Perspective on Discipleship

     For those who are actually God's children- "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- discipleship is the adult version of godly child-rearing. Godly parents are commanded to bring up their children in the "discipline and instruction of the Lord." ( Ephesians 6:4 ESV) Why? In the case of both children and adults we are to be trained to fulfill the two specific purposes for which we as humans were created; i.e. to be like God (made in His image), and to become a kingdom. (Genesis 1:26-28), and the overall purpose of glorifying God for which everything was created.
     Hebrews 12 draws out the parallel. "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline. If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate  children and not sons. Besides this, we have earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we might share his holiness." (Hebrews 12:6-10) Do you see the parallel between childrearing and discipleship?
     God provides parents to teach and train us. Ideally, in the case of genuinely Christian parents, they are preparing us to have the best possible personal relationship with Christ that we can have. Most of us do not have Christian parents who understand this, and no one has perfect parents. In all cases God wants to provide us with those who will disciple us, pouring their lives into ours to help us become more like Jesus. Will they do this perfectly? No. Jesus is the only perfect person to walk the earth. God has chosen to use deeply flawed human beings to fulfill His purposes on the earth because He does not have any other kind of human beings to work with.
    What is the major hindrance to all of this? Sin. Sin that produces independence from God and rebellion. Both parents with children and disciplemakers with disciples must work with God to root out all sin and rebellion. Sadly rebellion is our natural fall back position, our normal course of action. Obedience must be taught, modeled, and practiced. The reason discipleship is a lifelong process is because we always need to struggle against sin in this life. ( Hebrews 12:1-4)

Reflections on Biblical Child Rearing

     Last night i had the opportunity to share with a young Christian mother some thoughts on God's purpose in godly parents rearing their children. I believe the ultimate purpose is to do everything we can do to prepare the child to have their own fulfilling, healthy relationship with the living God. To that end, the healthier that our relationship is, the better theirs will be. We need to seek God, deepen our relationship with Him, particularly through the Word of God and prayer, forgive those who may or did hurt or abuse us, and learn our true identity in Christ. Both in my own life and in that of many others with whom i have interacted or counseled over many years, I see that the roots of many current problems in our lives lie buried in the past, usually in childhood. Only God can do the spiritual open heart surgery that we need.
     If we dig into the Bible, and particularly the book of Proverbs, we find that the primary instruction given to and for children is to honor their parents. ( 8 times in the Bible). They are also told to obey a number of times. Why? The greatest commandment that we are given is to love the Lord our God. ( Luke 10:27 et. al) The most important thing that we must communicate to our children in every possible way is the love of God for them. In the early years we are, in a way, the representation of God to them. The father particularly has a crucial role because he represents God the Father. Many people have major problems in their relationship with God because of problems with their earthly fathers.
     God's love is different than human love and our response is to be different. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." ( 1 John 5:3 ESV) Jesus tell us, "If you love me, keep my commandments." ( John 14:15 cf. verses 21,23, 15:10 ESV) This is why we must teach our children to obey us. If we do this will greatly facilitate their ability to obey God later. The two themes of love and obedience must be at the forefront of our parenting.
   I understand the wisdom of the world opposes this. If we serve Jesus, the king of the kingdom of God, we do not receive the "instruction" or threats of the satanic kingdom.
   

