A Prayer for Grace

[This entry follows last Sunday's sermon, titled "Grace to You."]

This past Sunday, we looked at Paul's greeting to the Philippians.  There, we saw that Paul's greeting was centered on Jesus Christ.  Not only that, but the entire letter centers on Jesus Christ.  Much more, Paul's whole ministry and life centered on Jesus Christ.

Also, we looked at the two ways that Paul refers to grace in that short greeting.  The first is behind the phrase "saints in Christ Jesus."  Being one who is set apart for God...one who is in Christ Jesus...is not something that is achieved by men and women.  It is the gift of God, so that no one can boast (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9).  The second reference to grace is the explicit statement, "grace to you," in verse 2.  Here, Paul is not seeking to bless those who are already true Christians with another conversion experience.  Speaking the blessing of grace is an indication that they should live by grace.

In the New Testament, grace is not only the unmerited favor of God in Jesus, by which we are saved.  It is also, as Jerry Bridges puts it, "God's divine assistance to us through the Holy Spirit."  It is by the sustaining and empowering work of grace that we grow spiritually, that we can endure the trials of this life, and that we serve the Lord faithfully.  We talked about four ways that God has given us to grow in grace, and I will only list them again here:

1. Prayer - We are invited to come with confidence to the throne of grace and seek mercy and grace in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).
2. God's Word - It is a "word of grace" which can build us up (Acts 20:32).
3. Life's circumstances - In Paul's dealing with the "thorn in the flesh", he learned that God's grace is sufficient for him (2 Corinthians 12:9).
4. Others - God has given us to one another, especially in the local church, to be ministers of grace to each other...to exhort one another, to care for one another (Hebrews 3:13; 1 Corinthians 12:25).

In studying for Sunday's message, I came across a hymn that speaks of God's purpose to grow us in grace through the circumstances of life.  It was written by John Newton, the former slave trader who composed "Amazing Grace."  This hymn is called "Prayer Answered by Crosses," and I hope you are as encouraged and challenged as I was when I first read it.

I asked the Lord that I might grow
     In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of his salvation know,
     And seek more earnestly his face. 

'Twas he who taught me thus to pray;
     And he, I trust, has answered prayer;
But it has been in such a way
     As almost drove me to despair.

I hopes that, in some favoured hour,
     At once he'd answer my request,
And by his love's constraining power
     Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, he made me feel
     The hidden evils in my heart,
And let the angry powers of hell
     Assault my soul in every part.

Yea, more, with his own hand he seemed
     Intent to aggravate my woe,
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
     Blasted my gourds, and laid me low. 

Lord, why is this? I trembling cried;
     Wilt thou pursue this worm to death?
This is the way, the Lord replied
     I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I now employ
     From self and pride to set thee free,
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
     That thou may'st seek thy all in me.
 

I referred to Jerry Bridges' writing earlier.  Let me share one last poetic expression from him.  It was given to him by a friend after the death of his first wife.  He says it is in a notebook where he often sees it, meditates on it, and prays it.  May we have the grace to pray this way.

Lord, I am willing
To receive what You give,
To lack what You withhold,
To relinquish what You take,
To suffer what You inflict,
To be what You require. 

Too Much Month at the End of My Money

[This entry follows a sermon titled "The Conflict We Must Win," the second in a three-part series on financial stewardship.]

This past Sunday, we looked at the parable of the rich fool and the text that follows it in Luke 12, and we thought about the way we must battle against the sin covetousness.  "Covetousness" may seem a strange word to some, but it essentially means greed.  It means that I will see my life as better or more fulfilled as I accumulate things or money. Quite frankly, we live in an economic culture where covetousness is not a sin but a standard way of operating.  It is a culture that thrives on greed, advertises greed, and exalts greed.

