In the first section of The Cost of Discipleship laid out his ideological understanding of discipleship, namely the requirement of costly grace. In the next section, he moves into the practical application of discipleship. According to Bonhoeffer:
“...the Sermon on the Mount is there for the purpose of being done.”
These three chapters from the Gospel of Matthew are not just theological discourses. They are in effect the disciples instruction manual. Jesus calls disciples to do His will. Matthew 5-7 gives a clear picture of what that “doing” involves.
Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes
Mat 5:1-12 ESV
(1) Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
(2) And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
(3) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(4) "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
(5) "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
(6) "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
(7) "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
(8) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
(9) "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(10) "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(11) "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
(12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Here we have, according to John Wesley, “the Son of God who came from Heaven...revealing to us the way to heaven.” (Sermon 21, Upon the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount: Discourse 1).
Who is Jesus addressing?
Is the Sermon on the Mount intended just for the disciples? Or for everyone?
According to John Wesley, that “either the entire sermon is to be applied to everyone, or else to no one.”
Bonhoeffer:
But disciples and people are one, for they are members of the Church which is called of God. Hence the aim of this beatitude is to bring all who hear it to decision and salvation. All are called to be what in the reality of God they are already. The disciples are called blessed because they have obeyed the call of Jesus, and the people as a whole because they are heirs of the promise. But will they now claim their heritage by believing in Jesus Christ and his word? Or will they fall into apostasy by refusing to accept him? That is the question which still remains to be answered?
What is the meaning of “blessed”?
Blessed means blissfully happy or contented. Beatitude means supreme blessedness or happiness. Beatus = Latin for blessed.
Why, according to Bonhoeffer, are disciples blessed?
Disciples are blessed because they obeyed Jesus’ call. It is the call itself that made them poor, afflicted, and hungry.
What is the difference between being peaceful and being a peacemaker?
How does one move from the point of seeing a need for mercy to actually being “merciful”?
Who is “pure in heart”?
John Wesley:
“…in Matthew chapter 5 our Lord lays down the sum of all true religion in eight points. (I count nine)…
Some people have theorized that Christ lays out these eight points as successive steps which Christians are to take in their journey to the promised land. Others assume that the eight points that Christ sets down apply to all Christians at all times.”
Which theory do you agree with? Or both?
Chapter 7 – The Visible Community
Mat 5:13-16 ESV "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. (14) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (16) In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
What does this passage tell us about discipleship?
Bonhoeffer:
“The disciples…must not only think of heaven; they have an earthly task as well.”
What is the “earthly task” of the disciples?
Disciples are the only hope the earth has.
Can a believer be a disciple in thought only?
What purpose does the “salt” and “light” serve?
The works of believers must be seen so as to speak out and draw all men to Jesus.
Can a disciple make a choice whether they will be “salt” and “light”?
What are those who “put their lamp under a basket” doing?
They are denying the call to discipleship. Jesus does not say, “You ought to be salt and light” or “After you’ve practiced being a Christian for a while, you may be salt and light”. Jesus says. “You are salt and light.”
What are some of the bushel baskets in our lives?
Is it the disciples themselves that are “salt” and “light”?
It is not them but their works that are to be seen. The salt and light are to point to Christ and never to self.
Chapter 8 – The Righteousness of Christ
Mat 5:17-20 ESV "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (18) For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (19) Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (20) For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Does this passage void the Law?
Where does obedience to the Old Testament Law fit into the picture of discipleship?
Are disciples bound to the Old Testament Law?
Bonhoeffer:
“The question inevitably arises, Which is our final authority, Christ or the law? To which are we bound? Christ had said that no law was to come between him and his disciples. Now he tells us that to abandon the law would be to separate ourselves from him. What exactly does he mean?”
Jesus clearly requires disciples to obey the Old Testament Law. In fact, this obedience to the Law is the distinguishing mark of the better righteousness. Why is the disciples righteousness better than the Pharisees?
The disciple’s righteousness is better than the Pharisees because the disciple can obey the Law perfectly? How is that?
The disciple is able to perfectly fulfill the Law because between the disciple and the Law stands Jesus, the one who has perfectly fulfilled it. “Better righteousness” means following Christ in a real and active faith in Jesus’ righteousness. Jesus has given us a new law, the law of Christ.
Chapter 9 – The Brother
Mat 5:21-26 ESV "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' (22) But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. (23) So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (25) Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. (26) Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
What does the modifier “but I say to you” indicate?
It indicates that the previous statement is either being changed or made obsolete. In this instance, Jesus, the author and giver of the Law “You shall not murder” sums up the whole meaning of the Law.
Who is a “brother”?
“Brother” does not mean only family and it does not mean only other Christians. For the Christian, there can be no one who does not qualify as brother or neighbor.
How does anger equate with murder?
Even anger is a violation of the boundary of a “brothers” life.
In what way is anger an attack on a brother’s life?
Anger is an attack on the brother’s life because it interferes with that life, and, by it’s very nature, aims at or seeks the brother’s destruction. A barrier is erected between the angry person and his brother and also between the angry person and God. We must be reconciled with our brother to follow Jesus and follow God.
What component of the “extraordinary” life of the disciple is uncovered in this passage?
This component is reconciliation. The disciple exhibits his “extraordinariness” by resolving anger through reconciliation. The barriers between a man and his brother and a man and God, which are erected in anger, are torn down throught reconciliation.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Book Study - The Cost of Discipleship, Week 3 - Chapters 3-5
Before we even began our first week of this study a question was asked and of which I asked that discussion be deferred until after we had discussed at least the first three chapters.
The question:
Is it all or nothing?
Are we lost unless we totally and completely surrender to the call of discipleship?
Some interesting thoughts on the subject that I have found this week:
From Class Leaders: Recovering a Tradition by David Lowes Watson (1991, Discipleship Resources, Nashville)
The Mystery of Christian Discipleship
Of all the mysteries that confront the Christian disciple - the mystery of sin, evil, and suffering, the mystery of death and resurrection, the mystery of God’s love and redemption in Jesus Christ, the mystery of time and eternity, and the mystery of the coming reign of God - there is nothing more mysterious than Christian discipleship itself...
The mystery lies ... in why so many church members who profess the name of Jesus, who witness to his saving grace, and who take part regularly in so many aspects of congregational life and work, do not seem to take seriously what the scriptures have to say about the cost of discipleship. Jesus made clear that there were conditions to following him.....
It is hard to find a word that is used so widely in the church today yet defined so loosely as “disciple”.... the reality of congregational life in the United States of America would seem to indicate one of two things: either that the great majority of church members are not Christian disciples at all; or else that many millions of Christians in the North American church are in for a rude awakening when they finally discover what they agreed to be and to do when they answered the call to discipleship.
And in a recent post Steve Manskar had this to say:
Two Kinds of Disciples
John Wesley provides some help with identifying types of discipleship in his sermon, “The More Excellent Way.” Here he reflects on the nature of Christian discipleship. He acknowledges a long held belief that there are two kinds of Christians:
The one lived an innocent life, conforming in all things not sinful to the customs and fashions of the world, doing many good works, abstaining from gross evils, and attending the ordinances of God. They endeavoured in general to have a conscience void of offence in their outward behaviour, but did not aim at any particular strictness, being in most things like their neighbours.
The other sort of Christians not only abstained from all appearance of evil, were zealous of good works in every kind, and attended all the ordinances of God; but likewise used all diligence to attain the whole mind that was in Christ, and laboured to walk in every point as their beloved Master. In order to this they walked in a constant course of universal self-denial, trampling on every pleasure which they were not divinely conscious prepared them for taking pleasure in God. They took up their cross daily. They strove, they agonized without intermission, to enter in at the strait gate. This one thing they did; they spared no pains to
arrive at the summit of Christian holiness: 'leaving the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, to go on to perfection'; 'to know all that love of God which passeth knowledge, and to be filled with all the fullness of God'. (§5)
The first group composes the vast majority of Christians. They attend worship in varying degrees of frequency, give money to the church, may attend a Sunday school class, send their children to Sunday school, and do their best to be good, decent people. Their appearance and behavior is virtually indistinguishable from that of their non-Christian and non-religious neighbors. These are the majority of disciples present in any given congregation.
The second kind of Christians described by Wesley are those women and men who have made an intentional, deeply personal commitment to following and serving Jesus Christ in the world through loving obedience to his commandments. They are more disciplined in practicing the means of grace, both the works of piety and the works of mercy. These disciples are deeply committed to Christ and exhibit a way of life that leads to holiness of heart and life.
Wesley is very clear in this sermon to say that both groups are equally “saved.” They all are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Each is following Christ in the way that best suits them at the time. That being said, Wesley also asserts that it is the responsibility of the community of faith and its leaders to encourage and equip the first type of Christians to desire to mature and move toward the second.
Both articles seem to answer the question the same way: it is not all or nothing. All Christians are “saved”. Few Christians are disciples. The job of the disciple is to serve the non-disciple Christians and all non-Christians. The moment that the disciple develops an attitude of superiority is the moment that he ceases to be a disciple.
Chapter 4 - Discipleship and the Cross
Mar 8:31-38 ESV
(31) And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
(32) And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
(33) But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
(34) And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
(35) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
(36) For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
(37) For what can a man give in return for his life?
(38) For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
In Chapter 2 we discussed the call to discipleship and in chapter 3 we discussed how the call is a call to obedience. At the beginning of chpater 4 Bonhoeffer notes that in this passage of scripture the call to follow is closely connected to Jesus’ passion. Jesus had to suffer and be rejected. Bonhoeffer went on to state that this suffering and rejection applied to disciples as well. Just as Jesus had to suffer, so disciples must also suffer. One cannot be a disciple unless one adheres to the person of Jesus. Jesus had already demanded a decision when he said, “follow me.” In this passage Jesus calls for a second decision. What is the decision called for in this passage?
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
What does it mean to deny yourself and follow Jesus?
How is suffering involved?
Rom 5:1-11 ESV
(1) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
(3) More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
(4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
(5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(6) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
(7) For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--
(8) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
(10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
(11) More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Luk 9:23 ESV(23) And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
How do we suffer for Christ?
What is the first suffering that all disciples must suffer?
Denying our self, abandoning worldly attachments.
In what way do we “take up our cross daily”?
Some hypothetical scenarios:
Someone we know, a great Christian, has been diagnosed with a deadly disease. He will have to face many months of agonizing treatments and will still have very little chance of survival. If the disease wins, the death will be slow and agonizing. Is this suffering for Christ, taking up a daily cross?
What is the difference in this man’s suffering and the suffering done by millions of non-Christians every day?
Another great Christian had devoted her life for the last several years to her two beautiful daughters. One day the older daughter, who rode her bike to the elementary school down the block disappeared. The bicycle was found on the sidewalk almost within sight of their home. Vanished without a trace. No clues. No physical evidence. Many years pass and the fate of the daughter is never discovered. The Christian lady’s life had been devastated. She suffered later from addictions and mental disorders. Is this suffering for Christ, taking up a daily cross?
What is the difference in this lady’s suffering and the suffering done by millions of non-Christians every day?
I would be tempted to say, and I think that Bonhoeffer would agree, that this type of suffering has nothing to do with the cross. This type of suffering experienced by all of humanity is a result of the Fall. What is the suffering that we must experience for Christ’s sake?
More hypothetical scenarios:
I have been working very hard nonstop for the past few months at a very stressful job. I am just about ready to take a few days for some much needed rest and relaxation. Some coworkers are planning on a trip to Panama City Beach. They make it sound like so much fun. A long weekend of girls and guys gone wild. A binge that you would never forget, unless of course you drank so much that you can’t remember. What would be the harm in that? What would be the damage of some “innocent” fun? But I am a Christian now. I have accepted the “exclusive attachment to the person of Christ”. I have to search my Christ-formed conscience: In taking on Christ, wherever I go and whatever I do, He is with me. Does He want in on this fun-filled weekend of debauchery? Absolutely not. And if He’s not going then I’m not either. Is this suffering for Christ? Have I just denied self and taken up a cross?
Another:
A family member is down on his luck. Just divorced, lost his job, the repo-man is on the way to haul off his double-wide. I have two choices, actually three, the two good choices would be to either take this family member into my home and help him get back on his feet or to help him financially so that he can keep his own home. The bad choice would be to just ignore his problems and let him handle them the best he can. I love this person, but really don’t want my home disrupted, so I help him out financially. Is this suffering for Christ?
What have I done that most non-Christians would not do for a family member?
Because I am a Christian and because I love that relative, I never even think about how I suffered financial hardship because I helped him. I know that Jesus said that if someone wants your coat, to give them your shirt as well and if someone wants you to carry their load for a mile, to carry it for two, and that if anyone asks you should give. Because I know all these Christian teachings, I have totally forgotten about the money that I gave to my relative. Have I suffered for Christ?
What would the average non-Christian’s feelings be toward this relative?
A few months later my relative scratches off a lottery ticket worth $100,000.
What would be the average non-Christian reaction be now?
Great. Maybe now this dead-beat will pay me back the hard-earned money that I spent on his expenses to help him out in his time of need. But what does the relative do? Well the first thing he does is head off for a wild weekend in Panama City Beach. Weeks, then months, go by with no offer of repayment.
What would be the average non-Christian reaction be now?
Most folks would want to haul this guy off to Judge Judy. We live in a world of lawsuits.
But what would be the suffering way-of-the-Cross reaction?
Can we safely say that every time we face down a worldly temptation that we have suffered for the cross?
Carrying the cross involves the suffering associated with being tempted, and since every believer is tempted every day, then every day the believer must suffer for Jesus Christ’s sake. This is the cross we bear.
“Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship.”
Taking up our cross begins with the abandonment of the world and requires a daily self-denial. Our self-denial has nothing to do with “acts of mortification” or asceticism.
Discipleship means adherence to the person of Jesus, and attachment to Jesus means submission to the teachings of Jesus: The Law of the Cross. The law of the cross calls for the denial of self and the choice to daily take up the cross given to us that day. Enduring the cross is not a tragedy but is the fruit of our exclusive attachment to Christ.
Remember that Bonhoeffer wrote this book while under a Nazi order not to write or publish. The publication of this book put him under risk of persecution. How does Bonhoeffer himself define the essence of self-denial?
“Just as Christ is Christ only in the virtue of His suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord’s suffering and rejection and crucifiction.”
What does that statement mean?
Chapter 5 - Discipleship and the Individual
How does the world view individuality?
Is a person made an individual through his own personal effort?
This chapter opens with the assertion that “through the call of Jesus men become individuals.”
How is this so?
Luk 14:26 ASV
(26) If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
We all receive an individual call to be a Christian disciple. But what do we generally do with our call?
We attempt to align ourselves with others who share our beliefs. These alignments may actually even be a barrier which prevents our heeding our call.
“Every man is called separately, and must follow alone. But men are frightened of solitude, and they try to protect themselves from it by merging themselves into the society of their fellow-men and in their material environment...
But all this is only a cloak to protect them from having to make a decision. They are unwilling to stand alone before Jesus and be compelled to decide...”
Could this be an indictment of the people in the German Church?
Why is individualism a necessity for a disciple?
Individualism is the call of Christ to come apart from the world. He wants to be the center. When we receive the call, we realize that our world has been built on an illusion. When we receive his call, we realize that even in such relationships as parent and child, or husband and wife, stands Christ, and no other relationship can be as important as the one with Christ. Christ is our mediator, not only between God and man, but between individuals.
