Welcome

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).

Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund have started a podcast called “You’re Not Crazy.” In a recent episode Allberry said, “We’ve turned the gospel into the cancellation of debt. We’re preaching mercy more than we’re preaching grace. So I actually went many years in my Christian life not really hearing about the welcome of Jesus. I heard about the debt-cancelling death of Jesus: you’re now not a problem to Jesus. I didn’t hear much about what we’ve been saved into…”

I’d say that my experience was similar. For many years I heard about God’s forgiveness, though not in a way that gave me much assurance that God wouldn’t get tired of hearing my confession. I always felt like I had to keep up with a performance to please God. It still strikes me that when I told my Resident Director in college that I thought God was disappointed with me, she didn’t have any good or biblical response, though I realize now that she wasn’t much further along in her faith that I was. It was a long time before I really understood that God loved me while I was still dead in my sins (Eph. 2:4-5), that He chose me and adopted me into His family not reluctantly but willingly (Eph. 1:4-5), and that He welcomed me wholeheartedly. I’m still growing in that understanding.

The Gospel Coalition podcast had an episode this week with Dane Ortlund (Ray’s son) that covered some of the themes in his book Gentle and Lowly. He made the comment:

“The way a ministry leader approaches others is how he believes or she believes God approaches them. When you see a harsh leader… you are seeing what he believes God is most deeply like toward him, and when you see a gentle pastor, you are seeing what he believes God is most deeply like toward him… We are not only preaching and teaching what God is with what we say, but also how God is with how we say it… Your person is more powerful than your words.”

That makes me wonder, did my lack of understanding of God’s loving and gentle welcome come more from the words that I heard (or didn’t hear) or from what I saw in those who were trying to teach me? Probably it was a combination of both. How well do most churches demonstrate God’s welcome by welcoming others? We all probably need to work on communicating God’s welcoming love more effectively and frequently. It’s not just up to the pastor or the Sunday school teacher or the youth leader. It’s really up to all of us. As the new person or the child growing up in church begins to feel known and loved by the people there, it becomes easier for them to believe that God also knows and loves them just as they are.

Jesus pointed out in Matthew 25:31-46 that if we welcome strangers we are welcoming Him. And in Paul’s words in Romans 15:7, that contributes to the glory of God. Why? Because we get a glimpse into the character of God and come to know Him a little better.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

 

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Slave Stealers

Review of Slave Stealers: True Accounts of Slave Rescues Then and Now, by Timothy Ballard

Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad in an effort to free children from trafficking organizations worldwide. The strategy of O.U.R. is shaped in part by the work of the original Underground Railroad in freeing slaves from the American South. This book shares stories from both eras.

I was drawn to this book because I have read several biographies from the Civil War era, including the biography of Harriet Jacobs who was featured in this book. Modern child-trafficking has many parallels with the slave trade, preying on innocent victims for immoral purposes. As in the 1800s, we need to raise awareness of what is really happening in the world around us so that we can be motivated and take action to put an end to it. For example:

“Human trafficking… is the fastest growing criminal enterprise on the planet. With thousands of children currently forced into the commercial sex trade in the United States, and thousands more children smuggled into the U.S. annually for the same purpose, this problem is never far from home” (34).

“In fact, the United States maintains one of the highest consumption rates of child pornography in the world” (95).

“Super Bowl day, with its massive party emphasis, is considered by some experts to be the largest single trafficking day in the year” (206).

Most of us in our daily lives have no reason to even think about child trafficking. It simply isn’t on our radar. One of the stories shared in the book is of multiple children who lost their homes and families in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. These children were delivered to an orphanage by well-meaning adults who didn’t realize the orphanage was really a front for a sex-trafficking operation. I started reading this book just a few days after another major earthquake in Haiti, which made me start praying that more children are not being enslaved there right now.

Ballard quotes Kevin Bales, a professor of Contemporary Slavery, from his book Ending Slavery:

“[The] abolition of slavery was immensely significant when laws were effectively enforced, but it also blinded people to ongoing slavery. Subsequent generations have been unaware that legal abolition didn’t make slavery go away, that it only masked the problem. Behind closed doors, in remote places and right under our noses, slavery has continued, making people rich, feeding our lifestyles, and burning up lives” (189).

