True Family

I’m writing this at Appalachian Family Camp. As I was thinking about why I enjoy Family Camp, the first thing that came to mind was the opportunity to spend time with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Though none of my biological family attend camp, I am not alone there. I had a similar feeling at the recent Triennial Convention. There is a unique sense of unity and fellowship among believers in Christ.

I wonder sometimes whether the local church has lost sight of the family-hood we have in Christ. I wonder if your church is like this—after the service ends on Sunday there are a few minutes of conversation in the sanctuary or foyer, but before long each family gets into their own vehicle and goes home and they don’t see each other again until the next church-sponsored event. Aside from a few limited exceptions, there is not much effort made to reach out beyond the boundaries of the family units. Parents get so tied up with their family responsibilities that they forget that there are those who have no family around. The busyness of daily life overshadows the eternal reality of our relationships in Christ.

In the creation of the man and woman, God gave them the commission to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28 ESV). Throughout the Old Testament, family units were really important. In the Exodus each of the tribes had a specific place to camp each time they set up the Tabernacle. If a woman lost her husband, there were provisions for her to be integrated into his brother’s family in order to carry on the family name. Boaz is the classic example of the kinsman redeemer in the book of Ruth.

But when Jesus came, a new type of family came into being. The first glimpse we get is when Jesus is twelve years old and stays behind in Jerusalem. At Mary’s question, “Son, why have you treated us so?” Jesus answered, “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48-49). He wasn’t dissing His mother, but was pointing to a higher reality.

After He started His ministry, His family came looking for Him. His response was, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers? …Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:48-50). Jesus prioritized spiritual family over biological family, yet the church today seems to have done the opposite. Church programs tend to be geared toward families, perhaps with the intention of keeping whole families involved in the church. But the end result is that individuals are not connected to the church outside of their immediate family. And when they leave home they also leave the church.

Our culture is increasingly mobile, and individuals often don’t stay in one community for a lifetime as they once did. Unfortunately many churches have not caught up with this trend. When a new person or family comes to church, they can have a hard time really connecting with others. I’ve been at my church 20 years now, but I still often feel like the new kid on the block. Other folks have come and gone because they felt like they didn’t belong.

It is hard to change a long-standing church culture, and I don’t know what all the solutions are. I think it begins with frequent reminders that spiritual family is eternal, while biological family is temporary. Then we can build on the eternal foundation by reminding one another that we are responsible for building each other up in the faith (1 Thess. 5:11), caring for one another (1 Cor. 12:25), bearing one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2), encouraging one another (Heb. 10:25), and stirring one another to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24). Until we accept that responsibility and begin to live it out day by day, we won’t truly begin to experience what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Fruitful Growth

A recent issue of Christianity Today included the article “The Science of Sinning Less” which cites various studies on self-control. The author states, “One key recent discovery is that self-control is an exhaustible but buildable resource.” Like a muscle, self-control that is exercised regularly becomes stronger. I’m not sure that’s really a new discovery, but there is truth there. And while that is good to know, it doesn’t address the fact that Scripture talks about self-control not just as self-effort but as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). That led me on a search for a description of biblical self-control and how it should work. Here are some of the quotes I found:

David Mathis wrote,

“True self-control is a gift from above, produced in and through us by the Holy Spirit. Until we own that it is received from outside ourselves, rather than whipped up from within, the effort we give to control our own selves will redound to our praise, rather than God’s… Ultimately, our controlling ourselves is about being controlled by Christ. When ‘the love of Christ controls us’ (2 Corinthians 5:14), when we embrace the truth that he is our sovereign, and God has ‘left nothing outside his control’ (Hebrews 2:8), we can bask in the freedom that we need not muster our own strength to exercise self-control, but we can find strength in the strength of another.”

John Piper put it this way:

“The key to a transformed mind is the steady gaze at the glory of Jesus Christ. For that to happen, we need a double work from the Holy Spirit… We need the Holy Spirit to work from the outside in by putting before us Christ-exalting truth in the gospel, and we need the Holy Spirit to work from the inside out by humbling our hard hearts. Both have to happen.”

One particularly helpful article was written by Ed Welch in The Journal of Biblical Counseling. He wrote:

“[Genuine] self-control… is not the same as relying on yourself and working up the willpower to control yourself. Instead, self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit, through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a side effect of the fear of the Lord… The real prize is Christ Himself. So, with Jesus in view, we do those things that are important, true, and good, rather than those things that feel urgent but are ungodly… Although our cravings go deep, they are no match for the Spirit of the living God. This, of course, does not mean that the battle is over and we can ‘let go and let God.’ Rather, it means that we are now empowered to engage in the battle. As the Hebrews were promised the land, but had to take it by force, one town at a time, so we are promised the gift of self-control, yet we also must take it by force. Only the grace of God takes self-control out of the realm of hopeless self-reformation into that of great confidence that we can be transformed people.”

For practical application, Welch suggests:

“[The] desire for self-control must be accompanied by a plan… It is one thing to make a resolution; it is something completely different to repent diligently, seek counsel, and, in concert with others, develop a plan that is concrete and Christ-centered. The heart of any plan, of course, must be Jesus Christ. Self-control is like any other feature of wisdom in that it is learned by contemplating a person… Rather than give us twelve steps on which to rely, he gives us a Person to know. As Jesus is known and exalted among us, you will notice that self-control becomes more obvious. The double cure for sin is the foundation for all change. That is, in the gospel, we have been released from both the condemnation and the power of sin.”