The question:
Is it all or nothing?
Are we lost unless we totally and completely surrender to the call of discipleship?
Some interesting thoughts on the subject that I have found this week:
From Class Leaders: Recovering a Tradition by David Lowes Watson (1991, Discipleship Resources, Nashville)
The Mystery of Christian Discipleship
Of all the mysteries that confront the Christian disciple - the mystery of sin, evil, and suffering, the mystery of death and resurrection, the mystery of God’s love and redemption in Jesus Christ, the mystery of time and eternity, and the mystery of the coming reign of God - there is nothing more mysterious than Christian discipleship itself...
The mystery lies ... in why so many church members who profess the name of Jesus, who witness to his saving grace, and who take part regularly in so many aspects of congregational life and work, do not seem to take seriously what the scriptures have to say about the cost of discipleship. Jesus made clear that there were conditions to following him.....
It is hard to find a word that is used so widely in the church today yet defined so loosely as “disciple”.... the reality of congregational life in the United States of America would seem to indicate one of two things: either that the great majority of church members are not Christian disciples at all; or else that many millions of Christians in the North American church are in for a rude awakening when they finally discover what they agreed to be and to do when they answered the call to discipleship.
And in a recent post Steve Manskar had this to say:
Two Kinds of Disciples
John Wesley provides some help with identifying types of discipleship in his sermon, “The More Excellent Way.” Here he reflects on the nature of Christian discipleship. He acknowledges a long held belief that there are two kinds of Christians:
The one lived an innocent life, conforming in all things not sinful to the customs and fashions of the world, doing many good works, abstaining from gross evils, and attending the ordinances of God. They endeavoured in general to have a conscience void of offence in their outward behaviour, but did not aim at any particular strictness, being in most things like their neighbours.
The other sort of Christians not only abstained from all appearance of evil, were zealous of good works in every kind, and attended all the ordinances of God; but likewise used all diligence to attain the whole mind that was in Christ, and laboured to walk in every point as their beloved Master. In order to this they walked in a constant course of universal self-denial, trampling on every pleasure which they were not divinely conscious prepared them for taking pleasure in God. They took up their cross daily. They strove, they agonized without intermission, to enter in at the strait gate. This one thing they did; they spared no pains to
arrive at the summit of Christian holiness: 'leaving the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, to go on to perfection'; 'to know all that love of God which passeth knowledge, and to be filled with all the fullness of God'. (§5)
The first group composes the vast majority of Christians. They attend worship in varying degrees of frequency, give money to the church, may attend a Sunday school class, send their children to Sunday school, and do their best to be good, decent people. Their appearance and behavior is virtually indistinguishable from that of their non-Christian and non-religious neighbors. These are the majority of disciples present in any given congregation.
The second kind of Christians described by Wesley are those women and men who have made an intentional, deeply personal commitment to following and serving Jesus Christ in the world through loving obedience to his commandments. They are more disciplined in practicing the means of grace, both the works of piety and the works of mercy. These disciples are deeply committed to Christ and exhibit a way of life that leads to holiness of heart and life.
Wesley is very clear in this sermon to say that both groups are equally “saved.” They all are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Each is following Christ in the way that best suits them at the time. That being said, Wesley also asserts that it is the responsibility of the community of faith and its leaders to encourage and equip the first type of Christians to desire to mature and move toward the second.
Both articles seem to answer the question the same way: it is not all or nothing. All Christians are “saved”. Few Christians are disciples. The job of the disciple is to serve the non-disciple Christians and all non-Christians. The moment that the disciple develops an attitude of superiority is the moment that he ceases to be a disciple.
Chapter 4 - Discipleship and the Cross
Mar 8:31-38 ESV
(31) And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
(32) And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
(33) But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
(34) And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
(35) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
(36) For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
(37) For what can a man give in return for his life?
(38) For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
In Chapter 2 we discussed the call to discipleship and in chapter 3 we discussed how the call is a call to obedience. At the beginning of chpater 4 Bonhoeffer notes that in this passage of scripture the call to follow is closely connected to Jesus’ passion. Jesus had to suffer and be rejected. Bonhoeffer went on to state that this suffering and rejection applied to disciples as well. Just as Jesus had to suffer, so disciples must also suffer. One cannot be a disciple unless one adheres to the person of Jesus. Jesus had already demanded a decision when he said, “follow me.” In this passage Jesus calls for a second decision. What is the decision called for in this passage?
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
What does it mean to deny yourself and follow Jesus?
How is suffering involved?
Rom 5:1-11 ESV
(1) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
(3) More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
(4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
(5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(6) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
(7) For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--
(8) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
(10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
(11) More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Luk 9:23 ESV(23) And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
How do we suffer for Christ?
What is the first suffering that all disciples must suffer?
Denying our self, abandoning worldly attachments.
In what way do we “take up our cross daily”?
Some hypothetical scenarios:
Someone we know, a great Christian, has been diagnosed with a deadly disease. He will have to face many months of agonizing treatments and will still have very little chance of survival. If the disease wins, the death will be slow and agonizing. Is this suffering for Christ, taking up a daily cross?
What is the difference in this man’s suffering and the suffering done by millions of non-Christians every day?
Another great Christian had devoted her life for the last several years to her two beautiful daughters. One day the older daughter, who rode her bike to the elementary school down the block disappeared. The bicycle was found on the sidewalk almost within sight of their home. Vanished without a trace. No clues. No physical evidence. Many years pass and the fate of the daughter is never discovered. The Christian lady’s life had been devastated. She suffered later from addictions and mental disorders. Is this suffering for Christ, taking up a daily cross?
What is the difference in this lady’s suffering and the suffering done by millions of non-Christians every day?
I would be tempted to say, and I think that Bonhoeffer would agree, that this type of suffering has nothing to do with the cross. This type of suffering experienced by all of humanity is a result of the Fall. What is the suffering that we must experience for Christ’s sake?
More hypothetical scenarios:
I have been working very hard nonstop for the past few months at a very stressful job. I am just about ready to take a few days for some much needed rest and relaxation. Some coworkers are planning on a trip to Panama City Beach. They make it sound like so much fun. A long weekend of girls and guys gone wild. A binge that you would never forget, unless of course you drank so much that you can’t remember. What would be the harm in that? What would be the damage of some “innocent” fun? But I am a Christian now. I have accepted the “exclusive attachment to the person of Christ”. I have to search my Christ-formed conscience: In taking on Christ, wherever I go and whatever I do, He is with me. Does He want in on this fun-filled weekend of debauchery? Absolutely not. And if He’s not going then I’m not either. Is this suffering for Christ? Have I just denied self and taken up a cross?
Another:
A family member is down on his luck. Just divorced, lost his job, the repo-man is on the way to haul off his double-wide. I have two choices, actually three, the two good choices would be to either take this family member into my home and help him get back on his feet or to help him financially so that he can keep his own home. The bad choice would be to just ignore his problems and let him handle them the best he can. I love this person, but really don’t want my home disrupted, so I help him out financially. Is this suffering for Christ?
What have I done that most non-Christians would not do for a family member?
Because I am a Christian and because I love that relative, I never even think about how I suffered financial hardship because I helped him. I know that Jesus said that if someone wants your coat, to give them your shirt as well and if someone wants you to carry their load for a mile, to carry it for two, and that if anyone asks you should give. Because I know all these Christian teachings, I have totally forgotten about the money that I gave to my relative. Have I suffered for Christ?
What would the average non-Christian’s feelings be toward this relative?
A few months later my relative scratches off a lottery ticket worth $100,000.
What would be the average non-Christian reaction be now?
Great. Maybe now this dead-beat will pay me back the hard-earned money that I spent on his expenses to help him out in his time of need. But what does the relative do? Well the first thing he does is head off for a wild weekend in Panama City Beach. Weeks, then months, go by with no offer of repayment.
What would be the average non-Christian reaction be now?
Most folks would want to haul this guy off to Judge Judy. We live in a world of lawsuits.
But what would be the suffering way-of-the-Cross reaction?
Can we safely say that every time we face down a worldly temptation that we have suffered for the cross?
Carrying the cross involves the suffering associated with being tempted, and since every believer is tempted every day, then every day the believer must suffer for Jesus Christ’s sake. This is the cross we bear.
“Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship.”
Taking up our cross begins with the abandonment of the world and requires a daily self-denial. Our self-denial has nothing to do with “acts of mortification” or asceticism.
Discipleship means adherence to the person of Jesus, and attachment to Jesus means submission to the teachings of Jesus: The Law of the Cross. The law of the cross calls for the denial of self and the choice to daily take up the cross given to us that day. Enduring the cross is not a tragedy but is the fruit of our exclusive attachment to Christ.
Remember that Bonhoeffer wrote this book while under a Nazi order not to write or publish. The publication of this book put him under risk of persecution. How does Bonhoeffer himself define the essence of self-denial?
“Just as Christ is Christ only in the virtue of His suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord’s suffering and rejection and crucifiction.”
What does that statement mean?
Chapter 5 - Discipleship and the Individual
How does the world view individuality?
Is a person made an individual through his own personal effort?
This chapter opens with the assertion that “through the call of Jesus men become individuals.”
How is this so?
Luk 14:26 ASV
(26) If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
We all receive an individual call to be a Christian disciple. But what do we generally do with our call?
We attempt to align ourselves with others who share our beliefs. These alignments may actually even be a barrier which prevents our heeding our call.
“Every man is called separately, and must follow alone. But men are frightened of solitude, and they try to protect themselves from it by merging themselves into the society of their fellow-men and in their material environment...
But all this is only a cloak to protect them from having to make a decision. They are unwilling to stand alone before Jesus and be compelled to decide...”
Could this be an indictment of the people in the German Church?
Why is individualism a necessity for a disciple?
Individualism is the call of Christ to come apart from the world. He wants to be the center. When we receive the call, we realize that our world has been built on an illusion. When we receive his call, we realize that even in such relationships as parent and child, or husband and wife, stands Christ, and no other relationship can be as important as the one with Christ. Christ is our mediator, not only between God and man, but between individuals.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Book Study: The Cost of Discipleship - Week 2, Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1 - Costly Grace
Bonhoeffer begins the book with powerful statements about grace and contrasts “cheap grace” and “costly grace”.
What is cheap grace and costly grace?
“Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin.”
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance.”
“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship.”
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”
“Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.”
“It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”
“It is costly because it because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.”
“...it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son..., and what cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”
How would you define the contrast between the two?
Can you identify any examples of cheap grace in today’s church?
What are the “costs” of cheap grace?
Cheap grace weakens the church.
“...the collapse of the organized Church is only the inevitable consequence of our policy of making grace available to all at too low a cost.”
Does this mean that church is just for “excellent” Christians?
What, according to Bonhoeffer, is the most urgent problem that the church faces? Is this still true today?
The problem, as stated by Bonhoeffer, is this: “How can we live the Christian life in the modern world?”
How can we live in the world without being of the world?
Does meeting Jesus Christ result in a “death”? Whose?
Meeting Jesus results either in death of our old self or in death of Jesus. If our old self does not die, then Jesus does not live. Grace is going to cost.
Why is there no “middle way” of encountering Jesus?
Given this stark choice, why do so many of us still choose to encounter Jesus?
Does it seem that Bonhoeffer may be suggesting a new “phariseeism”, a new set of laws or rules that must be followed in order to be a “true” Christian?
Rom 3:23-24 MSG
(23) Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us,
(24) God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:23-24 ESV
(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(24) and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:8-9 ESV
(8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
(9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:8-9 MSG
(8) Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!
(9) We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!
These passages assure us that the grace of God is free. We do not need to and cannot “pay” for God’s grace or do anything to earn it. What is the distinction between this free grace and Bonhoeffers “cheap grace”?
Phi 3:7-14 ESV
(7) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
(8) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
(9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--
(10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
(11) that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(12) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
(13) Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
(14) I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In putting his faith in Christ, what price had Paul paid? What had he given up? What had he “died” to?
Saul was a Pharisee. Saul had been a firm, loyal defender of the Law. We have to assume that one who defended the law with the zeal of Saul must have also followed the Law and from that had some assurance of his standing with God. Why did Paul now regard those prior qualifications as “rubbish”?
As you have grown with Christ, what former reasons for pride do you now consider “rubbish”?
How do verses 10 and 11 illustrate “costly grace”?
What further price was Paul willing to pay in order to participate more fully in Christ?
What motivated Paul to continue in his Christian life?
How do those motivations compare with what motivates you in your Christian life?
The religious credentials of Saul was what Bonhoeffer would call “the grace we bestow on ourselves.” Do we take pride in our religious credentials?
How are you tempted to congratulate yourself in the areas of:
ritual observance?
Christian heritage?
accomplishments?
Chapter 2 - The Call to Discipleship
Mar 2:14 ESV
(14) And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
What was Levi’s response to Jesus’ call?
What happened between Jesus’ call and Levi’s response?
What does the life of discipleship include? What is the established program or way of life that is required of a disciple?
According to Bonhoeffer, what is the one and only requirement of discipleship?
“...there is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road - only obedience to the call of Jesus.”
Jesus said to Levi, “Follow me”. Following Jesus is the content for discipleship. This request points to the fact that there is no content for discipleship in the sense of an established program for a particular way of life.
What does it mean to “follow” Jesus?
Bonhoeffer wrote:
“when we are called to follow Christ, we are summoned to an exclusive attachment to his person”
Describe this attachment.
In our lives, what other attachments threaten our “exclusive” attachment to Christ?
Most Christians find some attachments (family, work, church, country) absolutely legitimate and even a part of our discipleship. How do we fit these into their proper place with the “exclusive” attachment to Christ?
What does the United Methodist Church require of members?
Basically the requirement of the UMC of members is stated in the vows:
Will you be loyal to the United Methodist Church and uphold it by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?
Does this fulfill the call to follow Jesus?
Bonhoeffer wrote that abstract ideas, knowledge about Christianity, and doctrinal statements make discipleship “superfluous” and even “positively exclude discipleship”. Why is genuine discipleship so opposed to an abstract version of Christianity?
Recently Steve Manskar, Director of Accountable Discipleship at the UMC General Board of Discipleship wrote that Bonhoeffer’s description of cheap grace:
...is a fairly accurate description of most United Methodist congregations today. If you are shocked by this, I invite you to consider the expectations of membership in your local congregation. How does the congregation equip and help its members remain faithful to their baptismal covenant? Is there an intentional system to help members grow and mature as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? Is there even an expectation that each member will be taught and equipped for the practices of discipleship.......? My experience, as a life-long Methodist/United Methodist, is that we have very low expectations of membership. We give little more than lip service to the baptismal covenant. The result is that most local congregations are little more than social clubs with a religious veneer. There is no expectation that faith will increase, hope in Christ will be confirmed, or that you or I will be perfected in love.
In spite of what the Baptismal covenant states, the real expectations of membership are that a person attend Sunday morning worship when it is convenient and, most important, that they make regular financial contributions to the church’s budget. Consequently, membership in the church is seen more as a benefit than an obligation; more as an entitlement than as a commitment to service and obedience.
Cheap grace is killing the church. If we ever hope to turn around decades of decline we must repent of this insidious way of “doing church.”
Bonhoeffer stated that the only true relation we can have with Jesus is to follow him. What are false ways we try to relate to Jesus?
Bonhoeffer:
Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.
