Category: New Covenant


Listening 101

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism by rossrohde — 4 Comments
January 31, 2012

Listening isn't as hard as you may think.

In a recent blog Technique Disorder, I encouraged people to let Jesus guide them through the process of how to do ministry. In response, Richard M. made the following astute comment.

Ross,
Yes, I suffer from technique disorder too. But… I do have to say, most of your blog posts appear to me to boil down to “just listen to Jesus, dude!”. Now that is a fine reminder, and not a criticism.

But… listening to Jesus is still rather more easily said than done. I might have an idea – it seems Godly (so passes the ‘four voices test’) but is it just a good idea of mine or actually from Jesus? How much of what comes into my mind is just a reflection of what I’ve been reading of late? What about people who feel God tells them to do frankly crazy stuff? How do you teach people to hear God’s voice? Especially those from a non-Charismatic background? I know you’ve written a couple of blog post on that, but I would say that for every “just listen to Jesus” blog post, some pointers as to HOW would be great! But perhaps that’s just technique disorder, second degree.

Here’s my answer which might be thought of as Listening 101; not the final or even advanced listening, but at least a place to get started.

Hi Richard,

I think you’ve made a good point. Yes, we do need to listen to Jesus. In fact, it is a prerequisite to fruitful ministry. And, as you point out, few of us nowadays have been trained to listen to God’s voice, so it can be a bit frustrating to have someone consistently say, “listen” when we find that prospect daunting.

This, comment of yours, for my wife and me, is another confirmation that we need to write the book that Jesus has put on our hearts. For about six months now we’ve been discussing writing a book together on exactly what you state, how to discern the voice of God. We want it to be practical and accessible; written in ways that particularly evangelicals can comprehend. Charismatics have some writing on this, Catholics surprisingly (at least for some) have the very best writing on this, but Evangelicals have almost nothing besides Blackaby’s Experiencing God series, which is good, but very basic. In my opinion, Charismatics tend to have their bent which only touches certain aspects of hearing God. The Catholics use vocabulary and concepts that are so outside both the Charismatic and Evangelical worlds,they become inaccessible, despite the excellent content if we can get past all that…and our prejudice against Catholics.

In the mean time, let me give you a few pointers, which I hope will be helpful. God speaks the Richard language. That is to say that God knows how to talk to you personally. He doesn’t talk to everyone in some generic fashion. The hard part is listening; and for that you need to be willing and actively seek to hear. Go back to the post on the Four Voices and work through that lens which is a basic starter. If you discern that you aren’t hearing the other three voices, the world, the flesh or the devil, then start believing that the Spirit may be talking to you. Then move to the next points.

First is this test, and it’s an important one. Does the desire of your heart match the Scripture. If it is in violation of the precepts of Scripture it isn’t the Spirit’s voice. Observe how James uses this test in Acts 15 at the council of Jerusalem. God can’t deny himself. If it is neutral or in agreement, more tests of discernment need to be made, but at least it hasn’t been clearly ruled out.

Next, let’s answer your question, “but is it just a good idea of mine or actually from Jesus?” Your question brings to light the next point in discerning God’s voice. Who is in focus when you think and pray about this issue? Do you end up being a hero or the center of attention in your prayer or imaginative life? Or is the longing in your heart only because you want to see Jesus glorified or help/love others? These issues can be mixed together but, when push comes to shove, if it really is about you, it probably isn’t from Jesus.

Here’s another important test, the Gal. 5:22-23 test. The voice of the Spirit reflects the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. If you think about the issue you suspect might be God’s voice, but are consistently angry and disturbed, chances are that’s not the voice of the Spirit. For example, someone hates Obama. Then they begin to hear a voice that says they should shoot or even just continue to hate Obama. That isn’t from the Spirit. It doesn’t reflect the fruit of the Spirit. I’m not saying everyone should vote for Obama. I’m not going to weigh in on that one way or the other. But hatred isn’t from the Spirit. However, hatred and lying are two languages the evil one speaks well.

This isn’t all there is to say on this issue but at least it is a very basic primer. Ask God to speak to you. Ask him to teach you how to hear his voice more accurately. Trust him, he wants to speak to you. But expect his beginning to speak to you to be a growing process, not an event. Ask him to lead you to resources. But most of all, be willing to listen and actively seek his voice. It is better to make a mistake trying sincerely to follow Jesus, than to not listen due to fear of mistakes. God is a gracious and loving God and doesn’t get upset with our mistakes. Even a human father would rather his son or daughter made a mistake trying to do what he wants rather than a son or daughter who consistently won’t even bother to listen to what he says.