At the same time, though, we tend to limit our perspective of where greed resides.  We may reserve the word "luxury" to describe the purchases and activities of the richest Americans...not regular Joes like me.  We tend not to see greed both in the protesters of the recent "occupy" movements and the banks and corporations against whom they protest.  Or, to use a less volatile example, owners of sports teams are often called the greedy ones, while the players demanding millions more in salary are just trying to get "what the deserve."  Truth be told, covetousness can be found in highest of the upper class and lowest of the lower class.

The more personal point is this: when we hear talk of greed, we are always more likely to think of the attitudes and actions of other people rather than ourselves.  "They" are the greedy ones!  I'm just trying to get what I deserve and need..."they" are living in luxury.  Now, before moving on, pause and remember this...there are genuine financial needs in our world, and they are needs we should work to meet.  Jesus said the poor will always be with us, and He indicates that true Christians are men and women who use their resources to meet the needs of the poor (cf. Mark 14:7; Matthew 25:31-46).

Having said all of this, one of the ways that we battle covetousness is by fighting greed and fueling generosity.  Fight greed by asking yourself if you genuinely need what you are about to purchase.  Why am I buying it?  What purpose will it serve?  Am I making this purchase to meet a genuine need or to satisfy other cravings...sinful cravings...cravings that look more like the world than Christ?  The two extremes here are (1) becoming legalistic regarding spending and (2) never asking any questions about spending.  When Paul writes that everything in our lives should be aimed at honoring and glorifying God (1 Cor. 10:31), do we assume that this should not include how we use our money?  We must fight greed.

Fueling generosity means giving, and according to Luke 12:33, it's not giving what's left over.  It's giving in a way that we sacrifice for the good of others...we sacrifice to give for God's glory...we sacrifice to advance His kingdom.  Here's a question we asked ourselves during Sunday's sermon: "When was the last time I sacrificed anything to meet the needs of someone else?  When was the last time I sacrificed anything to give?"  These may be difficult questions, but they challenge us to grow in trusting God...to grow in the grace of giving.

In response to this biblical call to generosity, I have often been approached by men and women who want to be generous, but they feel they cannot.  I have received questions like this: "How can I give if I don't have enough to give?"  Or to put it another way, "How can I give when there's too much month at the end of my money?"  These are great questions, and if that's what you've been thinking, I want to respond in ways I hope are helpful.

First, praise God that you want to give...that you want to solve this problem...that you want to be generous.  However, beware the deception that you cannot be generous...beware settling for the desire without purposing yourself to act on it.  I once read a story about a children's Sunday school class in which the teacher asked, "How many of you would be willing to give $1 million to missions?"  The whole class eagerly said, "Yes!"  Next, the teacher asked, "How many of you would be willing to give just $1 to missions?"  Most of the children responded the same way, but one little boy remained silent and looked down at the floor.  The teacher stopped the class and inquired of him, "What's wrong?  Why didn't you say yes that time?"  The boy responded, "Well, that question's not fair because I actually have a dollar!" 

It's a funny story, but it has a serious lesson to be learned.  You see, when the desire to be generous met the opportunity, the desire turned out to be faulty.  We can all imagine being generous if we had more money, but the truth is that if we are not generous when we have little, we will not be generous when we have much.

Secondly, it is often helpful to take a close look at our budgets.  When we lived in Nashville, a man came to me after a Sunday morning service with his electric bill.  He said, "Pastor, I know I should give, and I want to give.  However, I have this electric bill for $150.  It's either pay that bill or give that money to the church.  Which do you think I should do?"  That seems like quite a quandary, doesn't it?  I mean, it was wintertime, and he couldn't afford for his family (i.e.- wife and two children) to go without electricity.  If it was just him, he could freeze, but he needs to care for his family.  What would you tell him?  Well, what if I told you that these weren't the only options (i.e.- either pay the electric bill or give to the Lord)?  Consider this response: "Wow, Bill (fake name)! That's quite a decision to make.  Let me ask you a question...how much is your cable bill this month?"  [Insert long, awkward pause here.] 

Do you see how there are more options?  Of course, I could have asked him about a number of things, but the point is that there is typically more wiggle room in our monthly budgets than we see at first glance.  The real question is...am I willing to sacrifice what is a genuine luxury in order to give to the Lord?  To advance the gospel?  To meet the needs of others?