In order to truly put an end to all slavery, we need to see the problem, we need to make it a matter of prayer, and we need to get creative in finding ways to fight it. Ballard’s organization is just one of many organizations that are attempting to do just that. I would encourage others to read this book in order to put a face on the issue and get engaged in this modern civil war.

“Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea… So it is not the will of My Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matt. 18:5-6, 14).

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40b).

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For those who are interested in Civil War history, the following eBooks are available for free on Gutenberg.org:

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs

The Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln, Francis Browne

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, etc., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-Breadth Escapes and Death Struggles of the Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom as Related by Themselves and Others, or Witnessed by the Author, by William Still

Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

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© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV. Cover art courtesy of Amazon. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Conspiracy Theory

There is a conspiracy at work, but it may not be what you think. It doesn’t originate with the politicians, news agencies, communists, or capitalists. It originated in the Garden of Eden. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made” (Gen. 3:1). Jesus said of Satan, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44b), and the book of Revelation says, “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9a).

His desire is to create conflict and division in the Church, distracting us from our commission to spread the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. It doesn’t necessarily take great theological debates to divide us. It may come from the accumulation of little conflicts: to mask or not to mask; red state or blue state; public school, private school, or homeschool, etc. The past couple years have provided ample opportunity to disagree with one another on all sorts of issues.

The Apostle Paul urged: “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1b-3). Some days it feels like there is no unity there to maintain, but that too is a deception. The fact is that all believers are united in Christ. Paul went on, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (4:4-6).

We are one body, but we often fail to function as one. We let differences of opinion convince us that we don’t have much in common. Manmade divisions pull us apart and we forget that we have the Spirit of God uniting us. The deceiver often succeeds in distracting us from obeying the One who is “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life,” who has brought us to the Father (John 14:6).

We need to keep reminding one another of the deeper truths that unite us (emphasis added):

• “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ… Now you are the Body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:12, 27).
• “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:13-14).
• “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions… Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him” (Rom. 14:1, 3).
• “[I pray] that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me” (John 17:21).

There are so many good things we could be doing if we weren’t kept busy disagreeing over non-essentials. We are supposed to be encouraging, comforting, praying for, and serving one another, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick, just to name a few.

What good works has God put on your agenda for this week?

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Col. 3:14-15). “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:9-10).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Purpose-Full

I know I’m not the only one who has days when getting out of bed feels like wasted effort. Some days just feel pointless. That is even more true in the middle of a pandemic, when so many normal activities are postponed or cancelled completely. On days like that, it helps to remember God’s purposes.

Why do I exist?

“Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life… everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made” (Isaiah 43:4, 7).

What’s my purpose?

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

What if I mess up?

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me” (Psalm 138:8a).

What if I don’t have the ability or energy to do anything?

“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me” (Psalm 57:2).

“He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).

What about people who may be hindering me?

“But for this purpose I have raised you [Pharaoh] up, to show you my power, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Ex. 9:16).

“My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose” (Isaiah 46:10b).

God’s purposes will prevail, regardless of how exhausted, inept, or unprepared we may be at any point in time. He will work in and through our weakness to glorify Himself. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9b).

In those times when discouragement and doubt make it hard to get out of bed, and it seems like we’re just going in circles and accomplishing nothing, we can say with Job— “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). We may not know even a fraction of what God is doing in the world, but we can trust that He is doing something and that we have a part to play by His grace and mercy in choosing us and using us. That ought to get us moving.

“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

A Reluctant Complementarian

I’ve been reading with interest the exchange of posts on complementarianism and egalitarianism on the Advent Christian Voices site. I had written on the subject a few years ago (here), but feel I need to update my blog as my own beliefs have shifted somewhat in recent years, although my prior post is still good.

When I was in college I considered myself an egalitarian, particularly after taking a class at Bethel College (now University) on “Male and Female in Biblical Perspective” in which we had to read a variety of authors including John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and Gilbert Bilezikian. After that class, it was many years before I would read anything by Piper because I thought he was so off-base and biased. As I’ve continued my research over the past two decades, I have come to believe my own conclusions were misguided, and I now consider myself a “reluctant complementarian.” Most recently I read Kevin DeYoung’s new book Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction, and I agree with much of what he has written there in support of a complementarian view.