I hope this is helpful or at least a starter.

Warmly in Jesus,

Ross

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Biblioidolatry

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 10 Comments
October 7, 2011

See what I mean?

The other day a couple of friends and I were having lunch together in Oakland, CA. One of the many topics we touched on was biblioidolatry. What is biblioidolatry? It is when we make an idol of the Bible. Most of us in our minds would imagine this looking perhaps like someone placing a Bible on a pedestal and praying to it. But it almost never takes that form. It is much more dangerous and subtle than that. Most commonly it takes the form of thinking the power for living comes from following biblical principles. In doing so, we have replaced the role that only belongs to Jesus, the Word, with concepts from the written word. The power is not in the Bible, it is in Jesus. It is not in the written word, it is in the Living Word.

Why do we do this? I think there are a number of reasons. First, if we don’t actually have to follow Jesus but only “biblical principles” we are still in control. We chose which principles we are going to apply. We chose how we understand those principles. And, even more fun, if someone doesn’t apply a biblical principle the way we do, we get to judge them. But, if we understand how the new covenant works, it isn’t the written word that guides us. It is Jesus, the Lord, who is the Word who became flesh. He speaks his laws into our heart and mind, but not as some written code (Heb. 8:10). Living by a written code is living in the old covenant, not the new. We obey Him, not “it.”

A second reason we are so intent on actually living by the written word instead of obeying the Word is because our culture is obsessed with ideas. We’d rather talk about doctrine than actually put it in practice. We usually don’t do this intentionally; it is built into our cultural habits. Think about school from grade school to university. How were we taught? Wasn’t it usually by hearing someone talk about an idea, a fact, or a concept? We usually try to teach our faith this way, by preaching and giving classes instead of walking with each other along the way (Deut. 11:19) It isn’t very ineffective. That’s the difference between teaching our faith like it is a school subject and actual life on life discipleship. Discipleship has more in common with teaching someone how to change a spark plug than it does a seminary class. I say all of this to point out we have been trained by our culture to think in concepts instead of living life in the power of God. And the result is that we often put more confidence in doctrine (facts from the Bible) than in Jesus himself. That’s biblioidolatry.

Another reason we tend to be biblioidolaters is that it is easier to be judged by what we say, or believe to be true, than what we do. This, most likely, is subconscious. This is actually just an outgrowth of the other two reasons mentioned above. But Jesus isn’t going to judge us by how correct our doctrinal ideas were. When he separates the sheep from the goats he is going to judge us by our works (and no, that isn’t works salvation) Just read Matt 25:31-46. How can that be? It’s simple. If we are the real thing we will live like it. Talk is cheap. We can easily be judged by our works because if Jesus is truly living in us, His Spirit will flow out of us like rivers of living water (Jn. 7-38-39). All Jesus has to do is judge how we lived, to see if there was evidence of the Holy Spirit within.

What good then is the Bible? It is wonderful in every way. While in itself it has no power to change us, it can point to Someone who can. It can’t save us, but He can. It can be a beautiful mirror which shows us how we are living, but the power to live the Christian life still comes from Jesus himself. The Bible just helps us see if we are on track. We don’t need to worship the Bible. We shouldn’t expect it to give us principles to live by. Rather, it gives us access to the Person who wrote those principles. The Bible expresses those principles to help us make sure we are living in the Spirit and not in the power of the flesh. So let’s be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. Let’s walk in the power of Jesus. Let’s worship and honor Jesus, the Living Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us. Let’s be grateful for the written word and deeply appreciate it. We should read it until it saturates our soul. But the power for life still comes from Jesus. He himself said I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn. 14:6). That cannot be said of the Bible.

  • Do you agree with me that we American Christians have a tendency to be biblioidolaters?
  • Can you think of other reasons why we tend to do this?
  • The 1st Century Christians didn’t have the New Testament, yet they often lived powerful, spiritual lives. How did they do that without the New Testament? Do you think it could have anything to do with actually living according to the new covenant, in the power of Jesus?
  • Ever wonder why the 1st and 2nd Century Christians turned the world upside down and we are losing ground? Could it be that we are looking for our source of power coming from the Bible rather than Jesus?
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Critical Skill Set

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Organic Church, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism by rossrohde — 16 Comments
June 7, 2011

In the objective process human planning is the key.