the Jury is Still Out

     In English we have a phrase, "the jury is out," to indicate a situation of which we do not currently know the outcome. Perhaps because i have recently received a summons for jury service, I am thinking along these lines regarding discipleship. Discipleship is sometimes discussed in the church in North America but more often ignored. What is it? Discipleship is the primary way in which the Holy Spirit intends to make us more like Jesus, thus fulfilling the original plan set out by God in the creation of humanity in Genesis 1.He said, "Let us make man in our image and in our likeness." ( Genesis 1:26,28) Discipleship involves at least one more mature disciple equipping and helping another disciple to grow in their faith in Christ. This requires humility in order to receive teaching and instruction, and, most crucially, a willingness to be accountable to the one working with us.
     Accountability is the missing ingredient that transforms friendship or mentoring into discipleship. We are willing to receive the gift of someone listening to us, of sympathy, encouragement, prayer and ministry of the Word. As people growing up and living in North American culture which prizes independence, self-sufficiency, and rebellion against authority, we are unwilling to be accountable.
     Looking back, i see this in my own life. When my heart is right before God, I want to obey, to receive instruction and correction, structure and discipline. When my heart is not right, I do not want any of those things. So can Americans submit to another believer for their own growth? Lacking a culture of discipleship make this far more difficult. We are in a pioneering situation. I am thinking of a young believer of just over a year whom i know in Brazil who is already more mature in Christ than many North Americans of my acquaintance who have known Christ for decades. What is the difference? From day one of this Brazilian's conversion there has been discipleship within a context of a church where everyone is either being discipled or they are not part of the church.
     Could this happen here? Naturally speaking, I have no hope. My hope comes from Matthew 28:19 where Jesus commands us to make disciples of "all nations." I do not believe He would tell us to do something that could not be done. May we obey our King.

Works

     In the great high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 He says, "I glorified you (the Father) on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." ( John 17:4 ESV) As we follow His example ( 1 Corinthians 11:1) let us do the works that He has given us to do. Immediately after explaining "by grace you are saved through faith... not a result of works, ( Ephesians 2:8-9) Paul writes, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." While we are not saved by our own efforts, we respond to the salvation of God with obedience through doing good works.
     Consider the letter to Titus. Those who do not believe "deny Him by their works" and are "disobedient, unfit for any good work." ( Titus 1:16) In contrast Titus is told to be "a model of good works." (2:7) God's people have been redeemed  to be "zealous for good works." (2:14) The Holy Spirit through Paul continues to reinforce this theme, writing in 3:1 "to be ready for every good work."  Verse 8 reads, "The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works." Verse 14 gives a partial explanation of these works. "And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful."
     But this does not fit in with the "American" gospel. We say that God's grace and love covers everything, that He will do all that is necessary. We don't have to obey or do good works because we are not under the "Law." We are not under the law of Moses, and the Holy Spirit does give us the desire and the power to do anything pleasing to God. But we must respond.
     What if Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, had said to the Father, "You are a God of grace and love. Surely you don't need me to go to the cross. People might get the wrong idea that you are some kind of sadist. There must be some other way." Obviously Jesus asked if there was another way,but He also did the will of His Father. May we also glorify God by doing the works that He has prepared for us to do.
   

Lord of the Dead and the Living/ Bible Memorization

    Many years ago i was given a biography of Dawson Trotman, the founder of a Christian ministry called the Navigators. The primary emphasis of his life and of this ministry is personal discipleship and Bible memorization. Prior to reading I could not have told you where three verses were located and what they said despite, at that point in time, have been in the Church for twenty years, having listened to over a thousand sermons, and having participated in numerous Bible studies. After reading i was inspired to memorize over a thousand verses in the next several years including several entire NT books, six psalms and numerous passages. The problem with memorizing so many was that to review them took six or seven hours daily. However the Navigators' approach is to memorize the reference ( book, chapter and verse) along with the actual words of the verse or passage, and to state it both before and afterwards. As a result while i do not remember the words of many of the verses that I memorized i do recall the general idea and the location. This has served me very well in subsequent years.
    While we do not have a Biblical command stating "Thou shalt memorize," we do have powerful examples of this. When tempted in the desert, Jesus three times responded with quotations from the Old Testament. (Matthew 4). The Psalmist of Psalm 119 writes, "I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." ( v.11 ESV) The sermon of Peter in Acts 2 is laced with Biblical quotations from Joel, Psalm 16 and Psalm 110. This pattern continues throughout the NT.
   Memorizing Scripture is beneficial for prayer, evangelism, fighting temptation and godly counsel. Recently I have begun to add to my store with the following verses.
"That you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles." ( 2 Peter 3:2 ESV)
"For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be both Lord of the dead and of the living." (Romans 14:9 ESV)

Basic Maturity Questions for Those who Confess Christ

BASIC MATURITY QUESTIONS

Am I reading and studying the Word of God on a consistent (daily) basis? ( 2 Timothy 2:15, John 8:31-32). Have I memorized the order of the books of the Bible so I can find things?

