checking our religious traditions

Last week I enjoyed studying Matthew 15:1-9 with our interns.  The teachers of the law and Pharisees were upset about Jesus’ disciples failure to follow their traditions by not washing their hands before meals.  Jesus responded by pointing out that the religious leaders were placing their own traditions above God’s commands.

The Pharisees, instead of honoring their parents by helping them financially, claimed that those moneys had been given to God.  It seems to me they’d found a way to count twice the money they were placing in the collection tray.  The Pharisees’ tradition, then, was in direct conflict with God’s commands.  

Obviously, the story teaches us to check our traditions, that they not oppose God’s desires or force us to be disobedient to God.  Traditions which are in conflict with God’s commands are wrong.  

But even church traditions which do not directly oppose God’s rules can be dangerous.  Here are two other reasons to check our churches’ customs and rituals:

Jesus prays for disunity

Forgive my tone today.  I’ve been reading in preparation for Easter sermons, and I’m in a bit of a bad mood.  Just before being arrested and crucified, Jesus prays for all the future believers in the world, and much of his prayer is for unity.  But we’ve apparently opted to read his words in this way:

the first of all creation (and the answer isn’t light)

Riddle:  What was the first thing God created?

God d—it! doing stuff in vain

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in vain:  producing no result; ineffectual; useless

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It’s long troubled me that we’ve understood “taking the Lord’s name in vain” as giving God a last name that rhymes with gamut.*  Not that I’m in favor of using God’s name as an obscenity (or of frequently asking him to damn things**).  It’s just that there’s so much more to the third commandment than a forbiddance to use the big GD — or his little brother, gosh.

the purpose of spiritual gifts?

Yesterday was our last Sunday in the United States for a couple of years.  We were blessed to worship with Stones River Church in Murfreesboro (our sending congregation).  The preacher mentioned Ephesians 4 kind of in passing, and I thought I’d take some time to read it this morning.

Reading then turned into a 3-column study.  And that’s what I’m sharing with you guys today.  Here is Ephesians 4:7,11-13 in my own words:

reflecting the glory of God

My task as a missionary is simple: to be a reflection of God’s glory in a culture which is not my own.*  And I’m thankful my responsibilities are small and narrow, because I bring so very little to the table.  To point others to the infinite worth of God is a job description I can appreciate and, hopefully, accomplish.

condemnation and forgiveness: the believers’ responsibility

image courtesy of Rembrandt

I have been overwhelmed lately by the power we, as Christians, hold.  That we can forgive at all is remarkable.  But truly astonishing is that we have been given the responsibility of distributing God’s forgiveness to the world.  One could argue that God, in some way or another, follows our lead when it comes to offering forgiveness to a broken world.

commission and discipleship

Only when we realize mission can not be accomplished by our own authority should we turn our minds towards it.  Evangelism is Jesus’ responsibility.  And our participation in his mission is only possible because of our participation in him.  Jesus does, however, by his authority commission us.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  – Matthew 28:19-20a

Perhaps it would be useful if we listed a few things to which Jesus does not call us in this passage.  We are NOT commissioned to:

• convince people to believe a particular list of doctrines.
• get people into a church building on Sunday morning (or any other day and time).
• plant churches.

We ARE commissioned to make disciples.  I’m not suggesting planting churches is wrong.  Or that inviting a friend to worship with you on Sunday is a mistake.  I’m only listing a few (a very few) of those things which have seemed to take precedence over disciple-making these days.  Even my own mission team here in Tanzania is often referred to as a “church-planting team.”  I much prefer the term “disciple-making,” because our focus isn’t on churches but on disciples.

So what’s a disciple?

Jesus, in this passage,* defines a disciple as a baptized person who is learning to obey all of his commands.

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John King, one of my mentors in Christ, wrote a 3-post series for me on discipleship.  You can find his thoughts here:

• introduction to discipleship

• who is a disciple?

• making disciples

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You know Jesus never once used the word Christian?  Actually, a pretty good (I think excellent) argument can be made that the word Christian, all three times it is used in the Bible (yes, a whopping three), is meant as a derogatory term for followers of Jesus — and was not how they referred to themselves.  The term believers is used more often (I read 14 times), but never by Jesus.