Organic ministry is very different than what most of us have become used to. There is a holistic logic to organic ministry which escaped me until I actually started doing organic ministry. I ended up learning to do organic ministry by doing organic ministry. And I ended up learning how it was different from traditional ministry by trying to do organic ministry using the skill set I had been trained in. I quickly found out that the skill set I brought to organic ministry was worse than useless in an organic context. I say worse than useless because it actually got in the way of effective organic ministry.

Before I talk about the critical skill set of organic ministry, I need to state what the critical skill set of traditional ministry is, which is not helpful in organic ministry. Traditional ministry is based on a logic and premise that is dangerous in organic ministry. The premise is that we humans can decide what needs to be done and how we need to do it. Since humans are the ones making the critical decisions we humans need to organize our behavior is such a way that we maximize our efforts. With this premise firmly (but probably not consciously) in place in our minds, we then set out to look for sources who can give us a skill set which will help us maximize our human effort.

Currently in the Western world those who are best at maximizing human effort is the business world. So, we go to the business world and copy their business skill set. What skill set do they offer us? It is commonly called the “objective process.” It is a logical system of organized skills which do indeed maximize human effort. So, we learn how to set time bound and quantifiable goals and objectives. We learn how to interlock short term goals with long term goals and the overall philosophy of our corporation…errr I mean ministry. We learn administration skills and management skills and leadership skills, ad nauseum. We read the latest business books and then we try to incorporate their principles into our ministry.

Here’s the problem. Jesus is Lord, we are not. If we do ministry as it is described and modeled in the New Testament, we don’t make the critical decisions, we discern what God wants done and we obey. We can do this because God tells us what to do by speaking into our hearts and minds. He does this because we are in a new covenant relationship with Him. Let me give you an example, one of many, from the Scriptures:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.  When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.  So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.  During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:6-10).

The critical skill set that Paul and his friend were using was discernment. They needed to discern what God was telling them to do. They didn’t make up ministry, God did. They didn’t decide; they obeyed. They didn’t actually work in their own human effort, then maximize that effort; they worked in God’s supernatural power.

But the critical skill set in this organic ministry paradigm is discernment. Note the phrases that indicate they were listening, discerning and obeying: they were kept by the Holy Spirit… they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to… Paul had a vision; concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. And note the obedience: After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.

None of this implies, let alone explicitly demonstrates current corporate ministry practice. There were no goals and objectives, job effectiveness descriptions, philosophy of ministry statements (although they knew what he was doing and why). Instead, they listened with their hearts and minds, discerned and obeyed.

Discernment, the critical skill set of actually obeying Jesus the Lord in a new covenant relationship, is almost never even mentioned nowadays. When was the last time you heard the word in a ministry context? Where can you find training or clear writing on discerning the voice of the Lord in the current Western church?[1] We need to relearn this critical skill set and begin to train each other in it if we are to actually learn to follow Jesus the Lord into ministry.[2]

  • Why do you think we have become so ignorant of the discernment skill set in current Western ministry?
  • When was the last time you heard about a seminar on discernment skills?
  • Have you ever been explicitly trained in discernment skills? Where would you go to find training in this skill set?
  • Would you want to learn more about discerning the voice and will of the Lord and obeying?
[1] The Catholics have a whole genre of literature and extensive training courses and ministries focused specifically on these issues. And, their writing and training is extremely good and sound theologically. It is much better than anything developed in the Evangelical world (which says almost nothing on this issue) or the Charismatic world, which does a little something with this issue.

[2] Felicity Dale is starting to scratch this itch. She is working on an ebook focused on hearing God. You can find out more here. Thank you Felicity.

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Detox

Filed Under: Christendom, Church History, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 1 Comment
May 9, 2011

Drugs and worldly principles: both require detox

In my last post Under the Influence I mentioned how easy it is for us to be under the influence of what Paul called “the basic or foundational principles of the world.” These principles, just like a drug, at first flush seem to improve our life, make us happier; they seem positive. But it’s an illusion; they are deceptive and very dangerous. I also gave two tests to check to see if we have become addicted to these principles. The first test was to see if our beliefs, life and practices reflected in every aspect the Lordship of Jesus. The second test was to verify our spiritual software, to check if we were functioning within the new covenant where our life is controlled by the inner voice of the Spirit of Jesus as he speaks into our heart and mind (Heb. 8:10). In this post, I want to do two more practical things. I want to give one final test to see if we are still under the influence of worldly principles and I would like to suggest a good detox program.