Bonhoeffer asserted that if one is to follow Christ he or she must take certain definite steps. The first step takes the disciple out of the old situation and into a new situation where faith is possible. Bonhoeffer used this section of Chapter 2 to defend his position against those who might say that he was promoting salvation through works.
Can we say then that there is a sequence to discipleship and that the sequence goes in the order of faith first, then obedience?
Bonhoeffer certainly believed the Bible teaches that we are justified by faith. There is a problem, though, according to Bonhoeffer when we try to come up with a sequential distinction between faith and , later, obedience. According to Bonhoeffer we must not separate the two. In order to do so we must ask the questions: when does faith start and when does obedience start?
Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.
Faith is only real when we obey. Bonhoeffer believed that faith becomes faith when we obey.
What is considered the first step of discipleship?
The first step is the call of Jesus. We cannot take the first step on our own. Faith is NOT the first step.
Peter knows he dare not climb out of the ship in his own strength - his very first step would be his undoing. And so he cries, “Lord, bid me come to thee upon the waters,” and Jesus answers: “Come.” Christ must first call him......This call is his grace, which calls him out of death into the new life of obedience. But when Christ has called him, Peter has no alternative - he must leave the ship and come to him....the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand the nature of grace if we suppose that there was no need to take the first step, because faith was already there. Against that we must boldly assert that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
Bonhoeffer continues his thoughts on obedience in Chapter 3 - Single-Minded Obedience.
After reminding us of the examples from chapter 2 - Levi, the rich young man, and Peter - Bonhoeffer wrote:
Only one thing was required in each case - to rely on Christ’s word, and cling to it as offering greater security than all the securities in the world.
What are some forces that come between the word of Christ and our obedience?
Are these forces as great as, greater than, or not as great as those faced by the biblical examples in Chapter 2?
The examples that Bonhoeffer gave are: reason, conscience, responsibility, piety, even the law and scriptural authority.
What removes the barriers?
The call of Jesus followed by obedience.
Bonhoeffer mentions “antinomianism” and “enthusiasms”. Does everyone understand these terms?
John Wesley would have appreciated the inclusion of these as he preached against both.
Antinomianism is the belief that those saved by grace are freed from any scriptural or moral laws and that salvation is obtained solely through faith and the gift of grace. Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism. Antinomianism has been largely rejected by the Christian community as a whole.
Enthusiasts are those who claim the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as the true source of religious authority above scripture, the creeds, and tradition. Enthusiasm is synonymous with fanaticism. John Wesley claimed that enthusiasm was a “species of madness” or a psychological disorder and claimed that pride leads to enthusiasm and enthusiasm leads to antinomianism.
Bonhoeffer says:
The... call of Jesus and the response of single-minded obedience have an irrevocable significance. By means of them Jesus calls people into an actual situation where faith is possible...it is only through actual obedience that a man can become liberated to believe.
An antinomian would likely say that simple-minded obedience is legalism.
Bonhoeffer’s response:
Struggling against the legalism of simple obedience, we end by setting up the most dangerous law of all, the law of the world and the law of grace. In our effort to combat legalism we land ourselves in the worst kind of legalism. The only way of overcoming this legalism is by real obedience to Christ when he calls us to follow him; for in Jesus the law is at once fulfilled and cancelled.
By eliminating simple obedience on principle, we drift into an unevangelical interpretation of the Bible.....the commandments of Jesus always includes the literal translation...Obedience to the call of Jesus never lies within our own power. If, for instance, we give away all our possessions, that act is not in itself the obedience to Jesus, for we might then be choosing a way of life for ourselves, some Christian ideal, or some ideal of Fransiscan poverty. Indeed in the very act of giving away his goods a man can give allegiance to himself and to an ideal and not to the command of Jesus. He is not set free from his own self but still more enslaved to himself. The step into the situation where faith is possible is not an offer which we can make to Jesus, but always his gracious offer to us......
Salvation through following Jesus is not something we men can achieve for ourselves - but with God all things are possible.
Bonhoeffer begins the book with powerful statements about grace and contrasts “cheap grace” and “costly grace”.
What is cheap grace and costly grace?
“Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin.”
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance.”
“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship.”
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”
“Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.”
“It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”
“It is costly because it because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.”
“...it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son..., and what cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”
How would you define the contrast between the two?
Can you identify any examples of cheap grace in today’s church?
What are the “costs” of cheap grace?
Cheap grace weakens the church.
“...the collapse of the organized Church is only the inevitable consequence of our policy of making grace available to all at too low a cost.”
Does this mean that church is just for “excellent” Christians?
What, according to Bonhoeffer, is the most urgent problem that the church faces? Is this still true today?
The problem, as stated by Bonhoeffer, is this: “How can we live the Christian life in the modern world?”
How can we live in the world without being of the world?
Does meeting Jesus Christ result in a “death”? Whose?
Meeting Jesus results either in death of our old self or in death of Jesus. If our old self does not die, then Jesus does not live. Grace is going to cost.
Why is there no “middle way” of encountering Jesus?
Given this stark choice, why do so many of us still choose to encounter Jesus?
Does it seem that Bonhoeffer may be suggesting a new “phariseeism”, a new set of laws or rules that must be followed in order to be a “true” Christian?
Rom 3:23-24 MSG
(23) Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us,
(24) God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:23-24 ESV
(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(24) and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:8-9 ESV
(8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
(9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:8-9 MSG
(8) Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!
(9) We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!
These passages assure us that the grace of God is free. We do not need to and cannot “pay” for God’s grace or do anything to earn it. What is the distinction between this free grace and Bonhoeffers “cheap grace”?
Phi 3:7-14 ESV
(7) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
(8) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
(9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--
(10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
(11) that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(12) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
(13) Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
(14) I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In putting his faith in Christ, what price had Paul paid? What had he given up? What had he “died” to?
Saul was a Pharisee. Saul had been a firm, loyal defender of the Law. We have to assume that one who defended the law with the zeal of Saul must have also followed the Law and from that had some assurance of his standing with God. Why did Paul now regard those prior qualifications as “rubbish”?
As you have grown with Christ, what former reasons for pride do you now consider “rubbish”?
How do verses 10 and 11 illustrate “costly grace”?
What further price was Paul willing to pay in order to participate more fully in Christ?
What motivated Paul to continue in his Christian life?
How do those motivations compare with what motivates you in your Christian life?
The religious credentials of Saul was what Bonhoeffer would call “the grace we bestow on ourselves.” Do we take pride in our religious credentials?
How are you tempted to congratulate yourself in the areas of:
ritual observance?
Christian heritage?
accomplishments?
Chapter 2 - The Call to Discipleship
Mar 2:14 ESV
(14) And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
What was Levi’s response to Jesus’ call?
What happened between Jesus’ call and Levi’s response?
What does the life of discipleship include? What is the established program or way of life that is required of a disciple?
According to Bonhoeffer, what is the one and only requirement of discipleship?
“...there is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road - only obedience to the call of Jesus.”
Jesus said to Levi, “Follow me”. Following Jesus is the content for discipleship. This request points to the fact that there is no content for discipleship in the sense of an established program for a particular way of life.
What does it mean to “follow” Jesus?
Bonhoeffer wrote:
“when we are called to follow Christ, we are summoned to an exclusive attachment to his person”
Describe this attachment.
In our lives, what other attachments threaten our “exclusive” attachment to Christ?
Most Christians find some attachments (family, work, church, country) absolutely legitimate and even a part of our discipleship. How do we fit these into their proper place with the “exclusive” attachment to Christ?
What does the United Methodist Church require of members?
Basically the requirement of the UMC of members is stated in the vows:
Will you be loyal to the United Methodist Church and uphold it by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?
Does this fulfill the call to follow Jesus?
Bonhoeffer wrote that abstract ideas, knowledge about Christianity, and doctrinal statements make discipleship “superfluous” and even “positively exclude discipleship”. Why is genuine discipleship so opposed to an abstract version of Christianity?
Recently Steve Manskar, Director of Accountable Discipleship at the UMC General Board of Discipleship wrote that Bonhoeffer’s description of cheap grace:
...is a fairly accurate description of most United Methodist congregations today. If you are shocked by this, I invite you to consider the expectations of membership in your local congregation. How does the congregation equip and help its members remain faithful to their baptismal covenant? Is there an intentional system to help members grow and mature as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? Is there even an expectation that each member will be taught and equipped for the practices of discipleship.......? My experience, as a life-long Methodist/United Methodist, is that we have very low expectations of membership. We give little more than lip service to the baptismal covenant. The result is that most local congregations are little more than social clubs with a religious veneer. There is no expectation that faith will increase, hope in Christ will be confirmed, or that you or I will be perfected in love.
In spite of what the Baptismal covenant states, the real expectations of membership are that a person attend Sunday morning worship when it is convenient and, most important, that they make regular financial contributions to the church’s budget. Consequently, membership in the church is seen more as a benefit than an obligation; more as an entitlement than as a commitment to service and obedience.
Cheap grace is killing the church. If we ever hope to turn around decades of decline we must repent of this insidious way of “doing church.”
Bonhoeffer stated that the only true relation we can have with Jesus is to follow him. What are false ways we try to relate to Jesus?
Bonhoeffer:
Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.
Bonhoeffer asserted that if one is to follow Christ he or she must take certain definite steps. The first step takes the disciple out of the old situation and into a new situation where faith is possible. Bonhoeffer used this section of Chapter 2 to defend his position against those who might say that he was promoting salvation through works.
Can we say then that there is a sequence to discipleship and that the sequence goes in the order of faith first, then obedience?
Bonhoeffer certainly believed the Bible teaches that we are justified by faith. There is a problem, though, according to Bonhoeffer when we try to come up with a sequential distinction between faith and , later, obedience. According to Bonhoeffer we must not separate the two. In order to do so we must ask the questions: when does faith start and when does obedience start?
Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.
Faith is only real when we obey. Bonhoeffer believed that faith becomes faith when we obey.
What is considered the first step of discipleship?
The first step is the call of Jesus. We cannot take the first step on our own. Faith is NOT the first step.
Peter knows he dare not climb out of the ship in his own strength - his very first step would be his undoing. And so he cries, “Lord, bid me come to thee upon the waters,” and Jesus answers: “Come.” Christ must first call him......This call is his grace, which calls him out of death into the new life of obedience. But when Christ has called him, Peter has no alternative - he must leave the ship and come to him....the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand the nature of grace if we suppose that there was no need to take the first step, because faith was already there. Against that we must boldly assert that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
Bonhoeffer continues his thoughts on obedience in Chapter 3 - Single-Minded Obedience.
After reminding us of the examples from chapter 2 - Levi, the rich young man, and Peter - Bonhoeffer wrote:
Only one thing was required in each case - to rely on Christ’s word, and cling to it as offering greater security than all the securities in the world.
What are some forces that come between the word of Christ and our obedience?
Are these forces as great as, greater than, or not as great as those faced by the biblical examples in Chapter 2?
The examples that Bonhoeffer gave are: reason, conscience, responsibility, piety, even the law and scriptural authority.
What removes the barriers?
The call of Jesus followed by obedience.
Bonhoeffer mentions “antinomianism” and “enthusiasms”. Does everyone understand these terms?
John Wesley would have appreciated the inclusion of these as he preached against both.
Antinomianism is the belief that those saved by grace are freed from any scriptural or moral laws and that salvation is obtained solely through faith and the gift of grace. Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism. Antinomianism has been largely rejected by the Christian community as a whole.
Enthusiasts are those who claim the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as the true source of religious authority above scripture, the creeds, and tradition. Enthusiasm is synonymous with fanaticism. John Wesley claimed that enthusiasm was a “species of madness” or a psychological disorder and claimed that pride leads to enthusiasm and enthusiasm leads to antinomianism.
Bonhoeffer says:
The... call of Jesus and the response of single-minded obedience have an irrevocable significance. By means of them Jesus calls people into an actual situation where faith is possible...it is only through actual obedience that a man can become liberated to believe.
An antinomian would likely say that simple-minded obedience is legalism.
Bonhoeffer’s response:
Struggling against the legalism of simple obedience, we end by setting up the most dangerous law of all, the law of the world and the law of grace. In our effort to combat legalism we land ourselves in the worst kind of legalism. The only way of overcoming this legalism is by real obedience to Christ when he calls us to follow him; for in Jesus the law is at once fulfilled and cancelled.
By eliminating simple obedience on principle, we drift into an unevangelical interpretation of the Bible.....the commandments of Jesus always includes the literal translation...Obedience to the call of Jesus never lies within our own power. If, for instance, we give away all our possessions, that act is not in itself the obedience to Jesus, for we might then be choosing a way of life for ourselves, some Christian ideal, or some ideal of Fransiscan poverty. Indeed in the very act of giving away his goods a man can give allegiance to himself and to an ideal and not to the command of Jesus. He is not set free from his own self but still more enslaved to himself. The step into the situation where faith is possible is not an offer which we can make to Jesus, but always his gracious offer to us......
Salvation through following Jesus is not something we men can achieve for ourselves - but with God all things are possible.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Sunday School Lesson: Ultimate Fairness
Purpose: To probe the connection between faith, judgement, and eternal life.
Scripture: John 5:19-29
Background:
Joh 5:1-18 ESV
(1) After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
(3) In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed.
(4) (OMITTED TEXT)
(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"
(7) The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."
(8) Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk."
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
(10) So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed."
(11) But he answered them, "The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.'"
(12) They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"
(13) Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
(14) Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."
(15) The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
(16) And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
(17) But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
(18) This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Today’s lesson begin’s with the account of Jesus healing an invalid on the Sabbath. The miracle occurred at a pool called Bethesda in Jerusalem. This act of love and kindness, yet again, brought Jesus into conflict with the religious leaders over the “proper” observance of the Sabbath.
We do not know exactly when the Hebrews began observing the Sabbath, however we do know that they did so before God commanded the observance. By the time of Christ, the Jewish religious leaders had spent hundreds of years debating at length exactly what could and could not be done on a Sabbath. Under the influence of rigid Pharisaic oral law, a system of minute and burdensome regulations was formed. The higher purpose of the Sabbath was lost.
The Sabbath was given to the Hebrews as a reminder of two things. First, observance of the Sabbath served to remind them that they had been enslaved but were now free. Second, observance of the Sabbath served as a reminder that it was God who freed them. Sabbath was to be a day of rest, relaxation, and joy.
The Jewish Mishna came to have 39 articles, each with sub-articles, dealing with prohibitions on the Sabbath. The prohibitions included all kinds of agricultural, industrial, and domestic work. Among the articles are such items as sewing two stitches, weaving two threads, and writing two letters. Plucking two heads of wheat was considered harvest and rubbing the two together was considered threshing. To carry an object the weight of a fig was considered a burden, so naturally when the formerly lame man carried his bed away from the pool, he was in a gross violation of the Sabbath. It was unlawful to practice medicine on the Sabbath unless life was in danger. The Mishna even went as far as to not allow medication to be given on the day before the Sabbath if the effects of it lasted into the Sabbath. This man had been ill for 38 years, certainly one more day would not be too much to ask. Since the Jewish day began at sundown, Jesus could have just waited a few more hours and not risked offending the Pharisees.
The Jewish teachers of the law did find way to get around their own rules. The oral law prohibited travel on the Sabbath so they decided that it a person were to place some food at whatever place they wished to travel to prior to the Sabbath, then they could declare that spot a temporary residence and it was not considered travel to move between residences. By the time of Jesus the oral law had come to have as much force and authority as the written law. Jesus, however, with some scorn and contempt, called these man-made doctrines “traditions”:
Mar 7:6-9 ESV
(6) And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
(7) in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'
(8) You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."
