One In Jesus

So, how long have you been an elder?

I don’t know. I think it’s been about 40 years.

What’s it been like? Have you enjoyed it?

Well, there have been some wonderful moments. I loved the time spent with fellow elders. I got to serve with some spiritual giants, you know. Men who won’t go down in history. Humble men, filled with kindness and compassion. Just to be around them was truly a blessing.

But it wasn’t all fun? Continue reading →

If what I’ve said to this point is true, then what are the measurables? What are the indicia that would indicate that the leadership of the church is successfully leading the church?

Well, plainly enough, the longer a Christian walks with Jesus, the more he should be like Jesus.

Therefore, the mark of great leadership would be that the oldest, longest-serving members are the ones most like Jesus.

Hmmm …. Continue reading →

So if God saved us to transform us, by his Spirit, to become like Jesus, what difference does that make? Don’t we still need to do evangelism and do benevolence?

Well, no. Not exactly. You see, Jesus never “did” evangelism. He never “did” benevolence.

Our tendency is to see such Christian activities as “programs” or “ministries.” To someone in a Church of Christ, these can be seen as necessary marks of the church or as elements of a properly organized church. That is, to us, sometimes the important thing is that we have a benevolence program — so that we have a right and proper church — which is entirely the wrong motivation.

Continue reading →

And so, God’s goal is to rejoin heaven and earth, God and man.

We see this thought reflected in New Testament language about Christians. For example —

(2Co 5:17 ESV)  ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

(Gal 6:15 ESV)  ¹⁵ For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

Now, think of these verses as a First Century Jew might. “New creation” is clearly a reference back to the old creation — the heavens and the earth made by God at the beginning. Continue reading →

I suppose this would be a great place to re-teach the doctrine of hell, but I’ve done that already — several times.

Here’s a link to my original series on the subject. It’s an important study, but this time, I think it’s better to talk more about what it means to be saved than what it means to be lost.

I’ll come back to hell before we’re through, but let’s talk about the blessings of salvation. You see, much of our problem with understanding hell is that we don’t understand salvation. After all, we do tend to think that “salvation” means “escaping hell.” And that’s not so much false as an extremely shallow way to look at things. Continue reading →

(Thanks to Matt Dabbs.)

Notice that the error of the conservative Churches of Christ is not quite Judaic. It’s not that they’re trying to be like the Jews of the Old Testament. It’s pagan.

It’s not that the faith/works arguments made by Paul in Romans and Galatians don’t apply. They do — but not as precisely as the contrast with paganism. The Jews generally did not see God as damning them over any and all ritual error.

They certainly considered it extremely important to get the ritual right. But they weren’t afraid of losing their election as God’s children over each and every rite and ritual. They knew that God had elected the Jews to be his before they’d performed the first ceremony. The Temple ceremonies were in response to God’s choosing of Israel — a celebration of their election and marriage as a nation to God. It was not about hoping to maybe, if at all possible, qualify for God’s good pleasure. Continue reading →