Ok – the 2nd part of what I’ve been thinking about, in relation to 2 Corinthians 4:16 is this.  How does the everyday Christian bring other souls to Christ?  I mean, Jesus gave the great commission in Matt. 28, and yet we don’t always find the right conversation to drop the right words in.  I don’t have the exact solution, but in a book I was reading with the Harding Academy faculty, I found some interesting pointers.

“It is our contention in this book that the Lord’s cultural commission is inseparable from the great commission.  That may be a jarring statement for many conservative Christians, who, through much of the twentieth century, have shunned the notion of reforming culture, associating that concept with the liberal social gospel.  The only task of the church, many fundamentalists and evangelicals have believed, is to save as many lost souls as possible from a world literally going to hell.  But this implicit denial of a Christian worldview is unbiblical and is the reason we have lost so much of our influence in the world.  Salvation does not consist simply of freedom from sin; salvation also means being restored to the task we were given in the beginning – the job of creating culture.”  (Colson, 21)

All I could say after reading that passage of this challenging book was, AMEN!  That is now how I grew up.  Not that I fault my mentors and the preachers I grew up hearing, but the “cultural commission” is just not what I grew up hearing about.  Like Colson said, I was told that the “social gospel” was everything BUT teaching the gospel to people so they may be saved.  What about kindness?  What about ministering to the needs of all humanity, “but especially to the household of faith?”  Our thinking pattern seems to go like this all too often:  teach the gospel.  nevermind if a man is homeless, poor, outcast, homosexual, or however many marriages he’s been in.  Teach him the gospel and he’ll live a new life.  – What about showing him the gospel?  What about passionately demonstrating a love for his existence, not “just” a love for his soul?  Can we separate a man’s physical needs from his observation of our love in action?  Colson puts it this way on the following page; “We are to bring ‘all things’ under the lordship of Christ, in the home and the school, in the workshop and the corporate boardroom, on the movie screen and the concert stage, in the city council and the legislative chamber.  This is what we mean when we say a Christian must have a comprehensive worldview: a view or perspective that covers all aspects of the world.”

As in John 17:20-23, the true Lord’s prayer, Jesus asked the Father that He would empower us that we love one another, and that “the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”  There it is…  The cultural commission as plainly put as it can be.  That we may be one; that we may demonstrate love as if Christ is the risen Lord and has done the same for us, that our actions in EVERY aspect of life demonstrate a radical NEW relationship we have with God through His Son.  That we are the lepers, the lame, the blind… but Christ healed us nonetheless.  Shouldn’t we help others?  “Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” –  2 Cor. 4:16.  Others will see us, and others will glorify God because of our good deeds (Matt. 5)

There is a great passage that’s been rolling around in my head the last few days.  2 Corinthians 4:16 says, “Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.”  I’ve had a couple of new of thoughts recently that I’ll mention in this post.  1) There was a Presbyterian friend of mine in Memphis who would discuss theology with me some, and we often compared his “high church” thoughts with some of my studies, and of my own restoration heritage – “low church” background.  He mentioned that they had a visiting Pastor come in and preach to them about the constant progress of salvation.  I have often thought about that idea, vs. the single-point, realized salvation and commitment of a person at a given moment.  2) The other thing I’ll post in a later post tonight.  It is… that I can’t help but think about this in relation to the passage above:  HOW do we, as the everyday believers – who are NOT salaried ministers – bring others to Christ?  I mean some of us just are not as good as others at cold call gospel efforts.

In a passage of William Willimon’s Pastor, he states, “American evangelical Protestantism has been guilty, in its past, of making conversion a momentary, instantaneous phenomenon – come down to the altar, confess your sin, and you are instantaneously ‘saved’.  [this is his quote, not mine. – DE]  The Protestant Reformers, on the other hand, intended to think of conversion as a process rather than a moment.  Thus Calvin said that being ‘born again’ through baptism ‘does not take place in one moment or one day or one year; but through continual and sometimes even slow advances.'”  (Willimon, 228)  Does this jive with Scripture?  What about the Eunuch in Acts 8?  The jailer in Philippi in Acts 16?  So I must say I agree with the concept of “continual salvation”; but not the watershed moment of salvation when one puts on Christ as his Master.

