’s real. You can feel it. We’ve tapped in to something here. Maybe… God’s holy will?

Allow me to share with you in this space today the heart of the message we heard together Sunday from God’s Word. Tomorrow, my plan is to share some of the response to the message in an effort to further process what happened Sunday.

The lesson Sunday came from the last part of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, his plea for unity among all future believers. It served as the culmination of our sermon series on this powerful prayer. And it provided the theological base for our “4 Amarillo” partnership with First Baptist, First Presbyterian, and Polk Street Methodist.

My prayer, Jesus says, is that all of them may be one. May they be brought to complete unity. It’s this unity, this uncompromising love and acceptance we have for all baptized Christian believers that will prove to the world Jesus really is who he says he is and who we say he is. Our unflinching dedication to love and defend all Christians, to worship and serve with all Christians, will astonish the world.

Well, Allan, not all people who’ve been baptized, right? I mean, a lot of people are baptized in different ways than we are, and for different reasons. We can’t worship with and have fellowship with all Christians.

That’s why the church is not astonishing the world.

Christ’s prayer is for unity. Christ’s will is for complete unity among all his followers today. So, let’s go there.

If God accepts someone, I must also accept them, too, right? I can’t be a sterner judge than the perfect judge, can I? Nobody would say, “Well, I know that God accepts this woman as a full child of his, I know she’s probably saved, but she doesn’t meet all of my standards in the things she believes and the way she worships, so I’m not going to accept her.” Nobody would say that. We must fellowship everyone who has fellowship with God. We must fellowship everyone who is saved. All the saved.

So… who are the saved?

There was a time when we would say everyone who hears, believes, repents, confesses, and is baptized is saved. OK, for the sake of this discussion, let’s go with that. The next question is, “He who hears what?”

“The Gospel!”

“She who believes what?”

“The Gospel!”

“Whoever repents and confesses and is baptized by what or through what or into what?”

“The Gospel!”

Right. That means the next question is… what is the Gospel?

That Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that he alone is Lord, and that we are saved by faith in him. You might check out 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 or several other places in Scripture where Paul sums up the Gospel. It seems pretty clear that it’s about declaring Jesus as Lord and as the only way to the Father and submitting to his lordship in baptism and in a new way of life. We’ve never required anything else. The Church has never asked for another confession. We’ve never asked anybody their position on women’s roles or children’s worship before they’re baptized. We don’t put a teenager in the water and catalog all his views and opinions on instrumental worship before he’s saved. (Unfortunately, some of us do that about a month later.) That stuff is not Gospel. Paul says it’s nothing but Christ and him crucified.

Romans 15:7 says we are to accept one another as Christ accepted us. We are to receive others by the same standards we were received at our baptisms. You know, your acceptance by God is a gift. That fact that Christ Jesus has accepted you is pure grace. The imperative for us is to extend that same gift, to show that same grace, to all others who have received it from our Lord.

Well, what about the Christian who disagrees with me on divorce and remarriage, or on the age of the earth? What about the Christian who doesn’t see church names or the Lord’s Supper the way I do? What about our discord over steeples or shaped notes?

In Romans 14-15, the issues are eating mean versus vegetables and the observance of holy days. And Paul knows what’s right and wrong. He knows the correct answer. There is a right and wrong on these matters. But Paul says, in Christ Jesus, it doesn’t matter. You don’t believe me? Read Romans 14:1-15:7.

Now, here’s where it gets us. You ready?

Do you believe that you are perfect? Do you believe you have God’s will completely and perfectly figured out? That you are living exactly right, that you believe everything exactly right, that your worship is exactly right according to God’s plans? Do you think you know everything and do everything perfectly? No? That’s what I thought. Then what in the world saves you? What covers you in your innocent mistakes? What saves you in your accidental misunderstandings and your sincere misinterpretations? Why, it’s God’s grace, of course. His matchless grace.

