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Jesus and the law: What can we learn?

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This post is #15 in the Sermon on the Mount Series.

Based on their own understanding of the law, the Pharisees struggled to see how Jesus’ behavior fit into that law. He allowed his disciples to eat without ceremonial washing. Jesus allowed his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath. Jesus himself performed healings on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were flummoxed about this behavior and came to the conclusion that Jesus was setting himself above and outside the law that they cherished.

To this accusation Jesus responds:

Matthew 5:17–19 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (NASB)

There are a few things that I take away from this passage:

  • In these verses Jesus validated what we know as the Old Testament. Answers in Genesis has an excellent article entitled Jesus Christ on the Infallibility of Scripture which details Jesus’ use of the OT in his teaching. Rather than provide a list of references where Jesus used the OT, you can follow the link and read them there.
  • Jesus saw himself as the fulfillment of the OT prophecy. You can agree or disagree with the truth of this claim. This brings us to the classic C. S. Lewis trilema, where Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or he is Lord.
  • Jesus tells us that everything will be accomplished as God has laid it out. There is nothing that anyone can do to thwart God’s plan, the rhetoric from both American political parties notwithstanding.
  • Jesus takes the law very seriously and we set it aside to our peril. This one in particular causes me to pause and reflect. Do we take the Old Testament law seriously? Are we living out the principles? Like many evangelicals, I can be quite cavalier about things like the Sabbath rest, thinking that we are not under law but under grace. While this is true, am I violating the spirit of the law behind the Sabbath? Am I taking the prescribed rest? Am I resting in the goodness of God to provide?
  • I am responsible for what I teach the next generation. If I make it acceptable to disrespect the law, I will lose standing in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a huge responsibility.

Biblical illiteracy is rampant both within and without the church today. What Jesus is saying is that we ignore the Old Testament to our peril. When the homosexual community states that nowhere in Scripture is the homosexual act condemned, they get away with this statement because a majority of those who claim to be Christians have never read the Bible. Anyone who has read it without an agenda would know this to be a false statement. It is our illiteracy that makes us vulnerable to this attack.

Jesus is saying that anyone who claims the name of Christ will be held responsible for how he responds to Scripture and how he teaches others to respond to it. We better take that responsibility seriously. There is a lot riding on our getting it right.

Discussion Question: Do you think that we get this right? Do we need to change how we approach the Bible in general and the OT in particular?

What you build and how you build it matters to God

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Build Stone Wall
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Perhaps it due to the nature of the blogs I follow, or perhaps it is because of my own discontent, but I sense a growing dissatisfaction with the organized church. As evidence I would point to the Barna statistics that show that 6 out of 10 young people walk away from the church; many of them never return. I read some verses that seem to speak to this issue. In 1 Corinthians 3:10-13, Paul is writing about the foundation on which he builds and the quality of the work and the materials used to build upon that foundation. He writes:

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (NASB)

The first thing to notice is the foundation on which Paul builds. That foundation is Jesus Christ. Anything that does not point to or is built upon the relationship with Jesus Christ is not built on a solid foundation.

The question for church leaders is whether or not the activities of the church deepen the relationship with Jesus. Any activitiy that does not is not built upon a solid foundation.

The second point is that what is built upon the foundation needs to be made of material that will stand the test. Wood, hay and straw will be consumed, while gold silver and precious stones will last. Are we building into the lives of our members such that their relationship with Christ is strengthened and deepened or are we merely treading water?

Do we have a structure in place that allows for training members in the foundational truths of Scripture? Are we teaching men and women how to read Scripture in context and understand how to apply it? Are we providing a forum where doubts and questions can be addressed? Do we have a safe environment for doubters to seek answers? In short, are we making disciples (root meaning learner) or are we making conformists? There is a large difference.

In addition to this type of training, do we as parents and church leaders model the life of a disciple? Can we be found studying Scripture? Do we honestly wrestle with how Scripture should be applied in our lives? Do we respond in obedience when Scripture brings conviction on an issue? Does the next generation look at us and see something that they want to emulate?

With 60% of young people leaving the church, it would appear that the church as a whole can use a lot of improvement in these areas. The good news is that there are individuals and  churches that are doing well with these issues and there are organizations who seek to train people to be excellent disciple makers.

I thank God that when I left for college, He brought men into my life that could point me toward the answers I sought. It is my hope that my generation can begin to do better at living out the gospel and training the next generation to do so.

We cannot sit back and rest thinking that we are on a good path. A 60% failure rate is unacceptable in any endeavor, especially when an eternal destiny is on the line.

Here is a question for my readers: What have you seen that has worked well in reaching out to the next generation?

What I look for in a church

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Church

I recently had an article published at Till He Comes, the blog of Jeremy Myers. In hindsight, I could have worded the introductory portion of the post better than I did.  Here is how I would like to have written the introduction:

I find myself at a time in life where I am looking for a new church fellowship.

During the time when I was considering leaving my previous church, I began to reflect on what is important in a fellowship. The result of my contemplation of what the church should be and how I should function within it, I came up with the following things that I will consider as I look for a new place of worship.

I had good reasons to leave my former fellowship and I did not make the decision to leave without counsel from mature Christian men that I trust. But, in no way should this be construed as a list of things I found deficient in that church.

No church does all of these perfectly. But if there is not the acknowledged desire to do them well, it is likely that the fellowship will suffer.

The full original article can be found here.

Social media and the need for validation

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Twitter Follow Me BirdI recently read where a social media guru said something to the effect of, “there are two types of people involved in social media, those who want more followers and those who are lying about it.” There is a part of us that wants to be validated by those around us and social media provides a means of numerically providing that validation.

In contrast to this, the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 1:10, “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” Paul makes a distinction between pleasing men and serving God. The servant must find his validation in his master and not his peers. Christians should find validation in relationship with Jesus Christ and obedience to his commands.

Part of living in community is to refrain from giving offense to your neighbors. There is something appropriate about taking feedback from the people around so that we can know how we are perceived by the community. Those who do not accept this feedback are considered antisocial or worse.

Paul is not saying that he does not care how he is perceived. What Paul is saying is that he cannot let public opinion keep him from following the path laid out for him by his Master, Jesus Christ.

While the desire to be liked may not be inappropriate, if that desire keeps me from doing what is right, it then becomes an improper desire. As a recovering man-pleaser this can be a struggle for me.

There are times when I should speak up and say something appropriate to the situation but remain silent for fear of causing someone to dislike me. There are other times when I have joined in conversation in an inappropriate way so that I better fit in with the group. I can cave in on something that I think is important so that I do not make any waves. I have found that peer pressure does not stop with the end of formal education. I can be side-tracked by emotional bullies.

Perhaps I might make a case that my compromises are small ones, yet they are still compromises and some of them are sin. Paul sets the example by stating that the only thing that matters for the believer is whether or not he pleases God. While we cannot earn our salvation, by being obedient, we can one day hear that coveted blessing, “Well done, good and faithful slave” (Matthew 25:21).

While the drive to be liked, followed or otherwise connected on social media is morally neutral, if it keeps me from being obedient to God, then it is an idol that requires smashing. The same is true of setting up other measures of “man-pleasing” such as church attendance, sermon downloads, etc.

We are called to emulate Jesus in being full of grace and truth. If we compromise on the truth for the sake of popularity or acceptance, we are not being faithful to our call to live as salt and light in a world that desperately needs it.

Discussion question: How do you determine when you are becoming a “man-pleaser?” Please add your thoughts in the comment section below.

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