(9) And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
It is no wonder that much of the conflict between Jesus and the teachers of the Law concerned the Sabbath. We know that Jesus observed the Sabbath:
Luk 4:16 ESV
(16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
Jesus observed and loved the Sabbath, yet it seems that He felt that one part of His mission was to put the Sabbath back into perspective. This incident of Jesus healing on the Sabbath was not a one-time thing. Because He healed on the Sabbath over and over, He obviously placed a challenge to the religious authorities, who responded by spying and harassing. Notice that the Jews did not chastise the man for being healed on the Sabbath and even seemed to forget about him carrying his bed when they turned their attention to the one who had practiced healing on the Sabbath.
So when the Jews find Jesus and begin their persecutions, how does he respond?
Joh 5:17 MSG
(17) But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I."
Joh 5:17 GNB
(17) Jesus answered them, "My Father is always working, and I too must work."
Does God stop His loving and healing mercies just because man is observing a Sabbath?
What would happen if God stopped His work on the Sabbath? If God ever, at any time, even for a short time just stopped all that He does?
Our world would likely fall into chaos. We are told that God rested on the seventh day of creation, but surely He didn’t stop doing good. Jesus was teaching here that when the opportunity to good presents itself, it should never be ignored, even on the Sabbath, maybe even especially on the Sabbath, since that was the Jewish day to honor God. What greater way is there to honor God than by showing love and compassion to those who are broken and beaten down around us? What greater worship can we offer God than by doing what his Son showed and taught us to do even when it is inconvenient for us to do so?
The Jewish leaders saw both a mighty miracle and a broken rule. Which was more important to them?
Do we sometimes miss God’s work in our world because the way He works does not always follow our “rules”?
How often do we fail to do the right thing because it would not fit into our schedule, or because “we’ve never done it that way before”?
If God “is always working” shouldn’t we also always be at work doing His will?
The Jews envied the popularity of Jesus, resented His challenges to their traditions, and hated His exposure of their hypocrisy. Don’t we sometimes feel the same way?
When the words of Jesus expose us don’t we sometimes wish we could just find a different translation?
You know, maybe Jesus really did not mean it when He said “Love your enemy.” Maybe when He said “Turn the other cheek” He really meant something else. One popular interpretation even claims that to “turn the other cheek” instead of an act of nonresistance is actually an open act of defiance. As one person so wisely said: “The Bible will shed a lot of light on those commentaries.” Maybe we should not try to put our own spin on the Word and just let the Word speak. When we try to put our twist on the Word aren’t we really doing the same thing the Jewish teachers of the law were doing?
Jesus , a faithful observer of the Sabbath, many times criticized the Pharisees for their absurd teaching which made the people a slave to the day. He spoke out and told the Pharisees that they placed intolerable burdens on the shoulders of men; burdens that even they could not or would not carry.
Mat 23:1-4 ESV(1) Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
(2) "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,
(3) so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
(4) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
Jesus proclaimed that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around:
Mar 2:27-28 ESV
(27) And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
(28) So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
Jesus cured on the Sabbath and defended His disciples for picking grain on that day. This greatly angered the Jews, but what was it that Jesus said at this incident after healing the lame man that angered the Jews even more?
When He said that God was His own Father, He further enraged his antagonists. Not only was He violating the Sabbath law, but he also made Himself to be equal with God. And if you think that angered them, His next speech must have made them furious. The rest of John 5 contains one of the longest discourses in the book of John. A discourse is an extended theological discussion in which Jesus talks personally about His relationship with God. Such extended discussions are found only in the Gospel of John.
Isn’t it amazing though, that these people had witnessed a miracle but chose to nitpick about the when of the miracle instead of the how and the why of the miracle and what ramifications, if any, a miracle worker in their midst could have on their own lives?
We also sometimes choose to look at things in the ways of the Pharisees. Tony Campolo makes this point very clear. Campolo, an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church and the National Baptist Convention and college professor, likes to begin his sermons occasionally with this statement:
"I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."
And he’s right. We are so offended by the thought that an ordained pastor would use profanity in the pulpit that we totally ignore the greater profanity of thousands of children starving to death in a world where most of us are fat and happy. We choose to pounce in judgement for a petty wrong rather than shout out at injustices or actually make an effort to make a difference in the world.
Joh 5:19-29 ESV
(19) So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
(20) For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
(21) For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
(22) The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
(23) that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
(24) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
(25) "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
(26) For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
(27) And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
(28) Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
(29) and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
By what authority did Jesus heal, on the Sabbath or at any other time? (Verses 19,20)
He did so by the authority of God, which He shared. What Jesus did was what God was doing. There is no separation between the acts of the Son and the acts of the Father.
In response to the charge that He was making himself equal to God, Jesus lays down three things about His relationship with God:
1. He lays down His identity with God. In Jesus we see God. If we want to see how God feels toward human beings, it we want to see how God reacts to sin, if we want to see what God thinks about the human condition, we must look at Jesus. The mind of Jesus is the mind of God. The words of Jesus are the words of God. The actions of Jesus are the actions of God.
2. The identity of Jesus with God is not based so much on equality as with complete obedience. Jesus did what God wanted Him to do and nothing else. Jesus’ will was so completely submitted to God’s will that we see God in Him. Jesus is to God as we must be to Jesus.
3. This complete and total obedience is not based on submission to a greater power. It is based on love. The unity between Jesus and God is a unity of love.
What was the next claim that Jesus made in this passage? (Verse 21)
He is the giver of life. He and He alone has the power over life and death. How does Jesus give life?
In two ways:
1. He gives life now. We are not fully alive until and unless we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us. People into whose lives Jesus Christ has entered find life totally new. They don’t call it being born again without reason. With Jesus we are changed people. Our relationships are changed. Our attitudes about work and duty and fun are changed. Our relationship with God is changed.
2. He gives life in eternity. When this life is ended, a new life begins. A life that promises to be more full and wonderful than this one ever dreamed of being. Jesus gives life both in this world and in the world to come.
And Jesus’ next claim? (Verse 22)
He is the bringer of judgement. Not only did Jesus have the power of life over death, he also had the power of judgement. God gave all judgement into the hands of the Son. The whole process of judgement has been committed to Jesus Christ. And what does that mean to us?
Our judgement depends totally, 100% on our reaction to Jesus Christ.
We always recite John 3:16:
Joh 3:16 ESV
(16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
But closely following that verse is this:
Joh 3:19 ESV
(19) And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
If we find in Jesus the one person to be loved and followed, we are on the way to life. Jesus represents the light of God, the way of truth and love, the way God intends life to be. When the light that is God appears in the midst of our fallen world, we are faced with a dilemma: Follow the light or remain in darkness. That moment of decision is our moment of judgement.
And the next claim of Christ? (Verse 23)
He is the one worthy of honor. To acknowledge the Son as the true light is to honor him as Lord. Those who recognize Jesus as Lord also acknowledge God the Father as Lord. There can be no separation of the two. Anyone who claims to worship God while denying the deity of Christ has neither the Father nor the Son. Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the Father, worship the Father, or serve the Father.
And what does acceptance of Jesus Christ mean for us? (Verse 24) What does it mean to hear the word and believe?
Acceptance means life. To believe that God is as Jesus represents Him, that He is all love, is to enter into a new relationship with Him in which all fear is banished. To accept the way of life that Jesus offers us, however difficult that may be or whatever sacrifices it may involve, is the ultimate way to peace and happiness.
When does eternal life begin?
Anyone who hears and believes has eternal life. Not will have. Has. Eternal life has already begun for the believer.
And finally, Jesus discusses death and life in several different ways. (Verses 25-29)
Here the messianic claims of Jesus stand out most clearly. He is the Son of Man, the life-giver and the life-bringer. Jesus will not only bring new spiritual life to believers, he will raise the physically dead to life and, when they are raised, he will be their judge.
We may have a hard time articulating the relationship between love and judgement. We may assume that only those who are good will have eternal life because we think that God judges us according to our works.
Others of us may assume that God’s love will overpower judgement and will graciously save us all in spite of how we live. Today’s lesson not only stresses the love of God without denying the reality of judgement but also makes it clear that judgment and eternal life begin now.
John Wesley published 144 sermons. He ranked them, in his opinion, in order of importance. Brother Charles only published two sermons in his lifetime (with his thousands of hymns, he probably didn’t have time and anyway most of his hymns are as good as a sermon anyway). One of Charles’ two sermons, “Awake, Thou That Sleepest” is number three in John’s list of 144. Charles preached the sermon at The University of Oxford, St. Mary’s Church, on April 4, 1742 and was according to one in attendance that day “hissed out of the pulpit.” Despite the criticisms of those who first heard the sermon, history has judged it to be a Christian classic.
I mention the sermon now only because it contains one of my favorite quotes:
“Act quickly. Eternity draws near, and infinite happiness or infinite misery hinges on what you do now.”
Eternal life does not begin at some future “judgement day”. Judgement is now. Eternity is now. The desire of God is to bring us into the kind of loving life that will make possible an eternal life that is good. Those who assume that our good works will bring us into the Kingdom do not understand sin. No one is good enough to be part of the future sinless creation. Everyone needs forgiveness and grace, no matter how good our lives may seem.
How should recognizing that eternal life begins in this world make a practical difference in my life right now?
I should always “act quickly”. We experience the blessings of resurrection in every moment that we hear and obey. My infinite happiness or infinite misery hinges on how I respond to Christ’s calling right now...and now....and now........
How can we avoid making the mistakes of the Pharisees, who thought that they were protecting God’s truth but were actually violating it?
All of will eventually face God. God will judge the good that we do. But we must remember that “those who have done good” are those who have believed and trusted Jesus Christ. That is the only “good” that any of us can really do.
Scripture: John 5:19-29
Background:
Joh 5:1-18 ESV
(1) After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
(3) In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed.
(4) (OMITTED TEXT)
(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"
(7) The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."
(8) Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk."
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
(10) So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed."
(11) But he answered them, "The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.'"
(12) They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"
(13) Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
(14) Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."
(15) The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
(16) And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
(17) But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
(18) This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Today’s lesson begin’s with the account of Jesus healing an invalid on the Sabbath. The miracle occurred at a pool called Bethesda in Jerusalem. This act of love and kindness, yet again, brought Jesus into conflict with the religious leaders over the “proper” observance of the Sabbath.
We do not know exactly when the Hebrews began observing the Sabbath, however we do know that they did so before God commanded the observance. By the time of Christ, the Jewish religious leaders had spent hundreds of years debating at length exactly what could and could not be done on a Sabbath. Under the influence of rigid Pharisaic oral law, a system of minute and burdensome regulations was formed. The higher purpose of the Sabbath was lost.
The Sabbath was given to the Hebrews as a reminder of two things. First, observance of the Sabbath served to remind them that they had been enslaved but were now free. Second, observance of the Sabbath served as a reminder that it was God who freed them. Sabbath was to be a day of rest, relaxation, and joy.
The Jewish Mishna came to have 39 articles, each with sub-articles, dealing with prohibitions on the Sabbath. The prohibitions included all kinds of agricultural, industrial, and domestic work. Among the articles are such items as sewing two stitches, weaving two threads, and writing two letters. Plucking two heads of wheat was considered harvest and rubbing the two together was considered threshing. To carry an object the weight of a fig was considered a burden, so naturally when the formerly lame man carried his bed away from the pool, he was in a gross violation of the Sabbath. It was unlawful to practice medicine on the Sabbath unless life was in danger. The Mishna even went as far as to not allow medication to be given on the day before the Sabbath if the effects of it lasted into the Sabbath. This man had been ill for 38 years, certainly one more day would not be too much to ask. Since the Jewish day began at sundown, Jesus could have just waited a few more hours and not risked offending the Pharisees.
The Jewish teachers of the law did find way to get around their own rules. The oral law prohibited travel on the Sabbath so they decided that it a person were to place some food at whatever place they wished to travel to prior to the Sabbath, then they could declare that spot a temporary residence and it was not considered travel to move between residences. By the time of Jesus the oral law had come to have as much force and authority as the written law. Jesus, however, with some scorn and contempt, called these man-made doctrines “traditions”:
Mar 7:6-9 ESV
(6) And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
(7) in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'
(8) You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."
(9) And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
It is no wonder that much of the conflict between Jesus and the teachers of the Law concerned the Sabbath. We know that Jesus observed the Sabbath:
Luk 4:16 ESV
(16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
Jesus observed and loved the Sabbath, yet it seems that He felt that one part of His mission was to put the Sabbath back into perspective. This incident of Jesus healing on the Sabbath was not a one-time thing. Because He healed on the Sabbath over and over, He obviously placed a challenge to the religious authorities, who responded by spying and harassing. Notice that the Jews did not chastise the man for being healed on the Sabbath and even seemed to forget about him carrying his bed when they turned their attention to the one who had practiced healing on the Sabbath.
So when the Jews find Jesus and begin their persecutions, how does he respond?
Joh 5:17 MSG
(17) But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I."
Joh 5:17 GNB
(17) Jesus answered them, "My Father is always working, and I too must work."
Does God stop His loving and healing mercies just because man is observing a Sabbath?
What would happen if God stopped His work on the Sabbath? If God ever, at any time, even for a short time just stopped all that He does?
Our world would likely fall into chaos. We are told that God rested on the seventh day of creation, but surely He didn’t stop doing good. Jesus was teaching here that when the opportunity to good presents itself, it should never be ignored, even on the Sabbath, maybe even especially on the Sabbath, since that was the Jewish day to honor God. What greater way is there to honor God than by showing love and compassion to those who are broken and beaten down around us? What greater worship can we offer God than by doing what his Son showed and taught us to do even when it is inconvenient for us to do so?
The Jewish leaders saw both a mighty miracle and a broken rule. Which was more important to them?
Do we sometimes miss God’s work in our world because the way He works does not always follow our “rules”?
How often do we fail to do the right thing because it would not fit into our schedule, or because “we’ve never done it that way before”?
If God “is always working” shouldn’t we also always be at work doing His will?
The Jews envied the popularity of Jesus, resented His challenges to their traditions, and hated His exposure of their hypocrisy. Don’t we sometimes feel the same way?
When the words of Jesus expose us don’t we sometimes wish we could just find a different translation?
You know, maybe Jesus really did not mean it when He said “Love your enemy.” Maybe when He said “Turn the other cheek” He really meant something else. One popular interpretation even claims that to “turn the other cheek” instead of an act of nonresistance is actually an open act of defiance. As one person so wisely said: “The Bible will shed a lot of light on those commentaries.” Maybe we should not try to put our own spin on the Word and just let the Word speak. When we try to put our twist on the Word aren’t we really doing the same thing the Jewish teachers of the law were doing?
Jesus , a faithful observer of the Sabbath, many times criticized the Pharisees for their absurd teaching which made the people a slave to the day. He spoke out and told the Pharisees that they placed intolerable burdens on the shoulders of men; burdens that even they could not or would not carry.
Mat 23:1-4 ESV(1) Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
(2) "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,
(3) so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
(4) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
Jesus proclaimed that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around:
Mar 2:27-28 ESV
(27) And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
(28) So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
Jesus cured on the Sabbath and defended His disciples for picking grain on that day. This greatly angered the Jews, but what was it that Jesus said at this incident after healing the lame man that angered the Jews even more?