Third, you may say, "Ok...but that's not me.  I don't have cable.  I've wiggled all the luxury out.  What should I do?"  Well, dear friend, I would say what I probably should have said in the first sentence.  Giving is an act of faith.  It is an expression of our trust that God will take care of our needs.  When Jesus says to seek God's kingdom and all these things will be added to you (Luke 12:31), it is the call and command to stop seeking for yourself and trust the Lord.  God feeds the birds, God clothes the field with flowers, and God cares about His children more than all these...how can we not trust Him?

Even for the one who needs to wiggle the luxury out of the budget, finding spare change to give to God is not the kind of giving God desires.  In Luke 21, Jesus sees people giving offerings.  He notices rich people giving, and He sees a poor widow giving.  The rich give a large amount.  The poor widow gives two small copper coins...the last two coins she could rub together.  Who is the greater giver?  It is the poor widow.  Jesus says as much when he points out that the widow "put in all she had to live on" (21:4). 

It's one thing to do that when you have a steady job and can expect another paycheck.  But it's another thing altogether is you're a "poor widow."  In Jesus' day, being a poor widow meant that others had to care for you...whether it was your children or your grandchildren or God's people.  So, when this poor widow gives all that she has to live on, she is giving in such a way that she must be dependent on God.  He must give her this day her daily bread.  He must add all these things to her.

Wow!  What an expression of faith!  For some of us, there is money at the end of our month and we feel we can afford to give some of that extra cash in the weekly offering.  For others, there is more month at the end of our money, and we don't feel we have any extra to give in the weekly offering.  Whichever category fits your situation, remember this.  The Lord has not called us to find extra so that we may give.  He calls us to give in such a way that it expresses our faith...our dependence on Him...not just for our eternal souls, but also for our daily bread.

Submission in Congregations

[This entry follows a sermon titled "Follow the Leaders".]

This past Sunday, we finished our sermon series on church leadership with a study on the congregation's response to its pastors.  Namely, we talked about "the 's' word"...submission. 

Submission is really a nasty word in many people's minds.  In our culture, submission (in general) is taken to mean that the one submitting is less important, less valuable, viewed as expendable, etc., while the one to whom submission is given is viewed as a demeaning, domineering dictator.  This misunderstanding of submission is why people rail against it being applied in the home, in society, and in the church.

However, biblical submission does not require the exaltation of the one and the demeaning of the other.  The greatest example of this is in the submission of Jesus to the Father.  Consider a few texts (with emphasis added by me):

• "For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment - what to say and what to speak.  And I know that his commandment is eternal life.  What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me." - John 12:50
• "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.  This charge I have received from my Father." - John 10:17-18
• "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.'" - John 4:34
• "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:17
• "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." - Philippians 2:8

All of these texts indicate that what Jesus said, did, and how he died was in submission to the will of God the Father.  Yet, at the same time, Jesus is fully God (Col. 1:15-20).  There is not less divinity in the Son than in the Father, and Jesus is not demeaned by His life of submission.  Rather, He is glorified because of it (cf. Phil. 2:9-11).  Jesus was the ultimate example of His own teaching: "...whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt. 23:12).

So, if biblical submission is not the demeaning and suppression of a less valuable human being, then what is it?  Biblical submission is the voluntary act of yielding to the authority of another person for the glory of God.  That's what Jesus did...He voluntarily yielded to the will of the Father for the glory of God.  This is how biblical submission should be viewed in the home, in society, and in the church.

It is this last one that interests me today, especially as I serve in a Baptist church.  If, as a congregational church, we understand the New Testament to teach that God has entrusted authority to the congregation (and we do believe this), then what does it look like for congregations to "obey your leaders and submit to them" (Hebrews 13:17)?  This is a great question.

First, let me review the four main ways that I see the congregation functioning with authority in the New Testament.