 The reason I like the topic, is that I believe continual transformation and redemption IS most certainly a Biblical theme.  Why else would Paul write in Romans 8 about the continual efforts to set our minds on the Spirit, as opposed to the flesh, in Colossians 1:10 he wrote for them to “grow in the knowledge of God.”  Peter, in 2 Peter 3:18 encourages to, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  While I do not believe God intended us to be saved by a lengthy process, I do believe He intended us to grow from the point of our “birth” on.  No doubt, even Paul must have looked back at his point of salvation years later, and thought, “I had NO understanding of grace when I was saved, like I have now.”  The Bible picture of salvation is simple.  Men and women are imperfect; the only healing for our sin is the blood of Christ.  When one puts him on according to scripture, his death, burial, and resurrection makes him like Christ.  The early church baptized believers on the spot, indicating a “moment” of salvation.  But – we must not be guilty of thinking we’ve arrived, once we’ve begun our walk.  Praise God for grace and peace in Christ!  Philippians 4:6-8.

Has there ever been a better time for this?  I know I need it.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing;  so that
     you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children
     of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse
     generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
     holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I
     will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil
     in vain.  Phil. 2:14-16

I saw an interesting video clip on Fox News’s website.  One of my favorite New  Testament scholars, Ben Witherington, was being questioned about recent efforts to drum up the post-canonical writings about Jesus.  That is, books that were written that were found to be heretical because they countered everything Jesus taught, or exemplified, and were therefore left out of the New Testament Canon (among which, are the “Gnostic Gospels”).  It’s along these lines, and especially in light of the release of the DaVinci Code several years ago that Witherington wrote his book, “What have they done to Jesus?”

Witherington clarified Steve Doocy, et al on “Fox & Friends,” about the “newness” and “recent finding” of these documents.  They were questioning him, “what could this do against the cause of Christianity, and Jesus’s reputation?”  He explained that modern New Testament scholars have known about these documents for over 50 years.  They are not in fact a threat to Christianity, except to those who may be already looking for a way out.  Jesus’s life and teachings were either, fact, fiction, or psychosis.

As with Dan Brown’s efforts (author of the DaVinci Code), I feel like the efforts of the modern skeptics to till the ground of the Gnostic gospels, is an effort to turn soil that was long ago put to death.  It’s interesting that the folks in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries knew exactly what to do with these documents, because they knew Jesus, or knew people who knew Jesus, or saw him, or perhaps met one whose eye-sight or leprosy had been restored.  The world was changed by the gospel of Christ.  The people who died in persecution for their faith in Christ… would they have knowingly died for a lie?  The resurrection of Jesus outweighs all rationality, human reasoning, and emotional feeling, which is why so many hated Jesus.  If one doubts, the best thing to do is a simple reading of the Gospel of John.  By itself, this is enough to disprove almost all of the modern claims.  That is the reason John wrote the words that he did, and Praise God for that.  “These things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Song of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”  – John 20:30

Last night I was reading about a Zambian priest who has been excommunicated from the Catholic church for ordaining married men to serve as priests. (4 so far…)  I was intrigues to hear this because of my heritage and personal conviction as a restorationist.  While I was interested in this article, and especially the comments that, “It’s amazing,” he said. “These are people who, because of celibacy, did not advance to the priesthood, and now they want to be ordained.”  I couldn’t help but think about 1 Timothy 4 and the scripture’s account of those who would later, “forbid marriage, and the eating of meats”.  (for reference, see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,235777,00.html )

I got to thinking about the theological differences in those who are concerned with simple Biblical truth vs. the machine of Catholic dogma.  Is it any wonder that men are coming out of the woodwork to serve in ministry if an archbishop will ordain them while married?  In 1 Timothy, Paul warned about this type of attitude, and when a man from the Catholic background shows up to start ordaining them, lots of guys who otherwise would have been priests years before – decide to enter service. 

So in a round about way – I got to thinking about that and all the differences in practices, requirements, and qualifications for not only priests in the Catholic church, but also each individual Christian in our modern day.  There are some folks who bind all kinds of non-Biblical teachings on believers.  Not that I would dare negate any Biblical teaching on specific requirements for holy living, but I would most certainly nail my 95 theses to the door of the cathedral of human tradition and empty pharisaic requirement.  I got to reading, and one of the simplest accounts of personal requirement and instruction I’ve found in Titus 3:1-11.  (text below)

I particularly appreciate the New Revised Standard’s rendering.  1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is sure. I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone. ⁸The saying is sure.

I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone. ⁹But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, ¹¹since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned.

I love that passage.  How simple!  It covers almost everything for daily living, and it even touches some doctrinal things such as, faith only vs. works, its allusion to baptism and empowerment for daily living by the Holy Spirit, and dealing with a divisive brother.  I pray that this archbishop keeps on the trek toward a more Biblical path.  I applaud his boldness and disregard of his excommunication.  Wasn’t Martin Luther excommunicated for his bold stand on simple Bible truth?  Not that he had it all perfect either, but he was on his way.  Which of us has it all figured out?