As the contributors to A.C. Voices have illustrated, there are highly educated people who come to vastly different conclusions on what Scripture actually says about women in the church. Readers can find any number of authors to “prove” their position, and I will not specifically address the theology here. So why have I landed in the complementarian camp?

• Most of the complementarian authors I have read seem to provide more solid biblical evidence for their interpretation of Scripture than do egalitarian authors. I’m not an expert on Hebrew and Greek language and culture. Since Scripture is not crystal clear on the subject, the vast majority of us have to rely on the research others have done and sort it out as best we can. Complementarianism appears to me to make the most sense of the hard passages, particularly in the epistles.
• Much of my original egalitarianism was shaped more by experience and by my peers than by Scripture. We live in a fallen world and we’ve all seen abuses of power by men in the church, home, and society, but that doesn’t mean that all men are abusive or domineering. Unfortunately, women can be corrupted by power just as easily as men, and I’ve seen that happen in church settings as well. My change of mind has been influenced by seeing people I love and respect who have modeled their complementarian theology in their homes and churches with grace and compassion. They have shown me that they are not out to “keep me in my place,” but to listen, consider, and find common ground on difficult issues. Where I would naturally distrust men, I am growing in trust.

Why do I call myself a “reluctant” complementarian?

• I know there are churches and mission fields even in my own denomination that have been sustained by women when men have been unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so. I affirm their faithfulness, but I question whether that was the biblical ideal.
• As with many aspects of gender, I try to imagine what the world was like before the fall and what it will be like after the resurrection. How will we all interact when there is no marriage or reproduction, no need for preaching and teaching, and in the presence of our Creator and Redeemer? What aspects of gender will be real or necessary at that point? How might that then impact how we interact with one another in this life? Perhaps complementarian questions will become moot because all authority will belong to Jesus rather than delegated to other leaders in the church and home.
• I grew up in a generation that said “you can be anything you want,” and it feels a bit like a betrayal of friends and family members to accept or acknowledge limitations of any kind. However, I have to bow to Jesus’ words, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25). I’ve had to wrestle with God over issues where I thought His way was unfair or undesirable, and I keep coming to the same conclusion— “He must increase but I must decrease” (John 3:30). It’s not about me doing something because I have the ability or desire, but trusting God to use me wherever and however He sees fit.

What does all this mean for me?

• I would not join a church where women regularly fill the pulpit for the purpose of proclaiming the Word. I would not be comfortable there and I would have trouble submitting to them as my spiritual leaders. I’m on the fence about women in other teaching positions, and it depends a lot on the particular women and circumstances involved.
• I also wouldn't join a church where women have no representation or voice on important decisions. We are equally members of the body and we may have unique insights on issues that need to be heard through both official and unofficial channels. If men hold all the power and refuse to listen to other perspectives, they are not loving the church well.
• I am cautious in reading the works of either the ultra-complementarian or the ultra-egalitarian, as both extremes seem likely to introduce extrabiblical standards of faith and practice.
• There is room in the Body of Christ for differences of opinion on the grey areas of Scripture. Others may come to an egalitarian point of view and lead their local churches in that manner, and that is okay.

I never would have imagined it twenty-five years ago, but this is where I believe God has led me through a wide variety of books, videos, and personal interactions. Some parts of Christian theology are not nearly as black and white as I once believed.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another… And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:12-13, 17).

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© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Thoughts on Luke 2-4

I had written the following devotions for publication elsewhere, but they didn’t end up being printed due to a complication.

Looking for Jesus - Luke 2

This chapter of Scripture is probably quite familiar because we hear parts of it every Christmas. What more is there to learn from it? Consider what the main characters have in common. When the shepherds saw the angels, they immediately went in search of the baby who was proclaimed to be the Savior. In Jerusalem, Simeon was waiting at the Temple because “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26 ESV). Anna too “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (v. 27). We also learn of Joseph and Mary that they “went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover” (v. 41). And finally, Jesus Himself said, “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (v. 49). Each of them sensed an urgent need to pursue their faith and to go where they knew they would meet with God.