Test #3: Does your ecclesiology reflect the New Testament

When I was a new student in Bible College I noted a consistent pattern. When I took theology classes we would discuss the way things were in Bible times and then how we do them now. They were very different. Our theology came from systems which developed much later in Christian history, from specific historical leaders and only used the Bible to prove that this theology was correct. They were contrasted with other theological systems, also developed later, which were obviously wrong. This was so because they didn’t follow the system developed by the right human leader. So our practice came from traditions developed latter in history and our theology came from systems and paradigms developed later in history. At the time, I figured that’s just the way it is. It must be right, these great Bible teachers are teaching me this as truth; it has to be correct. Now I realize I was actually getting a heavy dose of human tradition along with a light dose of Bible proof texting.

Here is test number three. If your beliefs, and the practices that derive from those beliefs, don’t reflect the behavior of the people we see in the New Testament, there is something seriously wrong. Nowadays we tend to view things like church practice as if they were neutral, just a matter of personal or denominational choice. The Presbyterians do one thing, the Pentecostals do another and Baptists do some other variation. It’s all good isn’t it?

Actually the church practice of the New Testament, the way churches met, they way they interacted, reflected the actual lived out lordship of Jesus Christ. They also reflected the actual behavior of people who believed that Jesus spoke directly to their hearts and minds and they were to listen and obey. These later developments reflect something far different. The theology reflects the supposed need to have some theological expert (not the Spirit) interpret the Bible for us so that we view it the correct way. This short circuits the new covenant and places that theologian in the role of our lord instead of Jesus. The ecclesiological practices reflect human leadership, power and control structures based on humans making decisions for us. They reflect the human cultural structures where and when they were developed. This is in stark contrast with New Testament believers obeying Jesus directly as he spoke to their hearts and minds. The church was an integral part of this listening and discernment process.

Detox

Paul told us that we could become enslaved to these foundational principles, that they were weak, miserable, hollow and deceptive. The only way I know to become disentangled from them is step away from the practices that encourage them or even force us to behave according to them. This allows us the space to begin to actually hear the voice of Jesus without a lot of background noise.

How can we follow Jesus as our Lord if some other human has power and authority to counteract what Jesus is telling us to do? I’m not suggesting becoming a rogue who is immune to wise council. I’m suggesting we become someone who is responding to Jesus and allows the community to help us listen carefully. How can we live in the new covenant when we automatically assume that our theology must be vetted by a later theological and denominational systems and not the Bible itself. These theological systems have a good deal of the foundational principles of the world built into their behavior and practice. The end result of blindly following denominational and theological systems is that we become more and more separated from the voice of the Lord and direct obedience to him. We have become enslaved without realizing it. Just like a drug addict detoxes by stopping the use of the drug and finding an environment where drugs are prohibited, we need to do the exact same thing. It’s the only way I know of to get clean.

  • Does the word detox bother you? Can you think of a better metaphor for become disentangled from worldly principles?
  • Have you ever noticed how different theological systems fight with each other? Why should this be necessary if they are following what Jesus is telling them to do?
  • Have you ever noticed just how much our church structures mimic the structures of the world like business, government or the military? Now that I’ve made the observation, does it give you pause?
  • Can you think of any way to detox from the principles of the world and still stay in the structures and remain faithful to the structures that encourage them?
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Under the Influence

Filed Under: Christendom, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Worldview by rossrohde — 2 Comments
May 5, 2011

Are we addicted to a dangerous spiritual drug?

In my last post Christendom and Christianity I mentioned that Paul warned us four times about a very dangerous peril called the basic or foundational principles of the world. He told us that we could become enslaved to these principles, that they were weak, miserable, hollow and deceptive. Why all the harsh language? Why did Paul mention this dangerous peril not only to the Galatians but also to the Colossians? Why, at the foundation of Christianity, was Paul so insistent that the early Christians be so vigilant against these dangerous worldly principles?