Am I praying (not just over meals) on a consistent (daily) basis? ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Colossians 4:2)

When I pray, do I thank God (1 Thessalonians 5:18), confess sin ( 1 John 1:8-9), and pray for others following the example of Jesus ( Romans 8:34) and the Holy Spirit? ( Romans 8:27)

Do I forgive others? ( Matthew 6:14-15)

Do I give of the resources (time, money, energy) that God has given me ? (Psalm 24:1, Luke 6:38, 1 John 3:17)

Am I receiving the love of God for myself personally? ( 1 John 3:1, 16, Ephesians 5:1)
Am I showing the love of God to my brothers and sisters in Christ? ( John 13:34-35, 15:12-13,17, 1 John 3:16-18)

Do I understand the gospel? ( 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Acts 2:37-38, Ephesians 2:1-10)

Am I ministering the gospel to anyone? ( Colossians 4:3-4, Romans 10:14)

Is there anyone in my life from whom I am willing to receive instruction, correction and discipline? (Colossians 1:28, 2 Timothy 4:2)

Is there anyone in my life with whom I have a relationship of trust and love strong enough to bear the weight of truth? Someone who is dedicated to helping me to become more like Christ? A disciple maker? ( Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 4:16-17)

Am I doing the above for anyone else? Have I unconditionally surrendered to Jesus Christ so that He is on the throne of my life as Lord and King? ( Luke 6:46, Revelation 19:16, Philippians 2:9-11)

The Plan

THE PLAN

God's original plan in creating people was to make beings similar to Himself who could rule the earth.1 He gave them a pristine environment with perfect bodies and minds, meaningful work to do and the pleasure of both God's company and of one another. 2 But the first man and woman were unwilling to depend upon their loving Creator. Instead they sinned by disobeying the only thing that they were told not to do. 3 As a result the original perfection was ruined, the moral disease of sin was introduced into the world and the kingdom was forfeited to Satan. 4

All of us inherited and were enslaved to sin, producing disobedience and rebellion, preferring independence from God rather than dependence on Him.. 5 Sin is the root cause of all the evil and death that we see in the world. 6 But God did not give up on His plan. He still wanted to have beings similar to Himself who would be a kingdom. 7 Jesus came proclaiming the kingdom of God, based on love, which He showed decisively by sacrificing Himself- someone who had never sinned, rebelled or disobeyed- to death on a cross, taking upon Himself the punishment for our sin. 8 This decisive demonstration of God's love and Jesus' resurrection from the dead proved that He was both King and Savior. 9

Now humanity has to face reality. Do they attempt to retain their independence by remaining in the devil's kingdom, or do they surrender to King Jesus, receive the salvation offered only through Him, and allow Him to take His rightful place on the throne of their lives? 10 Do they depend upon God the Holy Spirit to make them more like Jesus or do they go their own way into eternal conscious punishment? 11

1. Genesis 1:26-28
2. Genesis 2:8-9, 15,18, 24-25
3. Genesis 3:6, 2:16-17
4.  Romans 5:12, Luke 11:18,  Ephesians 2:1-3,
5. Romans 3:23, 5:19. 6:16
6. Romans 6:23
7.  Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18,Mark 1:15, Luke 4:43, Rev. 1:5-6, 5:10
8. John 3:16, 2 Cor. 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, Phil 2:8, 1 John 4:10
9. Romans 5:8, Acts 2:36, 2 Peter 3:2
10. Philippians 2:10, Acts 26:18, 4:12
11. 1 Peter 1:2, John 17:17, Matthew 25:46, 2 Thess 1:8-9