Church buildings today are not the house of God in the same way that the Temple was, but they are places set aside for the people of God to meet together. Do we have that same sense of urgency about gathering together for worship and fellowship? In many churches, the pandemic revealed that the faithful remained faithful while the marginal dropped away. Many of us grew up going to church every time the doors were open, and we have kept that habit because we see the need for it. It’s easy to make excuses not to do things if we don’t think they’re necessary. The question is, have we discipled the next generation to see the need for regular gathering with the Body of Christ?

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God” (Acts 2:42, 46-47a).

Moving On - Luke 3

John the Baptist apparently raised a lot of curiosity. Crowds came out to be baptized by him, and at least some who were present were rebuked for hypocrisy. He told the people to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8 ESV), and he gave them examples of generosity, honesty, and compassion. He baptized with water, but proclaimed the coming Messiah who would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (v. 16). There was a definite limit to John’s ministry. He could only point people to the coming Savior. He could not save them.

Likewise today, pastors and church members cannot save anyone, they can only direct people to the Savior. They can point out sin, commend good works, and baptize with water, but only Jesus Christ can save with the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many people who have been baptized without ever really believing in Jesus as Savior and following Him as Lord.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instructions about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:1-2). In essence, John the Baptist’s job was to lay the foundation, to “prepare the way of the Lord” so that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Now that Jesus has provided the way of salvation, we need to press on toward maturity in Christ for ourselves and our churches, building on the foundation that has already been laid.

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:28-29).

Priorities - Luke 4

Jesus inaugurated His ministry by reading from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (vv. 18-19 ESV). The people of Nazareth evidently thought this was good news for their town and they marveled at His words. But they changed their minds when He refused to heal the people there, and they ran Him out of town.

He did heal many people in many places, and that was one proof of His identity. John later reported the Pharisees’ words, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32). Physical healing was never Jesus’ primary purpose. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (v. 43). For Jesus, eternal life is far more important than health in this life.

There has long been a misconception that missions must meet the physical needs of people before they will be willing to listen to anything spiritual. That is belied when people in third world countries quickly accept the gospel while those in prosperous countries see no need for any form of religion. If we lose our focus, we can spend a lot of time and money and never get around to pointing people to Jesus. That’s not to say that hunger and illness don’t matter. Christian nonprofits provide all kinds of services that government agencies simply can’t do. We just need to be clear about what God has called us to as individuals, churches, and denominations. How can we best love God and love our neighbors with the resources we have?

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst’” (John 6:35).

 

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Words of Caution

Reading through the one-chapter book of Obadiah recently, I was struck by this verse: “Do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress” (v. 12). Edom was facing judgment for their sin, which included standing by and watching Judah be destroyed and delighting in their downfall.

Though that specific context may seem remote for us, we can all think of examples of people or groups gloating over the downfall of others. New phrases have been coined to describe “cancel culture” and “social media shaming.” Sadly, such behaviors infect the church as well:

• The political opponent said something wrong? “Why would anyone vote for him?”
• The promiscuous celebrity gets a terminal illness? “They had it coming.”
• The liberal denomination fractures? “It serves them right.”
• The pastor you disagreed with has run into trouble at another church? “It’s about time.”

We’re all guilty to one degree or another, because we’re all infected with sin. We may not say or do anything publicly, but we have all had those thoughts of “I know I’m right and they are just plain wrong. They deserve to be brought down a peg.”

Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak [or type].” Why does it matter? “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” (12:34b-35). Our words reveal our hearts, and yet many of us don’t realize how dark our hearts can be.

Consider just a few verses from the book of Proverbs:

• “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (10:19).
• “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (12:28).
• “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but gracious words are pure” (15:26).
• “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (16:24).
• “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (17:27).
• “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (29:20).

Our words can reveal if we are wise or foolish, loving or vengeful, humble or arrogant. Social media has made it far too easy for us to speak without thinking—jumping on the bandwagon of whoever we agree with and degrading those who disagree, regardless of what that may say to the watching world. Are we being lights in a dark world, or are we adding to the darkness by cutting down anyone who doesn’t agree with us on everything? People may stop listening long before we ever talk about Jesus if all they see in our lives is judgmentalism and condemnation. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3).

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:4-6).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.