I think the answer to these questions is rather simple. Paul broadcast far and wide, with unequivocal language, the dangers of these basic worldly principles because they have the potential to destroy our faith.  A good metaphor to understand how the foundational principles of the world work is to think of them as a spiritual drug. Just like a drug, at first flush they seem to improve our life, make us happier; they seem positive. But it’s an illusion; they are deceptive and very dangerous. Once they are in our spiritual blood stream, they begin to slowly weaken us, to corrode our spiritual vitality to the point that we become no different than anyone else in society around us; except we have the patina of Christian religion (Christendom). This, in general, is the state of the Western Church today.

The more important question is how can we tell if we have gone under the influence of the foundational principles of the world? What are the telltale signs? And how do we enter detox so we can once again have the vital spiritual life Jesus longs for us to have?

Two Telltale Signs of Addiction to the World

I’d like to point out two indicators that our Christian faith has slipped into addiction to the basic principles of the world. Or, as Paul puts it, we act as though you still belonged to the world, and submit to its rules (Col 2:20). In doing so I will also be highlighting two tests, like blood tests, which indicate if we have the dangerous drug called stoicheion (basic or foundational worldly principles) flowing through our veins.

Test #1: Is Jesus Still the Lord?

In my post Human Control I stated, “Jesus is Lord” is the Christian Shema[1] statement. It is the fundamental doctrine on which everything else hangs.  This is not a mere correct doctrinal statement to which we agree. It is meant to be a statement of how we live every detail of our lives. If it isn’t, were under the influence. So who makes the decisions in your life? Are you actively seeking to follow Jesus’ instructions or are you making “wise” human decisions? In your church are there humans with the position and power to make their own decisions? Or is the structure of your church designed to only listen to the Lord Jesus?

Test #2 Do You Have a New Covenant Operating System?

In my post Spiritual Operating Systems I refer to our new covenant with God (Heb. 8: 7-13) as an operating system. Just like computers run on operating systems so does our relationship with God. It’s the underlying code which should control everything in our lives. And, just like computers, if we try to use programs based on a different operating system, confusion and error reign. Jesus the Lord speaks to our hearts and minds (Heb. 8: 10; Jer. 31:33). This is the core of the new covenant. Our response to this inner voice is to obey our Lord. If we are not functioning like this, we are not living within our new covenant arrangement with God. Since a covenant is another world for contract, how do you think God views people who are constantly breaking their contract with Him?

In my next post I will discuss the detox process of getting out from under the influence of this dangerous spiritual drug called the basic or foundational principles of the world.

  • Can you think of any other tests which help us realize we are under the influence of the basic principles of the world?
  • Do you think I’m making too big of deal out of this? Do you think this is a minor theological rabbit trail?
  • The Early Christian Church, with all its faults, was trying to live under the Lordship of Jesus and in the new covenant. The Chinese house church movement had the worldly principles stripped away from them through persecution. Do you think we are more effective and spiritual that they were and are?
  • In my next post I’ve stated I’m going to highlight a detox process for getting out from under the influence of the drug called the foundational principles of the world. What would you suggest that it be?
[1] The Shema was the foundational doctrine of Israel’s covenant with God. It is found in Deut. 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” In the same way “Jesus is Lord” is the Christian Shema statement of the new covenant (Phil. 2: 10-11).

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How Elders Act and Reproduce

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Church History, Discipleship, New Covenant, Organic Church, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 7 Comments
April 27, 2011

A good elder watches over the sheep.

In my last post, What is an Elder Really? I discussed how the meaning of the word “elder” has changed over time to mean something which was not intended in the New Testament. I concluded with this paragraph: An elder, then, is a more mature Christian. And such a mature Christian would use their maturity to serve others, coming from a position of humility and weakness, not from any position of apparent strength, title, power or positional authority. To do otherwise would be to set aside Jesus strict instructions about how “greater” (i.e. more mature) people were to behave. In my next post I’ll talk about how such people actually behaved and the important role they play in organic church.

How New Testament elders behaved

A New Testament elder was a more mature Christian. As such, they had much to give those who were less mature. Their goal was to lead newer, less mature Christians to maturity, which, in reality, meant lead them deeper into a relationship with Jesus. In doing so, they watched over the younger Christians. This is where we get the word “overseer” episkopos, which is also translated “bishop”. Sadly, even in translating it into the word “overseer” we get the idea in English of being over someone else positionally or having power over them. That’s not the idea. They watch over new Christians the way a shepherd watches over sheep. Here’s how James put it:

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock (I Pet. 5:1-3).