Tyranny and other thoughts

    Today i read about the horrific situation of a fifteen year old girl with a rare medical condition. Her parents had taken her to a neighboring state to receive specialized medical treatment. There was an apparent disagreement about diagnosis and treatment, and the parents tried to move their daughter to another hospital. The admitting hospital claimed child abuse, the girl was seized by the state, and placed in a psych ward for over a year, the parents allowed one hour of visitation weekly. They are still petitioning a judge for her release. Is this America? Yes, 2014 America where the government has made us their slaves. I am told that ten year olds can appeal to the "authorities" if they don't like the tone of their parents, be removed, and the parents forced to pay for their upkeep. In the guise of "protecting" children we are destroying families. The 15 year old mentioned above has released a 45 second video in which she is pleading to be returned to her family. This is slavery. The judge should be impeached and the hospital should be sued out of existence. Instead this family are just more victims demanded by a pagan society. The intense irony is that a society whose individuals pride themselves on doing whatever they want and not having anyone tell them what to do accept ever increasing government control over every aspect of their lives- local, state and federal. There is no such thing as private property anymore- one needs a permit for anything and everything.
     "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." ( Romans 1:18 ESV)
    In better news 2 Peter tells us, "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." ( vv. 11-12 ESV)
     "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.." ( 1 John 5:3 ESV)

Why Young Men Should Not Be Elders

     Note to Readers: This post is an amplification of the last post on house church elders.
Before getting into the main point i should clarify a few terms. First, what is an elder from a Biblical perspective? The primary New Testament passages are Acts 20:17-38 ( Paul's address to the Ephesian elders), 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (detailed qualifications), 1 Timothy 5:17-20 (additional information), Titus 1:6-9 (another similar list of qualifications), and 1 Peter 5: 1-4 (a personal exhortation to elders from Peter the apostle). These passages show that church elders are local, spiritually mature, humble men able to teach the Word, shepherd people, guard against wolves and false teachers, and provide godly leadership.
     The second question is how old is young? Here we have a more difficult question because the New Testament rarely gives any indication of actual age. We know that Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His public ministry, ( Luke 3:23) and that widows are not to be considered for support by the church unless they are at least sixty years of age. ( 1 Timothy 5:9) So we need to turn to the Old Testament to gain some clarity on this question. In 1 Kings 12 we read the story of Rehoboam, son and successor of Solomon as king. The people come to him and ask that their loads be lightened. First he takes counsel with the older men who had served his father who urge him to accede to the wishes of the people. Then he takes counsel with the younger men who had grown up with him. They say to make the load of the people heavier. Verse 13 relates that he took the counsel of the younger over the older men. The result was the division of Israel from Judah with resultant warfare. The parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 12:13 states that Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign. He is considered a young man in a time when David, who lived to be seventy ( 2 Sam 5:4, 1 Chronicles 29:26-27) was said to have "died at a good age." ( 2 Chron 29:28 ESV)
     What difference does youth make with regard to serving as an elder? The word itself indicates an older person. Then we have Proverbs 20:29, "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. ( or wisdom). While this is a general statement and not necessarily true of every individual, it does reflect truth. When we consider who should shepherd a group of believers are we looking for physical stamina or spiritual maturity?
   Then we have statements embedded in the qualifications listed in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. "He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? (vv. 4-5) The prospective elder's family is the proving ground. Young men are taking this test. They have not passed it. Titus 1 says his children must be believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination." (v. 6 ESV) While a five year old can be challenging it should be obvious that they would not be guilty of debauchery at that age. The Scripture is thinking of teenagers at this point. Again young men have not passed this test; they are still taking it.
    Finally i have seen this requirement repeatedly violated with rather horrific results both in regular and house churches. Let us obey all the Word of God.
       