When He said that God was His own Father, He further enraged his antagonists. Not only was He violating the Sabbath law, but he also made Himself to be equal with God. And if you think that angered them, His next speech must have made them furious. The rest of John 5 contains one of the longest discourses in the book of John. A discourse is an extended theological discussion in which Jesus talks personally about His relationship with God. Such extended discussions are found only in the Gospel of John.
Isn’t it amazing though, that these people had witnessed a miracle but chose to nitpick about the when of the miracle instead of the how and the why of the miracle and what ramifications, if any, a miracle worker in their midst could have on their own lives?
We also sometimes choose to look at things in the ways of the Pharisees. Tony Campolo makes this point very clear. Campolo, an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church and the National Baptist Convention and college professor, likes to begin his sermons occasionally with this statement:
"I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."
And he’s right. We are so offended by the thought that an ordained pastor would use profanity in the pulpit that we totally ignore the greater profanity of thousands of children starving to death in a world where most of us are fat and happy. We choose to pounce in judgement for a petty wrong rather than shout out at injustices or actually make an effort to make a difference in the world.
Joh 5:19-29 ESV
(19) So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
(20) For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
(21) For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
(22) The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
(23) that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
(24) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
(25) "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
(26) For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
(27) And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
(28) Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
(29) and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
By what authority did Jesus heal, on the Sabbath or at any other time? (Verses 19,20)
He did so by the authority of God, which He shared. What Jesus did was what God was doing. There is no separation between the acts of the Son and the acts of the Father.
In response to the charge that He was making himself equal to God, Jesus lays down three things about His relationship with God:
1. He lays down His identity with God. In Jesus we see God. If we want to see how God feels toward human beings, it we want to see how God reacts to sin, if we want to see what God thinks about the human condition, we must look at Jesus. The mind of Jesus is the mind of God. The words of Jesus are the words of God. The actions of Jesus are the actions of God.
2. The identity of Jesus with God is not based so much on equality as with complete obedience. Jesus did what God wanted Him to do and nothing else. Jesus’ will was so completely submitted to God’s will that we see God in Him. Jesus is to God as we must be to Jesus.
3. This complete and total obedience is not based on submission to a greater power. It is based on love. The unity between Jesus and God is a unity of love.
What was the next claim that Jesus made in this passage? (Verse 21)
He is the giver of life. He and He alone has the power over life and death. How does Jesus give life?
In two ways:
1. He gives life now. We are not fully alive until and unless we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us. People into whose lives Jesus Christ has entered find life totally new. They don’t call it being born again without reason. With Jesus we are changed people. Our relationships are changed. Our attitudes about work and duty and fun are changed. Our relationship with God is changed.
2. He gives life in eternity. When this life is ended, a new life begins. A life that promises to be more full and wonderful than this one ever dreamed of being. Jesus gives life both in this world and in the world to come.
And Jesus’ next claim? (Verse 22)
He is the bringer of judgement. Not only did Jesus have the power of life over death, he also had the power of judgement. God gave all judgement into the hands of the Son. The whole process of judgement has been committed to Jesus Christ. And what does that mean to us?
Our judgement depends totally, 100% on our reaction to Jesus Christ.
We always recite John 3:16:
Joh 3:16 ESV
(16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
But closely following that verse is this:
Joh 3:19 ESV
(19) And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
If we find in Jesus the one person to be loved and followed, we are on the way to life. Jesus represents the light of God, the way of truth and love, the way God intends life to be. When the light that is God appears in the midst of our fallen world, we are faced with a dilemma: Follow the light or remain in darkness. That moment of decision is our moment of judgement.
And the next claim of Christ? (Verse 23)
He is the one worthy of honor. To acknowledge the Son as the true light is to honor him as Lord. Those who recognize Jesus as Lord also acknowledge God the Father as Lord. There can be no separation of the two. Anyone who claims to worship God while denying the deity of Christ has neither the Father nor the Son. Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the Father, worship the Father, or serve the Father.
And what does acceptance of Jesus Christ mean for us? (Verse 24) What does it mean to hear the word and believe?
Acceptance means life. To believe that God is as Jesus represents Him, that He is all love, is to enter into a new relationship with Him in which all fear is banished. To accept the way of life that Jesus offers us, however difficult that may be or whatever sacrifices it may involve, is the ultimate way to peace and happiness.
When does eternal life begin?
Anyone who hears and believes has eternal life. Not will have. Has. Eternal life has already begun for the believer.
And finally, Jesus discusses death and life in several different ways. (Verses 25-29)
Here the messianic claims of Jesus stand out most clearly. He is the Son of Man, the life-giver and the life-bringer. Jesus will not only bring new spiritual life to believers, he will raise the physically dead to life and, when they are raised, he will be their judge.
We may have a hard time articulating the relationship between love and judgement. We may assume that only those who are good will have eternal life because we think that God judges us according to our works.
Others of us may assume that God’s love will overpower judgement and will graciously save us all in spite of how we live. Today’s lesson not only stresses the love of God without denying the reality of judgement but also makes it clear that judgment and eternal life begin now.
John Wesley published 144 sermons. He ranked them, in his opinion, in order of importance. Brother Charles only published two sermons in his lifetime (with his thousands of hymns, he probably didn’t have time and anyway most of his hymns are as good as a sermon anyway). One of Charles’ two sermons, “Awake, Thou That Sleepest” is number three in John’s list of 144. Charles preached the sermon at The University of Oxford, St. Mary’s Church, on April 4, 1742 and was according to one in attendance that day “hissed out of the pulpit.” Despite the criticisms of those who first heard the sermon, history has judged it to be a Christian classic.
I mention the sermon now only because it contains one of my favorite quotes:
“Act quickly. Eternity draws near, and infinite happiness or infinite misery hinges on what you do now.”
Eternal life does not begin at some future “judgement day”. Judgement is now. Eternity is now. The desire of God is to bring us into the kind of loving life that will make possible an eternal life that is good. Those who assume that our good works will bring us into the Kingdom do not understand sin. No one is good enough to be part of the future sinless creation. Everyone needs forgiveness and grace, no matter how good our lives may seem.
How should recognizing that eternal life begins in this world make a practical difference in my life right now?
I should always “act quickly”. We experience the blessings of resurrection in every moment that we hear and obey. My infinite happiness or infinite misery hinges on how I respond to Christ’s calling right now...and now....and now........
How can we avoid making the mistakes of the Pharisees, who thought that they were protecting God’s truth but were actually violating it?
All of will eventually face God. God will judge the good that we do. But we must remember that “those who have done good” are those who have believed and trusted Jesus Christ. That is the only “good” that any of us can really do.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Book Study: The Cost of Discipleship - Week One
Who is a Disciple?
Is it only the twelve who followed Jesus?
Does the title "Disciple" belong to all Christians?
Does it?
Who is a disciple?
I believe in Jesus. I was baptized and joined a church. Am I a disciple?
Can I, as a believer, call myself a disciple?
Or does Christ require something more from me?
Do I have to earn the title of disciple?
If I have to earn the name, what becomes of grace?
A great debate has existed in the church from earliest times: the importance of works. Does Christianity consist of faith alone, or faith plus works? Are all "believers" saved, or are all disciples saved?
Did Jesus come to earth just to offer forgiveness and salvation?
Was Jesus’ goal on earth to recruit believers or to show us a different way?
What did Jesus have to say on this subject?
(Luk 6:40 ESV) A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
(Luk 14:26 ESV) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
(Luk 14:27 ESV) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
(Luk 14:33 ESV) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
(John 8:31 ESV) So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,..."
Some of that, we would rather not hear, or would rather find an alternate interpretation.
The Great Commission:
Mat 28:18-20 ESV
(18) And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
(19) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
(20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Was Jesus’ instruction to convince as many believers as possible?
What was Jesus’ instruction?
Make disciples.
How do we know if we are on the path of discipleship or just a believer?
Mat 7:15-20 ESV
(15) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
(16) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
(17) So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
(18) A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
(19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
(20) Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior. I even come to Church occasionally. Am I bearing good fruit?
What will become of me?
Mat 7:21-23 ESV
(21) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
(22) On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
(23) And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
I do good things. How do I know if they are the will of the Father?
Mat 7:24-27 ESV
(24) "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
(26) And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
(27) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."
Jesus came to give us wise words, to tell us what to do. These are teachings that we sometimes don’t want to follow. We would many times rather follow our religion than follow Christ.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer published many works, but is best known for The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937. This classic study of the life of discipleship centers on the Sermon on the Mount and how the teachings of Jesus are to be viewed by the contemporary church. This book has prodded and challenged countless Christians since its publication, mainly because, like a back-handed slap, we can respond to the message of Christ in two ways: we can either strike back or we can submit to Christ’s teachings. The casual reader of Bonhoeffer either quickly loses interest or becomes a serious reader.
What do we know about Bonhoeffer?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 to a large, close-knit, well educated family. He decided at the age of sixteen that wanted to be a theologian. He attended the University of Berlin and spent a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was enjoying the beginning of a career teaching systematic theology in Berlin in the early 1930's.
As the Nazis rose to power, Bonhoeffer saw the threat that the Church in Germany would face. In February 1933, Bonhoeffer denounced Hilter on a radio broadcast. Soon after this Bonhoeffer accepted an invitation to pastor two German-speaking Lutheran congregations in England. Bonhoeffer spent two years at the British churches warning church leaders of the threat posed by Hitler’s toxic mixture of Christianity and Nazism.
At this time, in opposition to the Nazi-sponsored German Christian Church, a group of believers in Germany formed the illegal Confessing Church. The Confessing church rejected Hitler’s state church and affirmed Jesus Christ as the only one worthy of the church’s allegiance.
In 1935 Bonhoeffer returned to Germany to lead an underground seminary for Confessing Church pastors. The seminary was closed by the Gestapo in 1937 and twenty-seven of its students were arrested. Bonhoeffer escaped arrest at that time, but was forbidden to write or publish. In defiance of the order, he proceeded with the publication of The Cost of Discipleship.
Throughout these years Bonhoeffer held a pacifist position and stated that if war came, he would refuse to fight. His views gradually changed. Agonizing as the idea was to him, he began to see that his pacifism, although a Christian virtue, might also be detrimental to the church that he so loved. The choice to fight or not fight for his country was difficult enough, but Bonhoeffer concluded that in order for the true church in Germany to survive, he must help defeat Germany. Through his brother-in-law Hans von Dahnanyi, Bonhoeffer learned of plans to overthrow the Nazi government. Plans that included the assassination of Adolph Hitler.
In 1939, Bonhoeffer came to the United States to lecture at Union Seminary. He was greatly tempted to remain in America until the German wars ended. His conscience would not allow this. He wrote that he could not in good conscience live as a Christian in Germany after the war if he did not participate in the trials of German Christians during the war. He returned to Germany and devoted himself to the Resistance and to the Confessing Church.
Bonhoeffer was arrested on April 5, 1943. He was imprisoned at Tegel Prison in Berlin. From all accounts his warmth and unselfishness, and above all his faith, won the respect of both guards and fellow prisoners. His own writings from prison reveal much about the sort of man he was. His Nazi guards, at great risk, smuggled out all that was later compiled by his best friend Eberhard Bethge and published as Letters and Papers from Prison.
Early in his imprisonment, Bonhoeffer hoped for release. He did, after all, know of the Resistance plot to assassinate Hitler and destroy the Nazi regime. On July 20, 1944, the assassination attempt failed. Soon afterward documents were found which implicated Bonhoeffer, Hans von Dohnanyi, and others. From that time Bonhoeffer’s only hope was a quick Allied victory and the liberation of the Nazi prisons.
He was moved to the Gestapo Headquarters in Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, Berlin and kept in a close confinement bunker. After February 1945 his family and friends on the outside lost all communication with him. They later learned of his final months.
He was moved to Buchenwald Prison. On the evening of April 3, 1945, he and fifteen other prisoners were removed from Buchenwald. From the back of the truck they were traveling in, they realized that they were headed toward Flossenburg, a death camp.
There was no room for any more prisoners at Flossenburg and the prisoners were taken to the town jail in Regensburg and soon afterwards moved to a converted school building in Schonberg. The prisoners hope rose. The Allied bombing of Berlin had begun before they had left Buchenwald and shortages of food and fuel were obvious indicators that Nazi power was crumbling.
On the Sunday after Easter, at the request of his fellow prisoners, Bonhoeffer conducted a worship service in the school building. He preached from Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 1:3:
Isa 53:5 ESV
(5) But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
1Pe 1:3 ESV
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Shortly after Bonhoeffer closed the service with a prayer, two men in civilian clothing entered. "Prisoner Bonhoeffer, get ready to come with us." As he left, Bonhoeffer spoke to British airman, Payne Best, his last recorded words: "This is the end - for me the beginning of life."
Bonhoeffer was taken to Flossenburg. At dawn on April 9 the prison doctor found Bonhoeffer kneeling in prayer in his cell. Bonhoeffer was taken outside and hanged.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was thirty-nine.
Berlin fell to the Allies on May 2.
What will we learn from The Cost of Discipleship?
Hopefully this book will make us think more deeply about our faith and how we act in faith.
Jam 2:17-20 ESV
(17) So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
(18) But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
(19) You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!
(20) Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Faith is obedience to the Word. Obedience to the Word is faith.
Is it only the twelve who followed Jesus?
Does the title "Disciple" belong to all Christians?
Does it?
Who is a disciple?
I believe in Jesus. I was baptized and joined a church. Am I a disciple?
Can I, as a believer, call myself a disciple?
Or does Christ require something more from me?
Do I have to earn the title of disciple?
If I have to earn the name, what becomes of grace?
A great debate has existed in the church from earliest times: the importance of works. Does Christianity consist of faith alone, or faith plus works? Are all "believers" saved, or are all disciples saved?
Did Jesus come to earth just to offer forgiveness and salvation?
Was Jesus’ goal on earth to recruit believers or to show us a different way?
What did Jesus have to say on this subject?
(Luk 6:40 ESV) A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
(Luk 14:26 ESV) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
(Luk 14:27 ESV) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
(Luk 14:33 ESV) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
(John 8:31 ESV) So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,..."
Some of that, we would rather not hear, or would rather find an alternate interpretation.
The Great Commission:
Mat 28:18-20 ESV
(18) And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
(19) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
(20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Was Jesus’ instruction to convince as many believers as possible?
What was Jesus’ instruction?
Make disciples.
How do we know if we are on the path of discipleship or just a believer?
Mat 7:15-20 ESV
(15) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
(16) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
(17) So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
(18) A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
(19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
(20) Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior. I even come to Church occasionally. Am I bearing good fruit?
What will become of me?
Mat 7:21-23 ESV
(21) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
(22) On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
(23) And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
I do good things. How do I know if they are the will of the Father?
Mat 7:24-27 ESV
(24) "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
(26) And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
(27) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."
Jesus came to give us wise words, to tell us what to do. These are teachings that we sometimes don’t want to follow. We would many times rather follow our religion than follow Christ.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer published many works, but is best known for The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937. This classic study of the life of discipleship centers on the Sermon on the Mount and how the teachings of Jesus are to be viewed by the contemporary church. This book has prodded and challenged countless Christians since its publication, mainly because, like a back-handed slap, we can respond to the message of Christ in two ways: we can either strike back or we can submit to Christ’s teachings. The casual reader of Bonhoeffer either quickly loses interest or becomes a serious reader.
