c.) To love God the Father and His Son Jesus
Christ wholeheartedly as a church means to pursue holiness in preparation for
Jesus’ return in glory.
c-4.
) Today we want to ask ourselves the question: how might God speak to our
churches through His dealings with those New Testament churches that did not
obey His Spirit and His Word and did not pursue Christlike holiness?
In Meditation 78 we wrote:
"We know that God’s Spirit wants to transform the
local church (and every Christian within it) into
the likeness of our triune God. Therefore, the apostle Peter gives the order:
“... you must be holy in
everything you do, just as God-- who chose you to be his children-- is holy.
For he himself has said, ‘You must be
holy because I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). In short, to live a holy life means to live a
Christlike life. And pursuing holiness as a Christian community means to pursue a Christlike lifestyle as
community. In Meditation 77 we mentioned some examples
of a Christlike communal life."
So, where do we
go from here?
-- If our
heavenly Father wants our churches to love Him and His Son Jesus Christ
wholeheartedly,
-- and if
pursuing Christlike holiness is an expression of that love,
-- how then does
God wants our churches to deal with members who do not pursue Christlike
holiness?
It is a very
difficult question from which we cannot run away. God has seriously raised this
matter in His dealings with His people in Old and New Testament times. Let me
mention two particular cases:
1. The apostle Paul uses examples from
Israel’s history to warn us of the danger of leading an unholy lifestyle. To
the Church in Corinth the apostle writes: “These
events happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as
they did.” (1 Corinthians 10:6) and again
in 1 Corinthians
10:11 : “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as
warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come.”
2. The Lord Jesus uses His exhortations to the
churches in the book of Revelation as a severe warning to our present church
communities. Seven times He cautions us by saying: “He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
(Revelation 2:7.11.17. 29 and Revelation
3:6.13.22)
If a church
wants to pursue Christlike holiness out of love for God, it must guard itself
against everything that hinders Christlike love to develop and grow strong.
The
apostle Paul urges the church in Corinth, saying: “Don't
team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with
wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between
Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And
what union can there be between God's temple and idols?
For we are the temple
of the living God. As God said: ‘I will live in them and walk among them. I
will be their God, and they will be my people.
Therefore, come out from them
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don't touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and
daughters, says the Lord Almighty’” (2
Corinthians 6:14-18).
Then Paul concludes: “Since we have these promises,
dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body
and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
(2
Corinthians 7:1)
Here God actually speaks through the mouth of
His apostle:
if a church pursues Christlike love and holiness, it truly behaves
as My temple, My residence on earth.
Such a church conducts itself properly as
My people, and by My Spirit I will live with them and walk among them.
In fact,
such a church proves to be My family and its members show themselves to be My
children.
Yet, I think
that for a church, the practice of pursuing Christlike holiness with all its
implications is fraught with difficulties. Let me mention two factors that
complicate this church practice today:
1. All reborn
church members, including the leaders, remain ‘sinners saved by grace’. Indeed, the Spirit of God lives in them and
among them. Yet at the same time, their own selfish, rebellious nature is not
absent.
Ideally, God’s
Spirit grows ‘the life of Christ’ in their hearts and keeps the ‘old self’
under control.
Sadly enough, there
are many reasons why such a victorious Christian lifestyle does not always
govern a church and its members (see Meditation 66).
Besides, the
apostle Paul warns us against the ‘survival tactics of our old self’, like he
did when he wrote to the church in Rome: “Those
who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that
nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their
minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the
mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to
God. It does not submit to God's Law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the
sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans
8:5-8)
If Christlike
love, humility and compassion does not rule a church, or at least its leaders,
the practice of pursuing Christlike holiness will be shipwrecked on the way.
Church history is loaded with awful stories of dictatorial church leadership,
legalistic church practices, distress caused by unbiblical church discipline
and the misery of cold-hearted excommunication practices.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia
(modern Turkey): “Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is
overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that
person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same
temptation yourself” (Galatians 6:1).
2. Here in the
West we live in a society that worships individualism, hedonism and materialism
(see Meditation 48). I wonder how
many churches in the West are filled with members and leaders who are still
ingrained with the secular culture of our days. Is the teaching and practice of
pursuing Christlike holiness as a corporate and individual lifestyle not
lacking in many churches today?
If a church does not function practically as
Christ’s Body and God’s temple (i.e. His residence on earth), and if Christian
life is more about spiritual self-realisation and spiritual wellness, the
pursuit of Christlike holiness becomes a non-item on the church agenda.
Besides, I think that the deplorable stories of disastrous church discipline in
the past might frighten many church leaders to even give this matter any
serious consideration.
Yet, as we wrote
earlier in this meditation, we cannot run away from this subject. God couples
Christlike holiness in individual and church life with the practice of church
discipline to safeguard that holiness.
Therefore, in the coming meditations, we will consider
carefully what God might want to say to our present-day churches through His
dealings with wayward New Testament congregations. So, hold on, please!
(to be continued)
1 Corinthians
10:11, Revelation 2:7 etc., 2 Corinthians 7:1, Romans 8:5-8 are quotes from the New International Version. All other
quotes are from the New Living Translation.
No comments:
Post a Comment