1. Doctrine - In the New Testament, there are many letters written to whole congregations...congregations who must take care not to walk away from the gospel that has been preached to them.  One glowing example is the book of Galatians.  This letter is a staunch defense of the one true gospel by the apostle Paul, and yet it is not written to a pastor or to a group of pastors.  It is written "to the churches of Galatia" (Gal. 1:2b).  Paul says that he can't believe they have been so quick to walk away from the gospel, and he charges them to condemn anyone who preaches a gospel other than the one they received (Gal. 1:6-9).  In other words, these local congregations are charged with making sure that what is preached from the pulpit and received by the hearers is the genuine gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is an act of authority.
2. Discipline - In both Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5, we have teaching about how to deal with those who are caught in sin.  In Matthew 18, we have one who refuses to repent after admonition, and in 1 Corinthians 5, we see the account of a man in open, licentious sin.  In the first case, Jesus says failed attempts to secure repentance means the whole church should be involved in disciplining the man or woman (Mt. 18:17).  In the second, the apostle Paul charges the church to have the immoral man removed from their fellowship (1 Cor. 5:2).  Neither is addressed only to the pastors of the church...this is congregational involvement in excluding those whose lives contradict their professed faith in Christ.  Again, this is an act of authority.
3. Membership - In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul talks about the punishment...the discipline...carried out by "the majority" of the church.  [I understand Paul to refer to the man from 1 Corinthians 5, but there are varying positions on this.]  Note, he is calling on the congregation "to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him" (2 Cor. 2:7-8).  It seems that the church disciplined the man, as we discussed in #2, and now, Paul is calling on the congregation to restore the man to their fellowship.  In other words, just as being removed from the congregation is done by congregational authority, being received into the congregation is done by congregational authority.
4. Deacons - As we look at Acts 6:1-4, we find that the crisis of unfair food distribution was handled by involving the congregation.  They were to make a selection of seven men, and they were to select these men based on their character.  Verse 3 says they must be "men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom..."  Please note...this choice is not like that of the voters for American Idol, where popularity is meant to rule the day.  This is an authority entrusted to the congregation...to evaluate the character of the men among them and choose servants based upon that evaluation.

Having laid that out, we can now address the question.  Let me pose it again.  If this is what the New Testament teaches, then what does it look like for the congregation to both (1) have authority and (2) submit to the authority entrusted to pastors?  Let me finish by giving examples of how both are at work in our own congregation.

1. Doctrine - Our pastors feed the church sound doctrine through the regular preaching and teaching of God's Word, and the congregation then receives that sound doctrine (having examined the Scriptures for themselves).  Then, that sound teaching is used as the means by which the congregation will maintain sound doctrine for itself.
2. Discipline - In our congregation, the process of church discipline is lead by our pastor (me).  Ideally, it is led by a plurality of pastors, who seek to understand the situation fully, walking forward in grace and truth until it becomes necessary to take it to the church.  At that point, the final exclusion of a man or woman from fellowship is not in the hands of the pastors but in the hands of the congregation.  The pastors relay enough information to inform the congregation without exposing every single detail, and the congregation acts.
3. Membership - We have a membership process through which each prospective member must go.  It includes a membership class and an interview with some of our leadership team.  Upon being satisfied with a person's testimony of faith in Christ and understanding of the gospel, the leadership team nominates the individual for membership.  At that point, the church must receive the person into membership.
4. Deacons - Our congregation has an open nomination of deacons, and from there, our leadership team does interviews with those who will be recommended to the congregation for affirmation.  The final word, though, rests in the congregation's affirmation of her deacons.

It is like a beautiful dance where a man and woman move along the floor in such a way that you almost lose track of who's leading and who's following.  Both are taking steps, making gestures, and doing their part...and they are perfectly synchronized.  Such should the life of the church be.  The pastors are clearly leading, and the congregation is exerting its authority while still being guided and led by its God-given leaders.  The dance gets difficult to watch and awkward when one or both of the partners lose their way and forget their part.

May we all dance this beautiful dance for the glory of God and for the good of His church!