What do we know about Bonhoeffer?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 to a large, close-knit, well educated family. He decided at the age of sixteen that wanted to be a theologian. He attended the University of Berlin and spent a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was enjoying the beginning of a career teaching systematic theology in Berlin in the early 1930's.
As the Nazis rose to power, Bonhoeffer saw the threat that the Church in Germany would face. In February 1933, Bonhoeffer denounced Hilter on a radio broadcast. Soon after this Bonhoeffer accepted an invitation to pastor two German-speaking Lutheran congregations in England. Bonhoeffer spent two years at the British churches warning church leaders of the threat posed by Hitler’s toxic mixture of Christianity and Nazism.
At this time, in opposition to the Nazi-sponsored German Christian Church, a group of believers in Germany formed the illegal Confessing Church. The Confessing church rejected Hitler’s state church and affirmed Jesus Christ as the only one worthy of the church’s allegiance.
In 1935 Bonhoeffer returned to Germany to lead an underground seminary for Confessing Church pastors. The seminary was closed by the Gestapo in 1937 and twenty-seven of its students were arrested. Bonhoeffer escaped arrest at that time, but was forbidden to write or publish. In defiance of the order, he proceeded with the publication of The Cost of Discipleship.
Throughout these years Bonhoeffer held a pacifist position and stated that if war came, he would refuse to fight. His views gradually changed. Agonizing as the idea was to him, he began to see that his pacifism, although a Christian virtue, might also be detrimental to the church that he so loved. The choice to fight or not fight for his country was difficult enough, but Bonhoeffer concluded that in order for the true church in Germany to survive, he must help defeat Germany. Through his brother-in-law Hans von Dahnanyi, Bonhoeffer learned of plans to overthrow the Nazi government. Plans that included the assassination of Adolph Hitler.
In 1939, Bonhoeffer came to the United States to lecture at Union Seminary. He was greatly tempted to remain in America until the German wars ended. His conscience would not allow this. He wrote that he could not in good conscience live as a Christian in Germany after the war if he did not participate in the trials of German Christians during the war. He returned to Germany and devoted himself to the Resistance and to the Confessing Church.
Bonhoeffer was arrested on April 5, 1943. He was imprisoned at Tegel Prison in Berlin. From all accounts his warmth and unselfishness, and above all his faith, won the respect of both guards and fellow prisoners. His own writings from prison reveal much about the sort of man he was. His Nazi guards, at great risk, smuggled out all that was later compiled by his best friend Eberhard Bethge and published as Letters and Papers from Prison.
Early in his imprisonment, Bonhoeffer hoped for release. He did, after all, know of the Resistance plot to assassinate Hitler and destroy the Nazi regime. On July 20, 1944, the assassination attempt failed. Soon afterward documents were found which implicated Bonhoeffer, Hans von Dohnanyi, and others. From that time Bonhoeffer’s only hope was a quick Allied victory and the liberation of the Nazi prisons.
He was moved to the Gestapo Headquarters in Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, Berlin and kept in a close confinement bunker. After February 1945 his family and friends on the outside lost all communication with him. They later learned of his final months.
He was moved to Buchenwald Prison. On the evening of April 3, 1945, he and fifteen other prisoners were removed from Buchenwald. From the back of the truck they were traveling in, they realized that they were headed toward Flossenburg, a death camp.
There was no room for any more prisoners at Flossenburg and the prisoners were taken to the town jail in Regensburg and soon afterwards moved to a converted school building in Schonberg. The prisoners hope rose. The Allied bombing of Berlin had begun before they had left Buchenwald and shortages of food and fuel were obvious indicators that Nazi power was crumbling.
On the Sunday after Easter, at the request of his fellow prisoners, Bonhoeffer conducted a worship service in the school building. He preached from Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 1:3:
Isa 53:5 ESV
(5) But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
1Pe 1:3 ESV
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Shortly after Bonhoeffer closed the service with a prayer, two men in civilian clothing entered. "Prisoner Bonhoeffer, get ready to come with us." As he left, Bonhoeffer spoke to British airman, Payne Best, his last recorded words: "This is the end - for me the beginning of life."
Bonhoeffer was taken to Flossenburg. At dawn on April 9 the prison doctor found Bonhoeffer kneeling in prayer in his cell. Bonhoeffer was taken outside and hanged.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was thirty-nine.
Berlin fell to the Allies on May 2.
What will we learn from The Cost of Discipleship?
Hopefully this book will make us think more deeply about our faith and how we act in faith.
Jam 2:17-20 ESV
(17) So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
(18) But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
(19) You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!
(20) Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Faith is obedience to the Word. Obedience to the Word is faith.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Sunday School Lesson: Be Free!
Purpose: To clarify the freedom that Christ provides and to ponder why Christ’s freedom is often difficult for us to receive.
Scripture: John 8:31-59
What is a disciple?
What does it mean to be free?
The word “freedom” can be applied many ways. To a prisoner, freedom means release. To oppressed nations freedom may mean independence from a foreign power or from a military dictator. To the impoverished freedom may mean being released from a debt or from financial uncertainty. We fight wars for “freedom”. What exactly is it that we are fighting for? Teenagers want to be free from their parents. Workers want to be free from their bosses and their toils. Addicts want to be free from their habits. Some even imagine that freedom is freedom to sin.
Do we obtain “freedom” when we reach a state where we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, and with whomever we want?
Is freedom even a possible goal?
Well, it is possible, but not through the means that we normally associate with achieving it.
Another of the absolutes of the Gospel:
There is only one path to freedom. And that path is only available to disciples of Christ.
Some background to today’s scripture:
The events and words of Jesus as recorded in John 7 and 8 occurred during Jesus visit to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Jesus had already met some opposition to His ministry and remained in Galilee for a while. Some of his followers persuaded Him to journey to Jerusalem for the feast (John 7:1-10). Even though Jesus knew that there were some in the Temple who wished to silence Him, that is exactly where He went. And He taught and shocked people with the power of his message. And yet some of those who listened believed (John 8:30). It was to those who believed that He continued with His Message in today’s scripture lesson. And his first lesson to the believers was what is required of a disciple:
John 8:31 NRSV
31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
What is the distinction between belief and “true-belief”?
A disciple “continues” in the “word” of Jesus. Notice there are two key words in that phrase: “continue” and “word”.
What did Jesus mean when he said that disciples continue in His word?
Let’s look at the word continue. Synonyms for “continue” from Roget’s Thesaurus:
persist, abide, advance, carry forward, endure, extend, forge ahead, keep at, keep on, keep up, maintain, move ahead, never cease, persevere, persist, press on, stick to, sustain, uphold.
Definitions of continue:
1. To go on or keep on.
2. To last or endure.
3. To remain in a particular state or capacity.
4. To go on with or persist in.
5. To cause to last or endure; maintain or retain.
According to the Thayer Greek Dictionary of the Bible, the original Greek translated as “continue” is meno which means to “remain or abide, to be held, kept, continually”.
The second key word: “word”.
According to Thayer and Strongs the word used is logos, the same word that John used in chapter one to describe Jesus himself:
In the beginning was the Word(Logos), and the Word(Logos) was with God, and the Word(Logos) was God.
So again I ask: What did Jesus mean when he said that disciples meno in His logos?
The “word” is not just the words of Jesus, or His teachings, which we should certainly study and follow. It is that and much more.
I believe in Jesus. I was baptized and joined a church. Am I a disciple?
Maybe. If I was baptized and joined the church this morning.
I was baptized and joined the church years ago. Since then, I occasionally attend a service, may even drop something in the offering plate every once in a while. Am I a disciple?
Continuing in Jesus’ word is not just a matter of believing, or studying, or obeying. Abiding in the Word makes one a disciple. Being a disciple requires Jesus as the foundation for one’s life, living in Him and through Him. It begins with faith, but is not just an intellectual acknowledgment. To continue in His word is to abide there, to be at home in His teachings and have them be the guiding principles of one’s life. There must be a growing relationship, a growing discipleship.
A great debate has existed in the church from earliest times: the importance of works. Does Christianity consist of faith alone, or faith plus works? Are all “believers” saved, or are all disciples saved?
We are going to start a book this Wednesday night in our book study that is a classic study on this subject: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost Of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer dissolves the controversy with the insistence that faith is obedience and obedience is faith. The two are inseparable and we can definitely answer the question, “Who is a Disciple”? Jesus gives us the answer: “Those who abide, continue, persevere, and remain in His Word." It is not enough to make a mental commitment to the teachings of Christ without placing Him at the foundation of all that one does and living according to His will. Jesus told those who believed that there is a way to determine whether their belief was sincere and genuine. It was not enough to verbally state belief in Jesus (these “believers” at the Temple had done so, and we will see before we are finished with this Scripture the extent of their “belief”.) What really mattered was whether those claiming to believe were changed by His teachings. Christ changes us. Jesus did not come to earth just to offer us forgiveness and salvation. He came to change us. A person claiming belief but exhibiting no change in his life cannot and should not be called a disciple.
Discipleship is what Jesus wants in all believers. Our Great Commission tells us not to create “believers” but to create “disciples”.
What is the benefit of discipleship?
Freedom.
John 8:32 NRSV
32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
What is the truth?
The truth is not some knowledge that we can obtain. The truth is Jesus Himself. He was not just a teacher of truth; He was and is truth. Truth is not just a correct statement or idea. Truth is a person. Being a disciple is necessary in order to know truth and to be set free by it.
What is this freedom? What are disciples freed from?
Jesus frees us to follow God. He frees us from the consequences of sin and from the nature of sin. Jesus frees us to be all that God meant for us to be. An impossibility without Jesus.
Discipleship brings us four freedoms:
1. Freedom from fear. Disciples walk with the Savior of the world. Whom shall I fear?
2. Freedom from self. Many of us recognize that our greatest handicap is our own self. We would love to change, but realize the impossibility. But the power and presence of Christ can re-create us. We can be re-born into something altogether new.
3. Freedom from others. With disciples, there is only one opinion that matters.
4. Freedom from sin. Sin can and does take over our lives. Try as we will, we cannot seem to break free. Discipleship breaks the chains which bind us and enables us to be the persons we know we ought to be.
Whew! All that and only two verses in.....
John 8:33-36 NRSV
33They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?" 34Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
How did these Jewish believers respond to Jesus’ offer of freedom?
"We have never been slaves..." Were these people in denial?
The Jewish people had been slaves in Egypt, captives in Assyria and Babylonia, had been ruled by seven different nations during the time of the Judges and were at the time of Jesus in servitude to Rome. What did they mean that they had never been slaves?
According to Jewish belief, even when physically enslaved, they considered God as their only Ruler and Lord. These people had developed a great attachment to liberty. When they stated that they had been no ones slaves, they were saying something which was a fundamental article of their creed of life. Even if it were true that there had been times when they were subject to other nations, even if it were true that at that very moment they were subject to Rome, it was also true that even in servitude they maintained an independence of spirit which meant that they may be slaves in body but never in soul. Despite their history, to suggest to the Jews that they might be slaves was an insult.
But Jesus was talking about a different kind of slavery. Which was?
Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Sin has a way of controlling our actions. When we confront the sin in our life, many times our response is, "Why can’t I just do what I want to do?" But if we are truly honest we can admit that sin is not what we really want to do. We are not doing what we like but what sin tells us to like. It is all too easy to allow a habit to get such a grip on us that we cannot break it, to take hold of us so completely that we can’t do without it. We can get to such a state that we both hate and love our sins at the same time. So far from "doing what I want to do" as a sinner I lose the ability to do "what I want. This is Jesus’ point. Sinners are slaves. Slaves to habits, indulgences, and pleasures. Sinners are never "free".
But freedom is available......
The Jewish believers had reminded Jesus of their lineage from Abraham, believing that through their genealogy, they were guaranteed a relationship with God.
Jesus then draws a contrast between Himself and Abraham:
John 8:37-41a
37I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.
38I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father." 39They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, 40but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are indeed doing what your father does."
Here Jesus introduces a theme that will grow in importance throughout this conversation: Who can rightly claim to be a descendant of Abraham? Who is these “believers” true father: Abraham, God, or the devil?
If they were the descendants of Abraham, they would live like it or act like it by honoring and loving Jesus. A true descendant of Abraham is the person who acts in the way in which Abraham acted. The same argument had been used by John the Baptist and would be used over and over by Paul. It was not flesh and blood which made someone a descendant of Abraham; it was moral quality and faith.
These believers did exactly the opposite of Abraham. Which was?
When a messenger from God came to Abraham, he welcomed him with eagerness and reverence (Gen 18). What were these so-called believers wanting to fo with God’s messenger?
They were trying to kill Him.
How could they dare call themselves descendants of Abraham when their conduct was so different?
Who does Jesus say that their true father is?
Jesus tells them that your true father is the one you imitate and obey. “You do the works of your father.” He has just told them that Abraham is not their father. Who is their father?
John 8:41b NRSV
They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.”
When faced with arguments to which we have no response we sometimes resort to ad hominem attacks. An ad hominem is when we appeal to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect or make an attack on an opponent's character rather than answer the contentions made. This is the first such attack in this passage and is believed to be a reference to knowledge that the Jews had that Mary was not married when Jesus was conceived and Jesus was thus an “illegitimate” child.
John 8:42-47 NRSV
42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. 43Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”
Can you see how this exchange was escalating in tone?
In verse 44 Jesus point-blank let’s them know who their true spiritual father is.
Many times Jesus challenged his audience to test him. One of these tests occurs in verses 46 and 47. Just imagine:
Jesus: Which of you convicts me of sin?
Listeners: (lengthy silence) (the silence reveals their answer)
Jesus: By your silence, you admit that I tell the truth. Then why do you not accept what I say, that I am from God.
Listeners: (lengthy silence)
Jesus: If you belong to God you will listen to what God says. There can only be one reason that you do not listen: you do not belong to God.
Jesus ignored their personal attack and responded with logic and what was their response?
John 8:48-50 NRSV
48The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge.
Ad hominem. You are a Samaritan and have a demon. When you can’t respond to the logic of a persons argument, what do you do?
You attack the person. Very childish. “You’re fat....and stupid.” “Oh, yeah, your mama is fat and stupid.” “I’m not illegitimate, but you are.” One of my favorites: Eddie Murphy: “You can’t get no ice cream. You can’t afford it. Your mama’s on welfare.” Politicians are pros at ad hominem. When faced with issues that they would rather not discuss logically they resort to: “My opponent is a liberal.” Or “My opponent is a conservative.” They might as well be saying, “My opponent is fat and stupid.” Logic proves arguments. Ad hominem arguments prove nothing and are totally irrelevant to the discussion.
John 8:51-59 51Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” 52The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” 54Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ 55though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
The center of the exchange between Jesus and his audience is revealed in verse 55. These who had earlier professed belief do not even know God. In this verse John used two different words for “know”. When Jesus says that the listeners did not “know” him, the word used was ginosko, which means to gain knowledge of something through personal experience. These Jewish believers claimed knowledge of God, but Jesus says that they had never really known Him.
When Jesus said, “but I know Him” the word used is Ido which means to have a certain and accurate knowledge. They had not even began to experience God, but Jesus knew God absolutely.
Jesus went on to make tow more statements of Truth. He said that if He said He did not know God, He would be a liar just like them. And He said that Abraham was aware of Him and had rejoiced over Jesus presence on earth.
Then in verse 58 Jesus made the boldest statement yet about His divine nature. The Jews would have immediately recognized Jesus claim. Which was?