A good elder led not by power, but by example. You don’t need power, position or control to lead by example. You just need to be a good example. Furthermore, elders watched over the less mature Christians like a loving shepherd watched over sheep; looking out for trouble, finding any way they could to protect them. Again, no power is needed to serve in this way. What was needed was a servant’s heart and influence. Influence needs no power. It is a gift given to those who have it, by those who are being influenced. You have influence when people give it to you. No amount of power, position or title can give you influence. These things can only give you coercive power. To use coercive power is to “lord over,” what Jesus told us never to do in Luke 22: 24-27.

One last thing should be said about this verse. Elders or overseers are to shepherd the flock. The word shepherd is the same word we also translate pastor. Here it is being used as a verb, denoting the action a good elder takes. This verse has been used to suggest that an elder, a bishop and a pastor are all the same thing. That’s not actually true. A pastor is a person with the spiritual gift of pastor, mentioned exactly once in the New Testament (Eph. 4:11-13). A person with the pastoral spiritual gift is gifted to take care of the emotional and relational needs of those in the flock. This behavior is also easily explained using the metaphor of a shepherd. Elders watch over the flock through maturity and influence; those with the pastoral spiritual gift care for the flock through the use of their spiritual gift. The word pastor is never used in the New Testament as a noun, or as a verb,  to describe someone with positional power, as it is commonly used today.

How New Testament elders reproduced organically

To lead a person deeper into a relationship with Jesus, the main function of an elder, is to disciple them. This is the basic function of discipleship. But it is discipleship though life, by example, not the mere downloading of information, which has become so common today. It is better described as training. It is the way a kind, wise master carpenter would teach an apprentice. No amount of book learning will teach someone how to build a house. For that you have to handle wood, hammers, nails and saws until you are good at it.

In the same way, elders discipled less mature Christians to become closer to Jesus. They taught them the skills necessary to actually follow Jesus himself in a new covenant relationship. When they showed the deep lifestyle maturity described in I Tim 3:1-7, which is the natural outflow of being in an abiding relationship with Jesus, they were mature enough to be considered elders themselves. Note that this is measured by life skill/godly behavior, in other words, spiritual maturity. Oh, and one other thing, the ability to teach or train others to mature spiritually the same way. When elders teach immature Christians to become elders, they have reproduced themselves organically, because they have reproduced according to their own kind.

  • Most of us don’t think about pastors, elders and bishops this way even though that is what is being described in the New Testament; why?
  • Nowadays it is much more common to use the word “elder” as a member of a congregational churches board of directors. Can you see this described anywhere in the New Testament?
  • Does it make sense to you how in organic church no titles, positions or human power is necessary?
  • In the New Testament the descriptive words for Christians were an issue of maturity “elder,” function “overseer,” or spiritual gift “pastor,” “apostle,” “prophet,” etc. None carried the idea of power or position. Could you be comfortable in such a spiritual ambiance?
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Saul or Paul?

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Christendom, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Recommended Books, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 5 Comments
April 21, 2011

Saul needed an encounter with the Spirit of Jesus to become Paul.

I recently read Journeys to Significance, Neil Cole’s latest book. You can read my review here. The book was so good that I found myself wanting to write a blog on about every third paragraph. I won’t do that, but there are a few statements or paragraphs I just can’t resist. In reading them I found myself meditating on my own journey and the state of my own relationship with Jesus. I believe that kind of meditation is healthy for all of us. I’m going to include one of these meditations. I suspect many of your will recognize the issue.

Many of us, like Saul, have grown up in a religion that takes God’s word and obeys it without hearing the actual voice that speaks it. God’s word is truth. It is pure. It sanctifies us and enlightens us, but it is possible to simply see it as a bounded list of command to obey rather than as a living and active voice. Saul knew how to read, interpret, and apply the scriptures. This can result in lifeless behavior codification rather than an inner spiritual transformation. What Saul didn’t know was how to hear God’s active voice in them. (Journeys to Significance, p. 37).