Do you believe that the Churches of Christ are perfect? Do you think that the CofCs  have everything totally figured out? That we are worshiping exactly right, that our leadership structures are completely lined up with God’s intent, that we have all of God’s will entirely mapped out and expressed perfectly? No? That’s what I thought. Then what in the world saves us? What covers us in our innocent mistakes? What saves us in our accidental misunderstandings and our sincere misinterpretations? Why, God’s grace. Yes, his wonderful grace.

You think there’s any chance at all the Methodists might be doing something right according to the will of God that we’re not? You think the Presbyterians might possibly have something figured out that we don’t? What if the Baptists’ understandings of something in the Bible are richer and fuller than ours? What if another group’s practice is more in line with God’s will than ours? Is it even possible? Yes, of course. Then, what covers us in our innocent mistakes and accidental misunderstandings and sincere misinterpretations? Grace. Yeah, I know.

Now, let’s assume that we have it right on the Lord’s Supper and the Methodists have it wrong. Let’s pretend that we’re right about baptism and a plurality of elders and the Presbyterians and Baptists are wrong. Does the grace of God not cover them completely in their innocent mistakes and accidental misunderstandings and sincere misinterpretations? Are they any less saved?

But they’re wrong and we’re right!

So you get God’s grace where you lack understanding but they don’t? You get the grace of God in your misinterpretations of God’s will but they don’t? Why? Because you try harder? Because we’re more sincere? Because, somehow, we deserve it?

Whoa.

The unbelieving world looks at that and says, “No, thanks.” And I don’t blame them. A religion as visibly divided as ours does not reflect the truth. It reflects our fallen world, not the glory of our God.

Our Christian unity will have an eternal impact on our world. But the world has to see it. Our unity, which already exists as a gift from God, must be visible. It must be practiced and experienced. When it is, the world will believe.

A Methodist preacher, a Church of Christ preacher, a Baptist preacher and a Presbyterian preacher all walk in to a bar is the first line of a bad joke. The Methodist church, the Church of Christ, the Baptist and Presbyterian churches all putting aside their differences to worship and serve together for the sake of the city is a serious and everlasting testimony to the love and power of God! Our “4 Amarillo” efforts are a witness to the world that this is for real! That Christ Jesus is our King! That the world really is changing! That hearts are being melted and people are being transformed! That barriers are being destroyed and walls are coming down! That the devil has been defeated and the Kingdom of God is here!

Peace,

Allan

Surely God is My Help

July 22, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
Strangers are attacking me;
ruthless men seek my life —
men without regard for God.
Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.”
~Psalm 54:1-4

The psalmist recognizes that the world is full of wicked men and women, people who have no regard for God. This world is full of evil. It has its dark places. There are people who do not recognize the eternal authority of our God. They do not see God, they do not keep their eyes on God, they do not follow him. They are seeking their own paths, their own ways. And so we are surrounded by violence and war, we’re confronted daily with poverty and disease, we’re bombarded by accusations and lies, we’re troubled by broken relationships and wrecked communities.

God, though, is the psalmist’s “help.” The Hebrew word used here to describe God is the same word used in Genesis of the woman God made for Adam. Help. Helper. Helpmeet, my dad still says in his funny KJV. The picture is of a strong partner, one who delivers, one who completes and makes whole that which is lacking.

This song suggests that our God is still willing and very, very capable of providing what is needed to fix what’s wrong in this world. Our God is a God of justice and equity. He takes no pleasure in evil. He truly cares for his entire creation. And he longs — his Holy Spirit groans — for that day when all is made right. As followers of the Christ who do hold our God in high regard, we are compelled to keep our eyes on him. We’re moved to seek his ways, not ours. As Gerald Wilson writes,

“We can no longer make light of his power and glory, nor can we ignore the call to participate in the restoration of the world. Our relationships will and must change; we will and must seek justice and equity as God does; we will and must respond to the whole creation in ways that seek its best interests rather than ours.”

God is my help. He makes whole that which is now in part. He makes me whole — total peace. He’s cleansing and restoring his people. He’s making all things perfect and new. Just like he did in the garden.