Jesus claim here that He is God. I AM, the term God used in the Old Testament to proclaim His eternal existence. This was a claim on Jesus part that He was indeed the Yahweh of the Old Testament.
What was the conclusion that the Jews came to about Jesus’ claim of deity?
Their response was to pick up stones in order to stone Him to death for blasphemy.
What is the only conclusions that we can come to today about Jesus’ claim to deity?
As C. S. Lewis put it:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
This entire lesson is about truth. What is it? How do we recognize it? How do we respond to it?
What does it demand of us?
Wherever and whenever Jesus made a claim about Himself, it created a crisis. People were forced to make a choice, either for Him or against Him. One thing was clear: there is no middle ground. In the six lessons this quarter, we have been looking at important truths regarding Jesus. Every lesson has pointed to the same reality: He is truly God and truly man in one person.
The world does not love truth. Many would rather pick up stones to fight than welcome the stranger or love the enemy or invite a sinner to dinner or pray for those who do evil. Regardless of the world’s response, those who follow Jesus choose Truth. Disciples are alive and free and eternal.
Scripture: John 8:31-59
What is a disciple?
What does it mean to be free?
The word “freedom” can be applied many ways. To a prisoner, freedom means release. To oppressed nations freedom may mean independence from a foreign power or from a military dictator. To the impoverished freedom may mean being released from a debt or from financial uncertainty. We fight wars for “freedom”. What exactly is it that we are fighting for? Teenagers want to be free from their parents. Workers want to be free from their bosses and their toils. Addicts want to be free from their habits. Some even imagine that freedom is freedom to sin.
Do we obtain “freedom” when we reach a state where we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, and with whomever we want?
Is freedom even a possible goal?
Well, it is possible, but not through the means that we normally associate with achieving it.
Another of the absolutes of the Gospel:
There is only one path to freedom. And that path is only available to disciples of Christ.
Some background to today’s scripture:
The events and words of Jesus as recorded in John 7 and 8 occurred during Jesus visit to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Jesus had already met some opposition to His ministry and remained in Galilee for a while. Some of his followers persuaded Him to journey to Jerusalem for the feast (John 7:1-10). Even though Jesus knew that there were some in the Temple who wished to silence Him, that is exactly where He went. And He taught and shocked people with the power of his message. And yet some of those who listened believed (John 8:30). It was to those who believed that He continued with His Message in today’s scripture lesson. And his first lesson to the believers was what is required of a disciple:
John 8:31 NRSV
31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
What is the distinction between belief and “true-belief”?
A disciple “continues” in the “word” of Jesus. Notice there are two key words in that phrase: “continue” and “word”.
What did Jesus mean when he said that disciples continue in His word?
Let’s look at the word continue. Synonyms for “continue” from Roget’s Thesaurus:
persist, abide, advance, carry forward, endure, extend, forge ahead, keep at, keep on, keep up, maintain, move ahead, never cease, persevere, persist, press on, stick to, sustain, uphold.
Definitions of continue:
1. To go on or keep on.
2. To last or endure.
3. To remain in a particular state or capacity.
4. To go on with or persist in.
5. To cause to last or endure; maintain or retain.
According to the Thayer Greek Dictionary of the Bible, the original Greek translated as “continue” is meno which means to “remain or abide, to be held, kept, continually”.
The second key word: “word”.
According to Thayer and Strongs the word used is logos, the same word that John used in chapter one to describe Jesus himself:
In the beginning was the Word(Logos), and the Word(Logos) was with God, and the Word(Logos) was God.
So again I ask: What did Jesus mean when he said that disciples meno in His logos?
The “word” is not just the words of Jesus, or His teachings, which we should certainly study and follow. It is that and much more.
I believe in Jesus. I was baptized and joined a church. Am I a disciple?
Maybe. If I was baptized and joined the church this morning.
I was baptized and joined the church years ago. Since then, I occasionally attend a service, may even drop something in the offering plate every once in a while. Am I a disciple?
Continuing in Jesus’ word is not just a matter of believing, or studying, or obeying. Abiding in the Word makes one a disciple. Being a disciple requires Jesus as the foundation for one’s life, living in Him and through Him. It begins with faith, but is not just an intellectual acknowledgment. To continue in His word is to abide there, to be at home in His teachings and have them be the guiding principles of one’s life. There must be a growing relationship, a growing discipleship.
A great debate has existed in the church from earliest times: the importance of works. Does Christianity consist of faith alone, or faith plus works? Are all “believers” saved, or are all disciples saved?
We are going to start a book this Wednesday night in our book study that is a classic study on this subject: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost Of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer dissolves the controversy with the insistence that faith is obedience and obedience is faith. The two are inseparable and we can definitely answer the question, “Who is a Disciple”? Jesus gives us the answer: “Those who abide, continue, persevere, and remain in His Word." It is not enough to make a mental commitment to the teachings of Christ without placing Him at the foundation of all that one does and living according to His will. Jesus told those who believed that there is a way to determine whether their belief was sincere and genuine. It was not enough to verbally state belief in Jesus (these “believers” at the Temple had done so, and we will see before we are finished with this Scripture the extent of their “belief”.) What really mattered was whether those claiming to believe were changed by His teachings. Christ changes us. Jesus did not come to earth just to offer us forgiveness and salvation. He came to change us. A person claiming belief but exhibiting no change in his life cannot and should not be called a disciple.
Discipleship is what Jesus wants in all believers. Our Great Commission tells us not to create “believers” but to create “disciples”.
What is the benefit of discipleship?
Freedom.
John 8:32 NRSV
32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
What is the truth?
The truth is not some knowledge that we can obtain. The truth is Jesus Himself. He was not just a teacher of truth; He was and is truth. Truth is not just a correct statement or idea. Truth is a person. Being a disciple is necessary in order to know truth and to be set free by it.
What is this freedom? What are disciples freed from?
Jesus frees us to follow God. He frees us from the consequences of sin and from the nature of sin. Jesus frees us to be all that God meant for us to be. An impossibility without Jesus.
Discipleship brings us four freedoms:
1. Freedom from fear. Disciples walk with the Savior of the world. Whom shall I fear?
2. Freedom from self. Many of us recognize that our greatest handicap is our own self. We would love to change, but realize the impossibility. But the power and presence of Christ can re-create us. We can be re-born into something altogether new.
3. Freedom from others. With disciples, there is only one opinion that matters.
4. Freedom from sin. Sin can and does take over our lives. Try as we will, we cannot seem to break free. Discipleship breaks the chains which bind us and enables us to be the persons we know we ought to be.
Whew! All that and only two verses in.....
John 8:33-36 NRSV
33They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?" 34Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
How did these Jewish believers respond to Jesus’ offer of freedom?
"We have never been slaves..." Were these people in denial?
The Jewish people had been slaves in Egypt, captives in Assyria and Babylonia, had been ruled by seven different nations during the time of the Judges and were at the time of Jesus in servitude to Rome. What did they mean that they had never been slaves?
According to Jewish belief, even when physically enslaved, they considered God as their only Ruler and Lord. These people had developed a great attachment to liberty. When they stated that they had been no ones slaves, they were saying something which was a fundamental article of their creed of life. Even if it were true that there had been times when they were subject to other nations, even if it were true that at that very moment they were subject to Rome, it was also true that even in servitude they maintained an independence of spirit which meant that they may be slaves in body but never in soul. Despite their history, to suggest to the Jews that they might be slaves was an insult.
But Jesus was talking about a different kind of slavery. Which was?
Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Sin has a way of controlling our actions. When we confront the sin in our life, many times our response is, "Why can’t I just do what I want to do?" But if we are truly honest we can admit that sin is not what we really want to do. We are not doing what we like but what sin tells us to like. It is all too easy to allow a habit to get such a grip on us that we cannot break it, to take hold of us so completely that we can’t do without it. We can get to such a state that we both hate and love our sins at the same time. So far from "doing what I want to do" as a sinner I lose the ability to do "what I want. This is Jesus’ point. Sinners are slaves. Slaves to habits, indulgences, and pleasures. Sinners are never "free".
But freedom is available......
The Jewish believers had reminded Jesus of their lineage from Abraham, believing that through their genealogy, they were guaranteed a relationship with God.
Jesus then draws a contrast between Himself and Abraham:
John 8:37-41a
37I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.
38I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father." 39They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, 40but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are indeed doing what your father does."
Here Jesus introduces a theme that will grow in importance throughout this conversation: Who can rightly claim to be a descendant of Abraham? Who is these “believers” true father: Abraham, God, or the devil?
If they were the descendants of Abraham, they would live like it or act like it by honoring and loving Jesus. A true descendant of Abraham is the person who acts in the way in which Abraham acted. The same argument had been used by John the Baptist and would be used over and over by Paul. It was not flesh and blood which made someone a descendant of Abraham; it was moral quality and faith.
These believers did exactly the opposite of Abraham. Which was?
When a messenger from God came to Abraham, he welcomed him with eagerness and reverence (Gen 18). What were these so-called believers wanting to fo with God’s messenger?
They were trying to kill Him.
How could they dare call themselves descendants of Abraham when their conduct was so different?
Who does Jesus say that their true father is?
Jesus tells them that your true father is the one you imitate and obey. “You do the works of your father.” He has just told them that Abraham is not their father. Who is their father?
John 8:41b NRSV
They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.”
When faced with arguments to which we have no response we sometimes resort to ad hominem attacks. An ad hominem is when we appeal to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect or make an attack on an opponent's character rather than answer the contentions made. This is the first such attack in this passage and is believed to be a reference to knowledge that the Jews had that Mary was not married when Jesus was conceived and Jesus was thus an “illegitimate” child.
John 8:42-47 NRSV
42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. 43Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”
Can you see how this exchange was escalating in tone?
In verse 44 Jesus point-blank let’s them know who their true spiritual father is.
Many times Jesus challenged his audience to test him. One of these tests occurs in verses 46 and 47. Just imagine:
Jesus: Which of you convicts me of sin?
Listeners: (lengthy silence) (the silence reveals their answer)
Jesus: By your silence, you admit that I tell the truth. Then why do you not accept what I say, that I am from God.
Listeners: (lengthy silence)
Jesus: If you belong to God you will listen to what God says. There can only be one reason that you do not listen: you do not belong to God.
Jesus ignored their personal attack and responded with logic and what was their response?
John 8:48-50 NRSV
48The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge.
Ad hominem. You are a Samaritan and have a demon. When you can’t respond to the logic of a persons argument, what do you do?
You attack the person. Very childish. “You’re fat....and stupid.” “Oh, yeah, your mama is fat and stupid.” “I’m not illegitimate, but you are.” One of my favorites: Eddie Murphy: “You can’t get no ice cream. You can’t afford it. Your mama’s on welfare.” Politicians are pros at ad hominem. When faced with issues that they would rather not discuss logically they resort to: “My opponent is a liberal.” Or “My opponent is a conservative.” They might as well be saying, “My opponent is fat and stupid.” Logic proves arguments. Ad hominem arguments prove nothing and are totally irrelevant to the discussion.
John 8:51-59 51Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” 52The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” 54Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ 55though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
The center of the exchange between Jesus and his audience is revealed in verse 55. These who had earlier professed belief do not even know God. In this verse John used two different words for “know”. When Jesus says that the listeners did not “know” him, the word used was ginosko, which means to gain knowledge of something through personal experience. These Jewish believers claimed knowledge of God, but Jesus says that they had never really known Him.
When Jesus said, “but I know Him” the word used is Ido which means to have a certain and accurate knowledge. They had not even began to experience God, but Jesus knew God absolutely.
Jesus went on to make tow more statements of Truth. He said that if He said He did not know God, He would be a liar just like them. And He said that Abraham was aware of Him and had rejoiced over Jesus presence on earth.
Then in verse 58 Jesus made the boldest statement yet about His divine nature. The Jews would have immediately recognized Jesus claim. Which was?
Jesus claim here that He is God. I AM, the term God used in the Old Testament to proclaim His eternal existence. This was a claim on Jesus part that He was indeed the Yahweh of the Old Testament.
What was the conclusion that the Jews came to about Jesus’ claim of deity?
Their response was to pick up stones in order to stone Him to death for blasphemy.
What is the only conclusions that we can come to today about Jesus’ claim to deity?
As C. S. Lewis put it:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
This entire lesson is about truth. What is it? How do we recognize it? How do we respond to it?
What does it demand of us?
Wherever and whenever Jesus made a claim about Himself, it created a crisis. People were forced to make a choice, either for Him or against Him. One thing was clear: there is no middle ground. In the six lessons this quarter, we have been looking at important truths regarding Jesus. Every lesson has pointed to the same reality: He is truly God and truly man in one person.
The world does not love truth. Many would rather pick up stones to fight than welcome the stranger or love the enemy or invite a sinner to dinner or pray for those who do evil. Regardless of the world’s response, those who follow Jesus choose Truth. Disciples are alive and free and eternal.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Sunday School Lesson: Keeping the Balance
Purpose: To study the relationship between humility and glory in Christ and what this means for us.
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11
philippians 2 (NRSV)
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6who, though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godas something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,being born in human likeness.And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himselfand became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
9Therefore God also highly exalted himand gave him the namethat is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bend,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confessthat Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians has two traits that none of Paul’s other epistles have. The first trait of this letter is the spirit in which it was written. This letter was not written to ward off some impending heresy in the church or to rebuke false teachers or fallen believers. This was not a letter of encouragement to a struggling body of believers. This letter has been called the "Epistle of Joy". The words joy and rejoice are used repeatedly in this letter. It seems that there had grown a bond of friendship between Paul and the church at Philippi closer than that which existed between himself and any other church. Paul calls this church his "joy and crown":
Phi 4:1 ESV
(1) Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Paul called the Philippian church his "partners" and support:
Phi 4:15 ESV
(15) And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.
In fact Paul generally made a point to let everyone know that he was self-sufficient and could support himself, yet, in Philippi, Paul accepted lodging at the home of Lydia (Acts 16) and gifts from the Philippian church while in Thesallonica (Phi 4:16) and in prison (Phi 4:10,11). The church even sent Epaphroditus with the gift not only as the gift-bearer but to remain as a servant for Paul during his imprisonment. This alone indicates a relationship between Paul and this church unlike his relationships with the other churches.
The second trait of the Letter to the Philippians is that it alone is indisputably a letter of Paul. No reputable New Testament critic has ever doubted its genuineness. We can accept Philippians as undoubtedly an authentic letter of Paul.
Paul wrote this letter with several certain definite aims. When Paul wrote this letter he was in prison in Rome. The letter is first and foremost a letter of thanks. Once again, even though many years had passed since Paul first visited Philippi, the Philippians had sent Paul a gift. The letter was also written out of concern for Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus had become ill while serving Paul in Rome. Paul sent Epaphroditus home, but he had the unhappy feeling that the people of Philippi might think of Epaphroditus as a quitter, so he goes out of his way to offer a testimonial to Epaphroditus’ service (Phi 2:29,30) telling the church that Epaphroditus nearly died in service to Christ. And lastly the letter was written as an appeal to maintain unity in the church, the subject of today’s passage.
Disunity was the one danger that may have threatened the Philippian church. Could we say that disunity is perhaps the greatest threat to every healthy church?
For what reason does disunity threaten healthy churches?
Does it seem that when people are really serious about their beliefs and their beliefs really matter to them that they are most likely to come into conflict with one another?
True or false: The greater the enthusiasm within a group of believers, the greater the danger that their opinions may collide.
What are some causes of disunity in the church?