House Church Elders

    As I continue to interact with the remnants of the house church movement in New England, at least as i knew it in the time frame from 2000-2013, one major reason for its demise is becoming more apparent. At the peak God gave me the opportunity to visit and attempt to encourage about twenty different groups in this region besides those that i was personally involved in. In addition during a year of travel thru the US I visited about two dozen other home based groups. Many of these attempted to follow the apostolic practice found in the pages of the New Testament, but as a friend said to me recently, we did not follow all of their practice.
     One key difference was in plurality of eldership. The word "elder" is the term most commonly used for the local church leaders in the NT although interchangeable words like overseer are sometimes employed. ( Acts 20:17,28) If one does a study you will find that this word, when it is in reference to church elders as opposed to elders of the Jews or the 24 elders in the book of Revelation, is always in the plural except in 1 Peter 5:1 and 2 John 1 and 3 John 1 where Peter and John are referring to themselves as individual persons. For example Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in every church ( Acts 14:23); Philippians 1:1 speaks of overseers, and Titus is told to appoint elders in every town. ( Titus 1:5) The NT pattern of plurality of local church leadership is very clear.
    The qualifications of these men is also very clear, both in detailed characteristics found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and in supplementary information found in Acts 20:17-38, 1 Peter 5, and 1 Timothy 5:17-20. In summary elders are to be spiritually mature men, humble, able to teach the Word of God, of godly character and having shown in their own families the fruit that would lead to their recognition by the church.
     As I think back over all the groups that I have known none had even three biblically qualified elders. For groups who did not want to follow a pastor led model, this was devastating. Almost all of those who did try to lead were working full time, married with families. The groups with one leader usually had someone who was very controlling or ultimately overwhelmed by all the responsibility. Those with two almost inevitably had clashes which could not be resolved, something a third elder might have mediated.
     For those who might currently be house churching or contemplating this, the failure rate is so high that I would dissuade you unless you have at least three genuinely Biblically elders to carry the load.

Some Themes Introduced in Genesis One

SOME THEMES INTRODUCED IN GENESIS ONE

The God of Language: Ten times in the first chapter the Scripture says “And God said.” The creation is accomplished through speaking. God speaks and things appear. This theme is reinforced in the Bible itself, which is the primary way in which God reveals who He is, in contrast to the many other ideas of who God is. In fact, we can safely refer to “the God of the Bible,” when speaking about Him. We also find many references where God explicitly tells human authors to write His words down. For example the Ten Commandments ( Deuteronomy 5), message to Baruch ( Jeremiah 45), Luke 1:3) etc. The story of the centurion whom Jesus commends as having the greatest faith that He has seen in all Israel ( Matthew 8:10) centers on the man's belief that Jesus need only speak authoritative words of healing to his distant servant in order for him to be healed. Finally we see the identification of Jesus as the Word of God. ( John 1:1)

The Triune God: When the Scripture says, “Let “us” make man in “our” image, this is the first clue that we are given about God in three persons, another truth that is shown throughout the Bible. (Cf. Psalm 2:7, Hebrews 1:5; Psalm 45:6, Hebrews 1:8, Romans 9:5, Acts 5:3-4, John 10:30, 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Image-Bearers: Genesis 1:26 says that man is made in the image of God, which is repeated in verse 27. This is not said about angels, animals or any other part of God's creation. Only mankind is made like God, and even when Adam's sin and rebellion disrupts God's plan, He does not give up on it. Romans 8:29 reads, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (ESV) The purpose of discipleship and sanctification is to make us more like Jesus. “And we all... are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV) We have the promise that “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” ( 1 Corinthians 15:49 ESV)

The Kingdom: Genesis 1 also introduces us to the crucial importance of the Kingdom of God. In verse 26, after saying that we are made in God's image, we then read, “Let them have dominion...” Verse 28 repeats this: “Let them have dominion.” The original plan for Adam was to be King over the earth with Eve as his queen, and their children to help them rule. Matthew 25:34 says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Again God does not give up on His plan. Instead it is fulfilled in Jesus. “He said to them, 'I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43 cf. Matthew 4:17, 6:10, 2 Samuel 7: 12-17 et. al)