“I will praise your name, O Lord,
for it is good.”
~Psalm 54:6

Peace,

Allan

Savior of the World

July 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“We know that this man really is the Savior of the world!” ~John 4:42

After just a couple of hours with Jesus, the Samaritan woman at the well knew it. After just two days with him, the villagers of Sychar proclaimed it. The rarest of biblical titles for our King was declared unashamedly by the socially marginalized, the religious outcasts, the “sinners.”

How did they know? What did they experience that led them to this bold confession?

Jesus had purposefully put himself at great risk by going through Samaria in order to find this woman. He had crossed every barrier and cleared every obstacle; he had blown past the social and cultural walls, the political and economic hurdles, the religious and gender boundaries to reach this lonely and forgotten soul. He had refused to be bogged down in religious debate and questions of worship, instead focusing on his relationship with her. And he had exposed her great sin against God at high noon in the town square — and graciously and powerfully forgiven her.

Without partiality, without prejudice, without compromise, Jesus is the true light who goes into the darkness to rescue the whole world. The scars you’ve suffered, the fences you’ve erected, the sins you’ve committed — none of this registers as even a speed bump to the Savior of the World.

Once you realize it, how do you respond? Because you have to respond. Jesus is not going away. He sat down on the edge of the well, an unavoidable obstacle to the Samaritan woman. And to you. The woman, Scripture says dropped her jar, she left the well, and ran back into town to tell everyone about the Messiah. The town sleaze had become a Gospel preacher!

How do you respond to the Savior of the World?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As part of our “Gifted 2 Go” series here at Central, our oldest daughter, Whitney, and I wound up with almost twenty others at Brock’s Laundry last night, about two blocks west of our church building. Armed with $300 dollars in quarters, our task was to pay for everybody’s washers and dryers for two hours. There are 25 dryers along the back wall at Brock’s and 50 washing machines arranged in the middle. And we had all 75 of those things spinning until after 8:30 last night. We met young families and single moms, one college-aged kid and a couple of older folks. We packed and unpacked machines, folded clothes into laundry baskets and cardboard boxes, playfully fighting over the limited number of dryers and laughing loudly together as we took over Brock’s and made it the center of attention at Washington and 14th.

We met John, who I think used to have some ties to Central but refused to elaborate. We visited with Berto and his wife and held their precious seven-month-old daughter, Leah, while they switched out washers and dryers. We talked to Tiffany who admitted to hating Amarillo and wanting to move to San Antonio to be closer to an aunt. Justin and Mallory had just had the back glass and side window of their car blown out by gunfire Monday night. Miranda wouldn’t stop thanking us. Another woman there, almost in tears, told Shelly that for the first time in more than a year, she and her husband were now going to be able to do laundry and put gas in his truck during the same week. A young man named Matthew surveyed the room while his jeans and T-shirts cycled and commented to Myrl, “Y’all must have an awesome church.” To which Myrl replied, “Well, we have an awesome God!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A block away, Lon and Jeff and their crew washed almost twenty cars while Bob and his group changed oil a block south in another fifteen or twenty vehicles.

At 9:00 last night, as we were loading up the leftover sodas and water bottles in the laundromat parking lot, I turned to Shelley and said, “That sure beats a boring Wednesday night Bible class, huh?” Shelly said, “Yes, sir! Not that there’s anything wrong with our Bible classes, but THIS is what we’re supposed to be doing!”

We’re making inroads into our community. Slowly but surely, steady and purposefully, we’re meeting our neighbors and blessing them with the love and grace of our Lord. We’re seeking relationship. We’re meeting people where they are. We’re giving the cup of water, the handful of quarters, in the name of our King. And trusting him to use us to his eternal glory and praise.

Peace,

Allan

We Belong To The Lord

May 8, 2013 / / 0 Comments

I want to continue our important discussion here regarding the silence of Scripture and its place in our American Restoration Movement history and current beliefs and practices. As it relates to the maddening question of whether biblical silence on a particular issue is prohibitive or permissive, please check out this video clip from a Rick Atchley sermon illustration. I quoted one of my favorite Rick Atchley lines in Monday’s post, and a friend reminded me this morning of Rick’s “chair illustration.” I’ve seen Rick do this at least a couple of times. It’s a beautifully simple and strikingly clear demonstration of the absurdity of our traditional approach to the silence in Scripture. And it inarguably proves that this default approach actually prevents any type of Christian unity among our churches; it actually leads to and fosters ugly and sinful divisions.