Jesus only refers to his followers as disciples, students, or learners — all of those being translations of the same word (mathetes).**  I wonder if there’s not something to that?  Christianity has in many ways become about merely believing in Jesus, adhering to particular doctrines, and/or church attendance.  Perhaps we’d be better off simply thinking of ourselves as students at the feet of Jesus?

Jesus’ description of a disciple is both straightforward and clear, but we must not confuse simple definitions with simple tasks.  Jesus’ words absolutely necessitate obedience to his teachings — something many of our definitions of Christian don’t necessarily involve.  I’m afraid we’ve so wanted to distance ourselves from works-based religion that we’ve muddled (if not ignored) the very words of Jesus.

Are we worried we don’t possess within ourselves the ability to be obedient to Jesus’ teachings?  If so, I happily concede this point.  This I see as one more reason it’s so very important we read The Great Commission within its context.  Remember that Jesus couches our assignment (and his description of a disciple) in these words:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

and

“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

Obedience to Jesus is assumed in the life of a disciple.  But so is the presence and authority of Christ.  Just as participation in mission is made possible only through participation in Christ, so is obedience to his words.

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This post is the third in a series on The Great Commission.  Other posts can be found here:

• worship (even when in doubt)

• unqualified and powerless for mission

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* And I do try these days, as much as is possible, to let each passage interpret itself.

** With the exception of referring to the 12 as apostles.

unqualified and powerless for mission

When talk turns to evangelism and disciple-making, we sometimes hear statements like these:

• I just don’t know if I can do it.
• It’s not really my gift; evangelism is not one of my abilities.
• That’s not something I can accomplish.
• I don’t have the proper authority, do I?

I won’t argue with those who make these statements; I agree with them.  I think that’s probably why Jesus couches The Great Commission in the words he does (in bold):

Then Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus makes it very clear that our participation in mission is only possible because of our participation in him.

Making disciples is the work of Christ.  And success will only be by his authority, with his power, and because of his abilities.  You and I both are wholly unqualified to be missionaries and bringers of good news — except through our relationship with Christ.  

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus Christ, and it is by this authority that disciples are made.  It is also by this authority that Jesus has commissioned us to be workers and harvesters in his kingdom.

And perhaps some of the best news of all is that Jesus will be with us forever.  Mission will never be our endeavor.

We’ve done a great disservice to mission work everywhere by reading The Great Commission with Jesus’ opening and closing statements edited away.  Much harm has been done to Christianity because of this (false) belief that successful evangelism is somehow a result of the evangelist’s abilities.

I pray we can be unqualified and powerless, so Christ can accomplish his mission through us.

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[This post is the second in a little series on The Great Commission.  The first post is here: worship (even when in doubt).]

 

worship (even when in doubt)

The eleven remaining disciples went to the mountain in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw Jesus there, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  – Matthew 28:16-17 (in my words)

I’m preaching this Sunday on the Great Commission, and so, you’ll probably be getting a couple of posts this week and next from that same text.  We often skip over this little preface to Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew’s gospel — but I have to wonder if they’re not important.  Two ideas stand out to me:

1. The proper response to seeing Jesus is worship.  And if our lives are not lives of worship, I suspect one of two things is happening.  Either we aren’t looking toward Jesus (certainly not outside the realm of possibility for most of us), or our response is simply something other than worship.  [By the looks of modern Christianity, I might suggest many see Jesus and seek merely to gain knowledge from him?  And not to truly worship him?]
2. It’s okay to doubt; the apostles surely did.  And often, it seems.  I’m not sure exactly what they’re doubting at this point.  From the context of Jesus’ words that follow, I’d argue they’re doubting their own abilities to proclaim the gospel and carry out the task Jesus is assigning them.  [Jesus' response, by the way -- and more on this in another post -- is that it's his authority by which they are to make disciples, and not their own.]  But regardless of exactly what is being doubted in this passage, it’s clear the eleven still worshiped Jesus.

Do you often find yourself worshiping God?  Do you struggle with doubts?  Do the two seem compatible?  How do we overcome doubt in order to worship?

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* I, for a long time, have wanted to write a post about doubt.  Because I fear there’s currently a trend to not only allow Christians to doubt, but to encourage them to do so.  Or to glorify doubt, rather than overcome it.  I wrote a little on the subject here — doubt was going to be the new black — but have never gone into detail as I’d like.