In verses 3 and 4, Paul gives us the three greatest causes of disunity. What are they?
1. Selfish ambition. When folks work not to advance the Kingdom of God but to advance themselves. I’m sure we can all think of examples of this in the Church.
2. Conceit. Feelings of excessive pride. The desire for personal prestige. Prestige is for many people a greater temptation than wealth. To be admired and respected. To sit in the seats of power. To have one’s opinion sought. To be known by name and appearance. To be flattered. These are, for many people, the most desirable things. How does this fit into the Christian life?
The aim of the Christian ought not to be self-display but self-suppression, self-elimination, self-obliteration, self-rescission. We should live the Christian life, not in order that others may glorify us, but that we may glorify our Father in Heaven. Christians should always desire to focus other’s eyes not upon ourselves, but on God.
3. Concentration on self. We live in a society that values individuality and individual rights over and above even individual welfare and well-being. Can you see any danger of allowing self-interest and personal liberties the highest priority in our society?
If we are always concerned first and foremost with our own interests, we are bound to come into conflict with others. If for us life is a competition whose prizes we must win, we will always think of other human beings as enemies or at least as opponents who must be pushed out of the way. Concentration on self inevitably means elimination of others, and the object of life becomes not to help others but to put them down or show them where they are wrong and we are right.
The first verse of today’s passage could be paraphrased, "If being a Christian means anything to you......." Let’s discuss that a bit. What does being a Christian mean to you?
Paul began this passage naming four qualities that mark unity with Christ. Four if statements. What are those four qualities/ifs?
1. Encouragement in Christ.
2. Consolation from love.
3. Sharing in the Spirit.
4. Compassion and sympathy.
When Paul makes these statements as ifs (i.e. if there is encouragement in Christ, if there is consolation from love, if there is sharing in the Spirit, if there is compassion and sympathy) is he questioning the presence of these characteristics in the Philippian Church (or in any faithful church)?
Paul does not question the faith of the Philippians. He wants his readers to ponder the characteristics of a healthy church. Characteristics that are represented by unity and harmony.
Can we find encouragement in knowing Christ?
Absolutely.
Are we encouraged through Christ to practice unity?
The simple fact that we are all in Christ should keep us in unity.
Is it possible to walk in disunity with other Christians and in unity with Christ?
If we have Christ as a companion, we inevitably become companions of others.
Can we find consolation in living a life of love?
Absolutely.
Can the power of Christian love keep us in unity?
Christian love is that unconquered goodwill which never knows bitterness and never seeks anything but the good of others. Christian love is not a mere reaction of the heart, as human love is. Christian love is a complete victory of the will, achieved only through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Does Christian love mean that we only love those who love us, or whom we like, or who are lovable, or who believe and live exactly like we do?
Christian love means unwavering, unconquerable goodwill to those who hate us, to those whom we do not like, to those who are unlovely, even to those who ridicule or question our beliefs. This is the very essence of the Christian life.
Can we find fellowship by sharing in the Spirit?
Absolutely.
Can the fact that Christians share in the Holy Spirit keep us from disunity?
The Holy Spirit binds individuals to God and to one another. It is the Spirit that enables us to live the life of love. If we live in disunity with one another, we show that the Spirit is not in us.
The presence of the Spirit is a common bond among all believers, which certainly ought to have a unifying effect in any church. It is difficult to comprehend church fights when each member claims to be a child of God.
Can compassion and sympathy keep us from disunity?
Absolutely. The very existence of compassion should keep people from disunity.
What was Paul’s reason for encouraging unity in the Church?
His reason was personal: unity in the church would "make my joy complete." There can be no happiness for him as long as he knows there is disunity in the church that was so dear to him. If they want to bring him joy (and they obviously did as evidenced by their gifts to him) they must perfect their fellowship. If the Philippian believers were unified and like-minded, showing the mind of Christ, Paul would experience joy.
Verses 5-11 is in many ways the most moving and inspiring words that Paul ever wrote about Jesus. These verses carry on a theme that we have followed for past four lessons: Jesus Christ, God, Creator of all that exists, became one of us because He loved us and wanted to save us.
Key verses from the past lessons:
Col 1:15-16 ESV
(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
(16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
Heb 1:2-3 ESV
(2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
(3) He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
1Jo 1:1-2 ESV
(1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life--
(2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us--
Joh 1:1-3 ESV
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(2) He was in the beginning with God.
(3) All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:14 ESV
(14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Just how much like God is Jesus?
Why is it not good enough to say that Jesus was the Son of God but not God?
Paul reemphasizes the dual nature of Jesus but adds language that stresses one of Paul’s favorite thoughts: the unequaled humility of Jesus, that one who was rich beyond comprehension would willingly become the poorest of poor.
Imagine one of the richest of the rich in our world, a billionaire, say Bill Gates or Ted Turner or Donald Trump or Warren Buffett. Imagine one of these leaving his opulent home and lifestyle to live in a ghetto or in a third world slum. Does that sacrifice in any way approximate the kind of humbling that Jesus is described as doing according to Paul?
Only in the sense that it is moving in the right direction. In terms of degrees, it does not even come close. God became man. Man becoming earthworm would be closer, but would still not be equal.
Verses 6-8 form a very short passage, but there is no passage in the New Testament which so movingly sets out the utter reality of the godhead and the humanity of Jesus and makes so vivid the sacrifice that he made when he set aside his godhead and became human. A mystery of love so great that we can never fully comprehend it.
How will believers who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength feel to kneel before Jesus?
How will rebellious, stubborn, self-absorbed sinners feel to kneel before Jesus?
Every knee will bend. To some it will be heaven and to others hell.
Why do you think that William Barclay described verse 11 as one of the most important in the New Testament?
There will be a day that every tongue will confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord".
According to Barclay, these four words were the first creed of the Christian Church. To be a Christian was to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This simple, all-embracing creed was enough for the early church. Would we do well to return to this simple statement of faith?
Why and when was this perfect creed replaced by our modern statements of faith?
As time passed the early church tried to define more closely what it meant to be Christian. This resulted in arguments and quarrels and with some being labeled as heretics and fools.
But isn’t it still true that anyone who can say, "For me, Jesus Christ is Lord" is a Christian?
If we can say that, we mean that for us Jesus Christ is unique and that we are prepared to give him an obedience we are prepared to give to noone else. We may not be able to put into words exactly who and what we believe Jesus to be, but as long as there is in our hearts this wondering love and in our lives this unquestioning obedience, we are indeed Christians, because Christianity consists less in the mind’s understanding than it does in the heart’s love.
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11
philippians 2 (NRSV)
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6who, though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godas something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,being born in human likeness.And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himselfand became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
9Therefore God also highly exalted himand gave him the namethat is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bend,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confessthat Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians has two traits that none of Paul’s other epistles have. The first trait of this letter is the spirit in which it was written. This letter was not written to ward off some impending heresy in the church or to rebuke false teachers or fallen believers. This was not a letter of encouragement to a struggling body of believers. This letter has been called the "Epistle of Joy". The words joy and rejoice are used repeatedly in this letter. It seems that there had grown a bond of friendship between Paul and the church at Philippi closer than that which existed between himself and any other church. Paul calls this church his "joy and crown":
Phi 4:1 ESV
(1) Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Paul called the Philippian church his "partners" and support:
Phi 4:15 ESV
(15) And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.
In fact Paul generally made a point to let everyone know that he was self-sufficient and could support himself, yet, in Philippi, Paul accepted lodging at the home of Lydia (Acts 16) and gifts from the Philippian church while in Thesallonica (Phi 4:16) and in prison (Phi 4:10,11). The church even sent Epaphroditus with the gift not only as the gift-bearer but to remain as a servant for Paul during his imprisonment. This alone indicates a relationship between Paul and this church unlike his relationships with the other churches.
The second trait of the Letter to the Philippians is that it alone is indisputably a letter of Paul. No reputable New Testament critic has ever doubted its genuineness. We can accept Philippians as undoubtedly an authentic letter of Paul.
Paul wrote this letter with several certain definite aims. When Paul wrote this letter he was in prison in Rome. The letter is first and foremost a letter of thanks. Once again, even though many years had passed since Paul first visited Philippi, the Philippians had sent Paul a gift. The letter was also written out of concern for Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus had become ill while serving Paul in Rome. Paul sent Epaphroditus home, but he had the unhappy feeling that the people of Philippi might think of Epaphroditus as a quitter, so he goes out of his way to offer a testimonial to Epaphroditus’ service (Phi 2:29,30) telling the church that Epaphroditus nearly died in service to Christ. And lastly the letter was written as an appeal to maintain unity in the church, the subject of today’s passage.
Disunity was the one danger that may have threatened the Philippian church. Could we say that disunity is perhaps the greatest threat to every healthy church?
For what reason does disunity threaten healthy churches?
Does it seem that when people are really serious about their beliefs and their beliefs really matter to them that they are most likely to come into conflict with one another?
True or false: The greater the enthusiasm within a group of believers, the greater the danger that their opinions may collide.
What are some causes of disunity in the church?
In verses 3 and 4, Paul gives us the three greatest causes of disunity. What are they?
1. Selfish ambition. When folks work not to advance the Kingdom of God but to advance themselves. I’m sure we can all think of examples of this in the Church.
2. Conceit. Feelings of excessive pride. The desire for personal prestige. Prestige is for many people a greater temptation than wealth. To be admired and respected. To sit in the seats of power. To have one’s opinion sought. To be known by name and appearance. To be flattered. These are, for many people, the most desirable things. How does this fit into the Christian life?
The aim of the Christian ought not to be self-display but self-suppression, self-elimination, self-obliteration, self-rescission. We should live the Christian life, not in order that others may glorify us, but that we may glorify our Father in Heaven. Christians should always desire to focus other’s eyes not upon ourselves, but on God.
3. Concentration on self. We live in a society that values individuality and individual rights over and above even individual welfare and well-being. Can you see any danger of allowing self-interest and personal liberties the highest priority in our society?
If we are always concerned first and foremost with our own interests, we are bound to come into conflict with others. If for us life is a competition whose prizes we must win, we will always think of other human beings as enemies or at least as opponents who must be pushed out of the way. Concentration on self inevitably means elimination of others, and the object of life becomes not to help others but to put them down or show them where they are wrong and we are right.
The first verse of today’s passage could be paraphrased, "If being a Christian means anything to you......." Let’s discuss that a bit. What does being a Christian mean to you?
Paul began this passage naming four qualities that mark unity with Christ. Four if statements. What are those four qualities/ifs?
1. Encouragement in Christ.
2. Consolation from love.
3. Sharing in the Spirit.
4. Compassion and sympathy.
When Paul makes these statements as ifs (i.e. if there is encouragement in Christ, if there is consolation from love, if there is sharing in the Spirit, if there is compassion and sympathy) is he questioning the presence of these characteristics in the Philippian Church (or in any faithful church)?
Paul does not question the faith of the Philippians. He wants his readers to ponder the characteristics of a healthy church. Characteristics that are represented by unity and harmony.
Can we find encouragement in knowing Christ?
Absolutely.
Are we encouraged through Christ to practice unity?
The simple fact that we are all in Christ should keep us in unity.
Is it possible to walk in disunity with other Christians and in unity with Christ?
If we have Christ as a companion, we inevitably become companions of others.
Can we find consolation in living a life of love?
Absolutely.
Can the power of Christian love keep us in unity?
Christian love is that unconquered goodwill which never knows bitterness and never seeks anything but the good of others. Christian love is not a mere reaction of the heart, as human love is. Christian love is a complete victory of the will, achieved only through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Does Christian love mean that we only love those who love us, or whom we like, or who are lovable, or who believe and live exactly like we do?
Christian love means unwavering, unconquerable goodwill to those who hate us, to those whom we do not like, to those who are unlovely, even to those who ridicule or question our beliefs. This is the very essence of the Christian life.
Can we find fellowship by sharing in the Spirit?
Absolutely.
Can the fact that Christians share in the Holy Spirit keep us from disunity?
The Holy Spirit binds individuals to God and to one another. It is the Spirit that enables us to live the life of love. If we live in disunity with one another, we show that the Spirit is not in us.
The presence of the Spirit is a common bond among all believers, which certainly ought to have a unifying effect in any church. It is difficult to comprehend church fights when each member claims to be a child of God.
Can compassion and sympathy keep us from disunity?
Absolutely. The very existence of compassion should keep people from disunity.
What was Paul’s reason for encouraging unity in the Church?
His reason was personal: unity in the church would "make my joy complete." There can be no happiness for him as long as he knows there is disunity in the church that was so dear to him. If they want to bring him joy (and they obviously did as evidenced by their gifts to him) they must perfect their fellowship. If the Philippian believers were unified and like-minded, showing the mind of Christ, Paul would experience joy.
Verses 5-11 is in many ways the most moving and inspiring words that Paul ever wrote about Jesus. These verses carry on a theme that we have followed for past four lessons: Jesus Christ, God, Creator of all that exists, became one of us because He loved us and wanted to save us.
Key verses from the past lessons:
Col 1:15-16 ESV
(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
(16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
Heb 1:2-3 ESV
(2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
(3) He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
1Jo 1:1-2 ESV
(1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life--
(2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us--
Joh 1:1-3 ESV
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(2) He was in the beginning with God.
(3) All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:14 ESV
(14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Just how much like God is Jesus?
Why is it not good enough to say that Jesus was the Son of God but not God?
Paul reemphasizes the dual nature of Jesus but adds language that stresses one of Paul’s favorite thoughts: the unequaled humility of Jesus, that one who was rich beyond comprehension would willingly become the poorest of poor.
Imagine one of the richest of the rich in our world, a billionaire, say Bill Gates or Ted Turner or Donald Trump or Warren Buffett. Imagine one of these leaving his opulent home and lifestyle to live in a ghetto or in a third world slum. Does that sacrifice in any way approximate the kind of humbling that Jesus is described as doing according to Paul?
Only in the sense that it is moving in the right direction. In terms of degrees, it does not even come close. God became man. Man becoming earthworm would be closer, but would still not be equal.
Verses 6-8 form a very short passage, but there is no passage in the New Testament which so movingly sets out the utter reality of the godhead and the humanity of Jesus and makes so vivid the sacrifice that he made when he set aside his godhead and became human. A mystery of love so great that we can never fully comprehend it.
How will believers who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength feel to kneel before Jesus?
How will rebellious, stubborn, self-absorbed sinners feel to kneel before Jesus?
Every knee will bend. To some it will be heaven and to others hell.
Why do you think that William Barclay described verse 11 as one of the most important in the New Testament?
There will be a day that every tongue will confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord".
According to Barclay, these four words were the first creed of the Christian Church. To be a Christian was to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This simple, all-embracing creed was enough for the early church. Would we do well to return to this simple statement of faith?
Why and when was this perfect creed replaced by our modern statements of faith?
As time passed the early church tried to define more closely what it meant to be Christian. This resulted in arguments and quarrels and with some being labeled as heretics and fools.
But isn’t it still true that anyone who can say, "For me, Jesus Christ is Lord" is a Christian?
If we can say that, we mean that for us Jesus Christ is unique and that we are prepared to give him an obedience we are prepared to give to noone else. We may not be able to put into words exactly who and what we believe Jesus to be, but as long as there is in our hearts this wondering love and in our lives this unquestioning obedience, we are indeed Christians, because Christianity consists less in the mind’s understanding than it does in the heart’s love.
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