I have spent the majority of my Christian life as a Saul. I was trained in one of the best Christian Universities to be a Saul. We studied doctrine, doctrinal paradigms, the Scriptures themselves, hermeneutics, etc. All with the goal of learning what the Bible (or doctrinal paradigms) said and applying them zealously to our lives. I went to genuine, Bible believing churches, where I was trained to be a Saul. I spent the majority of my adult life in Christian ministry with a bunch of kind, sincere Sauls. And, I’ve trained more than a few people how to be focused, zealous Sauls.

I don’t say this with bitterness or anger, it’s just a fact.[1] It is a reality of the kind of Christianity I was brought up in. It is what I saw, what I was trained in, so it became, for me, the way one expressed earnest Christianity. I don’t doubt the zealousness or heartfelt desire to serve the Lord; of the people I grew up, or myself for that matter. I know what was going on in my heart and, with some wiggle room for being a human, most of the desires of my heart were focused on serving the Lord.

But there is a problem, and it is a profound one. Neil Cole has, in his gracious, kind way, put his finger on it. Saul, a zealous, well trained Pharisee, had all the same kinds of training and zeal I had. With that zeal he set out to kill God’s elect. In the words of Jesus himself, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me” (Acts 9:4)? Bible training, doctrinal correctness, zeal, heartfelt effort are all good things. And they are all inadequate for actually serving Jesus. In fact, with the best of intentions, using these good tools, in our flesh, we can end up being at cross purposes with God himself.

If we treat the Bible merely “as a bounded list of commands to obey rather than as a living and active voice” we are going to end up with the life Paul (no longer Saul) warned us about, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). It is the Spirit that gives life, not the mere written statement of the Bible, no matter how true they are. Jesus himself, said to a bunch of people trained just as Saul was, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

Buy Journeys to Signicance by clicking here.

The key here is the new covenant that Paul mentioned in 2 Cor. 3:6. Laws, rules, concepts, scriptural principles are no longer merely a written code (as they were in the old covenant of the Law). They are engraved on our hearts. As ministers of the new covenant, we Christians not only have the written code; we have the Spirit living in us, who speaks these things to our hearts and minds. He not only tells us the truth, but shows us how to live out that truth in our specific situations. We don’t apply a list of commands, we obey “a living and active voice… God’s active voice in them.” That active voice will never violate the spirit of his living word. But we no longer are slaves to a written code. Paul (no longer Saul) said in Rom. 7:6: But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Here is my encouragement to you. Strive to imitate Paul, in following the Spirit of Jesus that lives in you, to live the life of Christ. The Spirit will tell you how to live out good doctrinal principles. In doing so, you will avoid being a Saul who allowed good doctrine and the truth of the Scriptures (as good as they were) to kill his soul. Then the truth can set you free because it will be infused with the power, presence and guidance of the Spirit of Truth.

  • Do you believe that it is possible to be sincerely trying to follow the truth of the Scriptures and end up a Saul rather than a Paul?
  • Have you ever thought of asking God where you are in the transformation process of moving from being a Saul to a Paul?
  • Do you understand the difference of living in the old covenant of the Law (Saul) and the new covenant of the Spirit (Paul)?
  • Do you believe it is possible for the Spirit to tell two Christians to apply the principles of the Scriptures two different ways?
[1] I do think a little sorrow is justified, but I am forgiven by a gracious God who knows my heart and understands the circumstances in which I was spiritually formed.

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Codes

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, New Covenant, Our Covenant With God, Spiritual Life, Worldview by rossrohde — Leave a comment
April 10, 2011

Doctrine is good, but it can't give life

Felicity Dale has recently written an excellent series of brief blogs focused on being freed from guilt based religion. You can read her blogs here: How to set yourself free from guilt-based religion, Taking the leap to freedom from guilt-based religion , and Breaking free from guilt-based religion.

She has put her finger on one of the most glaring weaknesses of current Western Christianity. As painful as it is to recognize, we often devolve into a rigid religion, rather than a living interaction with a living God. The result is spiritual dryness, rigidity, duty, guilt and worse yet, wrangling over whose doctrine is right and whose is wrong.

Where does this rigid religion come from? It comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of what our relationship with God is based on. If we don’t understand how our relationship with God works, how can we interact correctly with Him in that relationship? Our biggest problem is we think of Christianity as a set of information. With this mindset, we try hard to make sure our information set is correct. Once we have the correct information set, we figure we are good Christians. This is total, complete and utter nonsense! Worse, it is dangerous to our spiritual well being. It enslaves us rather than setting us free to be a unique individual, with a unique relationship with God.  This is a God who wants nothing more than for us to enjoy our life and be free to just be ourselves. And at the same time, being empowered by His power and made holy by His activity in our lives.