When you have more time, you might also check out this recent 26-minute presentation by my brilliant brother, Dr. Keith Stanglin, on the fourth and fifth propositions of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address. Keith argues that Campbell’s document, which most consider as the foundational document for the Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ, fundamentally rejects both the Old Testament and church history as formative and informative for our congregations. Keith makes a compelling case for paying careful attention to all of church history as we prayerfully make decisions for our own churches and denominations today. The lecture is in two parts on YouTube: click here for part one and click here for part two. (Thank you, Keith, for pointing out that the use of unleavened bread for communion is a tenth century innovation of the western church.) After watching Keith, you’ll understand why I always say I got the looks and he got the brains.

While I’ve got you here, I’ll direct you to my great friend Jim Martin’s post, written for Dan Bouchelle’s blog, on why he continues to preach.

~~~~~~~~~~

Paul’s thoughts in Romans 14:1-15:7 are summed up in a couple of places in that passage. In 14:17 he claims that “the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Later, in 14:22, Paul commands “whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” The conclusion must be that it’s OK to have strong opinions and beliefs about certain things as they relate to Christ Jesus and his Kingdom, but that those opinions and practices must never be bound on other Christians.

But what about “salvation issues?” Oh, I can hear it now. In fact, I hear it quite often. What about matters of doctrine? What about the important things?

Yeah, that’s where it gets touchy. Because if two Christians are arguing about something and the argument and the feelings are such that it’s dividing them and threatening to divide their church, then, of course, one or both of them believe with all their heart that it’s a doctrinal or salvation issue. But, Paul says, that’s OK, too.

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, does to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” ~Romans 14:5-8

Each of us should be fully convinced in our minds that what we’re doing is the right thing to do in the eyes of God. Yes. But don’t bind that on another brother who doesn’t feel the same way. If he practices something different, Paul assumes you’re both doing it to the Lord, before the Lord, in the presence of the Lord, to the glory of the Lord, and with a clear conscience. We assume that my sister with a different belief or a different practice is not believing or practicing arbitrarily. She’s doing it with careful study and reflection and prayer. And she’s fully convinced in her mind that she’s doing the right thing. So, everything’s fine.

But, somebody will still say, “What if we’re talking about a salvation issue?”

What in the world is a ‘salvation issue?’ Will somebody please tell me what a ‘salvation issue’ is? We get into discussions about ‘salvation issues’ and we start ranking things in order of importance to God, in terms of what’s going to save us or condemn us. And we’ll talk about baptism and church and the authority of Scripture and worship styles, but we’ll never talk about helping the poor or being kind to your enemy. Scripture says those are actually the heavier issues. They’re all salvation issues! Everything we do is a salvation issue! That’s why the heart is the most important thing. The attitude is the most important matter. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking…

Paul is calling for unity in spirit, not unity in opinion, not unity in practice, not even unity in belief. And he’s dealing with what at that time in that church were huge issues. Unity comes with where your heart is, what’s your motivation, what drives you, who you are thinking about.

Paul clearly identifies himself as one of the “strong” Christians. But, again, it’s interesting to me that he doesn’t say the “weak” need to change their minds or their opinions or practices. His prayer is not that all the Christians in Rome come to the same opinions on these disputable matters. No. He’s praying that they may possess a unity of spirit that transcends their differences.

Peace,

Allan

Five Steps to Salvation

April 24, 2013 / / 14 Comments

It’s just a Church of Christ thing, right? The “Plan of Salvation,” also called the “Five Steps of Salvation,” is unique to us, I think. And those of us who were raised in and by the Churches of Christ know them well: Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Baptism. In that order. As a kid in the ’70s, this was drilled into me by my Sunday school teachers in Bible class, by the preachers from the pulpits, by the youth ministers at the devotionals and rallies, and by the Open Bible Study my dad walked me through when I reached the “age of accountability.” The five steps were plastered on bulletin boards in the church hallways, illustrated by charts and diagrams on mimeographed handouts, and splashed across banners promoting the next Gospel meeting. These were the five steps, always accompanied by supporting verses of Scripture, that necessarily had to be followed — again, in order! — for one to be saved.

