Betrothed

This week I was listening to Alistair Begg’s messages on marriage, which I expect will provide a good parallel to our pastor’s upcoming sermons from 1 Corinthians 7. As one who anticipates remaining single for life, the marriage vows could create a twinge of regret at never hearing someone pledge to me, “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” But as I thought about it, I realized that God has vowed all that and more to His children, and He’s the only One who can keep His vows perfectly.

“To have and to hold” – “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16 ESV) “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). He will hold on even when we want to give up.

“For better for worse” – “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). He gives us far more than we can ever deserve.

“For richer for poorer” – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our poverty is the occasion for His riches to be poured out upon us.

“In sickness and in health” – “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” (Psalm 103:2-4). In Christ the worst disease, sin, is already cured.

“To love and to cherish” – “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). His love for us enables us to love Him and to love others.

“Till death us do part” – “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” (Revelation 21:4). Not even death can sever God’s covenant!

As with Noah in Genesis 8 and Abram in Genesis 15, God makes Himself the party responsible for the whole covenant. He knows we will fail many times, but “it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16). He extends love to the unlovely, mercy to the sinner, and grace to the hurting.

No matter how good and enduring a marriage might be, it is only temporary. It will end either in death or at the Second Coming. But God’s covenantal love will never fail and will continue throughout eternity.

Several times in Exodus and Deuteronomy, the Israelites are reminded “God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession” and that phrase has stuck with me this past week. No matter what my marital status, I can say “I am His treasured possession” and “I am my Beloved’s and His desire is for me” (Song 7:10). His covenantal promises are far greater than anything I can imagine or can expect from man.

“And I will betroth you to Me forever. I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness” (Hosea 2:19-20).

© Dawn Rutan 2016

Fully Invested

In Philip Yancey’s book Vanishing Grace, he shares part of the story of Gina Welch, an atheist journalist who decided to research Christianity from the inside. Her story of involvement with a church eventually became the book In the Land of Believers: An Outsider’s Extraordinary Journey into the Heart ofthe Evangelical Church. Over the course of a year she went undercover to join a new members’ class at Jerry Falwell’s church, attended their singles ministry and worship services, got baptized, and joined a mission trip that included street evangelism… all without becoming a Christian. Her conclusion? “What I envied most about Christians was not the God thing—it was having a community gathering each week, a touchstone for people who share values, a safe place to be frank about your life struggles, a place to be reminded of your moral compass. Having a place to guard against loneliness, to feel there are others like you.”

That comment made me wonder whether many who call themselves Christian would say much the same thing. Particularly in America, it seems that the church has become more of a social club for moral, likeminded people than a place to meet God and learn to follow Him. Some mega-churches continue to thrive despite obvious faults in the teachings being presented. Families seek out churches with lots of programs for their children. Church social events draw bigger crowds than Sunday school and prayer meeting combined. It’s been noted that the more spiritual the activity, the fewer people interested in attending. Pastors and church leaders have a pretty good idea who is fully invested and who is just along for the ride. Although statistics can be misleading when it comes to spiritual growth, they do reveal what percentage of the membership shows up for different types of events. Faith can become a tangent for church members rather than the central purpose of life.

As was noted in Sunday’s sermon on Jesus the Teacher (podcast here), within the church we tend to focus more on the fact that Jesus is our Savior than on His teaching. If we pay attention to what He taught while on earth, as well as what is taught in the rest of Scripture, we may be challenged to do some things we don’t want to do. Having Jesus as Savior is comforting, but calling Him Teacher and Lord can take us out of our comfort zone. Having a circle of supportive friends is comforting, but holding one another accountable to be obedient to Scripture can be uncomfortable.

In thinking about this subject, I looked at several different church covenants and how they define membership. While they vary in the wording and specific expectations, the general idea is that members are to participate in the activities of the church and in the spiritual disciplines for the purpose of growing in relationship with God and with one another as the Body of Christ. How many people would forego church membership if such membership covenants were always taught and members were held accountable by one another? But we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes and imply that freedom and independence are not biblical values, so we build our cozy social club sanctuaries and then wonder why people only show up when they feel like it.

We’re treading on dangerous ground when we treat church membership with such nonchalance. On the Judgment Day, there will be many who say, “Lord, didn’t I attend church frequently, and helped clean up after the potluck dinners, and sorted clothes for the shelter?” And He will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23 ESV). I certainly don’t want to hear that for myself or for any of those within my church family, do you?

“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these [the new heavens and new earth], be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace… Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” -2 Peter 3:14, 17-18