As we contemplate Jesus Christ, His soon return, and the surpassing worth of knowing Him, may we find His fruit steadily increasing within our lives.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14 ESV).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Standing Firm

Lately I’ve been thinking about Truth; not just facts but Scriptural truth as taught and personified in Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed for His followers, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17 ESV). Biblical truth matters for all who call themselves Christians, and yet there are so many ways in which Christians fail to cling to the truths of Scripture out of fear, conformity, or ignorance.

In today’s news, Lifeway will probably stop carrying Eugene Peterson’s books because of his recent comments that he doesn’t think homosexuality is wrong: “…it’s not a right or wrong thing as far as I’m concerned.” For someone who considers himself a theologian and a Bible translator to make such a statement is baffling. [Update- Peterson has since retracted his statements.] Yet there are many who agree with him for one reason or another. When those who proclaim to be Christians can’t even agree on what the Bible actually says, our witness in the world is greatly hindered.

Ed Shaw, a person who experiences same-sex attraction, wrote in Same-Sex Attraction and the Church:

“We have a plausibility issue: what the Bible clearly teaches sounds unreasonable to many of us today. And so it is (not unreasonably!) being rejected all over the place. A few high-profile leaders in our churches have already broken ranks…” (21).

“But what helped me was that, back then [the 1990s], embracing a homosexual lifestyle was clearly a no-go area for an evangelical Christian like me… The parameters set out for me were crystal clear—celibacy and a daily battle to avoid even a hint of sexual immorality in what I thought or did (Ephesians 5:3)… And although I found the consequences of that clarity immensely hard, the lack of ambiguity was incredibly helpful. It made the choice I’d taken seem plausible” (25-26).

Whether we’re talking about homosexuality, marriage, the sacraments, the nature of God, the structure of the church, or any other matter addressed in Scripture, we should be clear about what the Bible says and how it should inform our beliefs and actions. Then from the solid ground of Scripture we should have no fear in stating our beliefs.

It seems to me that fear is a driving force behind a lot of people who are bending to cultural norms. I understand that we don’t want to cut off opportunities for ministry and sharing the Gospel, but I think that we are presuming too much about our own ability to convert people. Only the Holy Spirit can bring someone to repentance and faith, not any human effort. Trying to sugarcoat Scripture is not sharing the Gospel. If a clear statement of the truth of Scripture causes someone to pull away, then it is still in God’s hands to soften their heart. If the seeds we are trying to plant are not grounded in Scripture, then they shouldn’t be bearing fruit anyway, and I don’t think God will allow them to bear fruit if it compromises His Word or His sovereignty and glory.

Jesus came as the embodied Word of God (John 1:1-14), and because of the Spirit’s work in the early believers we have the written Word as our foundation for faith and practice. The Word matters because it is the Truth of God. If we choose to abandon the truths of Scripture we might as well stop calling ourselves Christians, because it is not Jesus Christ we are representing but ourselves. Jesus repeatedly stated the importance of abiding in the Word:

• “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
• “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples… If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:7-8, 10).
• “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul reiterates the fact that only God can open the eyes of the blind. Our responsibility is to be true to the Word of God:

“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (4:2-5).

May we not be tempted to tamper with the Word, but “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Still Waiting

I was reading in John 9 of the man born blind. “‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (2-3 ESV). Obviously this man and his parents were not completely free of sin, but their sin was unrelated to his blindness. We can’t read too much into this, but it is apparent that the brokenness of this world is used to display God’s works. He uses all things for His purposes (Rom. 8:28). He can use physical, mental, and emotional brokenness, and He can even use our sinfulness in ways that will bring Him glory.

I’m sure I’ve contributed to my own “blindness” through the ways I’ve behaved or things I have mistakenly believed, but the story doesn’t end there. Each piece of my story is an opportunity for God to display His glory. Whether He heals the brokenness or not, He gets the ultimate glory for whatever works He does in and through me. There are parts I am fairly certain will not be “fixed” in this lifetime, but that will just make eternity that much better. Some things I’ve experienced in the last few days have made me yearn even more for the day when all will be made perfect—where people won’t misunderstand one another or say things that are incorrect; where we won’t overreact to words or deeds because all the old wounds will be healed; where we won’t have anything to hide from one another; where fear will be a thing of the past; where our bodies and minds will function perfectly as God intends. I long for that day to come.

As I was skimming through some Scriptures I’ve read this week, it struck me how often we take Isaiah 40:31 out of context. “They that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with winds like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” That is an inspiring picture, but we can’t divorce it from verse 30, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted.” In this life we are guaranteed to encounter weariness, exhaustion, pain, and trials. The promises of verse 31 won’t truly be fulfilled until we receive our new bodies and the earth is made new. Even Jesus grew weary while He walked this earth.

So we are called to persevere in faith until that final day, trusting that everything will be made clear and God’s purposes are revealed so that He will be glorified. There are days I don’t want to persevere, days when everything seems pointless and hopeless. But I’m reminded, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Heb. 10:36). I imagine the man who’d been born blind got tired of the routine of his life. The man who’d been an invalid for 38 years (John 5) certainly had reasons for complaint. I wonder how much the difficulties in Joseph’s life influenced the way he manipulated his brothers (Gen. 42-44) before he revealed who he was? (Somehow I don’t think God told Joseph, “Let’s string them along for a while until they really appreciate your position”!)

One day “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). But until that day we endure, we wait, and we pray for His will to be done and His glory to be revealed.

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.