Hear. Believe. Repent. Confess. Be Baptized.

You ever wonder how that started? You ever question the validity of such a list? If you or your church were to make a list of supposed steps to salvation, what would you include? What parts of our CofC list would you leave out?

Historians point back to our movement’s focus on rational thought and enlightenment thinking that characterized the mainstream culture of America at the turn of the 19th century when Stone and Campbell and others were attempting to “restore” God’s Church. It was all about scientific reasoning and empirical evidence and deductive problem-solving. Society at this time was convinced that there were undeniable patterns, unalterable designs in nature and in the world that, if learned and applied, held the keys to everlasting peace and joy.

Alexander Campbell searched the Scriptures in this way and came up with what he called “the ancient gospel,” a pattern he believed was the divinely-ordained natural way to heaven. According to Campbell, it all boiled down to, in this order: gospel facts (death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ), faith, repentance, reformation (of life), baptism, remission of sins, reception of the Holy Spirit, sanctification, resurrection of the saints, and eternal life. In that order. Campbell claimed that all Christian denominations believed in all these steps, but put them in different orders according to their own interpretations or theories of conversion.

At about the same time, Walter Scott came up with a biblical pattern and called it “the gospel restored.” He had six points originally. The first three were what humans had to do to be saved: believe, repent, and be baptized. The last three were what God promises to people who do the first three: forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. Not too much later, Scott shortened his list to five points — one for each finger on a person’s hand, for easy remembering: faith, repentance, baptism, forgiveness of sin, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This method proved to be very successful on the early American frontier where most everybody had been trained in Calvinism which claimed that men and women were saved only by God’s predestination, that one couldn’t do anything to save himself, it was all up to God’s pre-ordained choosing. By telling these fiercely independent early frontier people that there really was something they could do to be saved, the Stone and Campbell churches fueled a massive rush to repentance and baptism.

As with most good things, we swung the pendulum a bit too far. Pretty soon, we were taking God’s initiative and the Holy Spirit’s active participation clear out of the conversion process. Preaching became all about proving “facts” with arguments and evidence. The Holy Spirit’s work in the past had been entered into the Biblical record and was there to be studied in a rational manner, but it wasn’t necessary for a person’s salvation. The emphasis was on logical fact-finding and step-following and persuading people to “obey the gospel.” The “gospel,” of course, being the steps.

So, at some point in the middle of the 1800s, it gets boiled down to what we have today in the five steps of salvation or the plan of salvation: hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized. Notice how God’s divine activity is completely absent from any of the steps. Notice how this chart here to the right — all of these charts were downloaded from Church of Christ websites this morning — actually gives much more responsibility or credit to man than to God for salvation. Where is God in our “plan of salvation?”

Why is baptism the last step? Who took out “sanctification,” the guiding of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God to continually wash our sins?

It is God who works to will and to act according to his good purpose. It is God who initiates salvation, who begins the good work and sees it through to completion. Belief and repentance and confession are salvation steps to be taken every day, not once on a ladder list of human accomplishments. Baptism is never the end of what the apostle Paul calls “being saved,” it’s the beginning. Our five steps minimize our God. Our five steps neglect a lifetime of day-by-day, hour-by-hour difficult discipleship to Jesus. And they ignore the unmerited and continuous grace of our merciful Father.

OK, maybe that’s a little harsh. Too judgmental, probably, Yes, we come by the “five-steps” thing naturally. It’s been handed down to us by faithful men and women who were doing their very best with what they had to work with during the times they lived. And I’m grateful for it. Seriously. But I’m also so glad that we’ve recognized the many shortcomings in this kind of incomplete view of salvation. I’m so glad that we’re acknowledging together the active role of God’s Spirit in the calling and saving and sanctifying of the saints. And I’m glad we can change. I’m so glad, by God’s grace, we’re allowed and even compelled to change.

Peace,

Allan

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