The wrong focus can lead to wrong behavior

The key, then, to overcoming this crippling kind of false Christianity, is to understand that our faith isn’t a set code of information that we have to get just right. Christianity isn’t a written code of laws. It isn’t a written code of doctrines, which, frankly, we just use to replace the concept of laws. A code of doctrines ends up being the same thing and having the same result. The letter kills. When we treat our faith as a written code of doctrines we end up destroying our spiritual lives. It doesn’t matter if the doctrine is absolutely correct. The problem isn’t with the doctrine, it is the way we are looking to the doctrine instead of the Spirit to give us life. We end up doing exactly what Jesus criticized the Pharisees for, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (Jn. 5:39,40).

We have something better than a code of correct doctrines; we have the Spirit of Jesus living in us, His temples. He, the Spirit, gives life. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6).

We need to be set free from this dangerous heresy that Christianity is just a set of doctrines to master. Of course I’m no more against correct doctrine that the apostle Paul was against the value of the Law. Just like the Law, correct doctrine can be at once a good thing and something we need to be set free from. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (Rom. 7:6)

Why do we need to be set free from such good things as the law of God and correct doctrine? We need to be freed from them because we look to them to provide something they were never designed to provide, spiritual life; the life to the full that Jesus offers. Only the Spirit of God living within us, leading us, comforting us, guiding us and refining us, can give us the life we long for, but never quite seem to find. It comes from living in an active, interactive relationship with the Spirit of God.

For that we need to learn to listen and obey. And if we are to listen and obey, we need to discern what is the voice of the Spirit, and what comes from other voices. For more on that read my post Four Voices. Once we are in that interactive relationship, which is based on the new covenant, correct doctrine becomes extremely valuable in the discernment process. The Spirit of God will never lead us to do something that isn’t both biblical and doctrinally sound. So, read your Bible and know sound doctrine, just don’t expect them to give you life. They can’t. But the Spirit can, and he will use the Bible and sound doctrine in wonderful ways, ways that bring life to the full.

  • Why do we look to good things like the law of God and sound doctrine to give us something they can’t give?
  • Is it really possible for something like doctrine to be at once good and something we need to be set free from?
  • Do you believe when I say we need to be set free from sound doctrine that I am against sound doctrine and I see no place for it?
  • I mentioned the importance of learning to discern the voice of the Spirit. Have you ever been trained to do so? How can we live life in the Spirit if we can discern His voice?
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Themes

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, Evangelism, New Covenant, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 2 Comments
April 8, 2011

Catch the 10:2b virus

God talks to us in many ways. It is part of our new covenant heritage. In other words, it is part of being a Christian. In fact, Jesus said that his sheep know his voice. Not only do they know it, they listen. While God can talk to us in all sorts of ways, some obvious and some less so; I’d like to talk about one that commonly gets overlooked. Then, I’d like to tell a recent story about how God spoke to me in this way as an example.

If we want to hear God’s voice one of the most important things we need to do is pay attention. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been so distracted at times, that people nearly shouted at me, but because my mind was somewhere else, I couldn’t hear them. It is the same with God. We need to be consciously pay attention, if we are going to hear his voice. Here is one thing we can pay attention to: themes. We need to consciously pay attention, when the same subject seems to come up over and over again. It is God, not so subtly, speaking to us.

Right now I have seven men I am discipling. Six are men I have led to the Lord in the last couple of years. One has not yet come to faith but hangs around with us. You can get a thread of posts which tell some of these men’s stories here. For the last few months I have been praying daily at 10:02 AM the 10:2b prayer, that God would trust my friends out into the harvest. Here is how God responded.

In my post Discipleship as Discernment I mentioned a dream about evangelism that Vitorio had experienced. I mentioned how he discussed this with Toño and me and how this led to a two hour training session on evangelism. This was actually the second of three dreams my friends have had. Toño has also had two dreams that had very clear themes about him sharing his faith. These dreams have ended up causing the group to discuss among themselves the importance of sharing their faith with others and trying to discern who God wants them to share with.

Last Friday night we were discussing this issue in the presence of German, who actually hasn’t come to faith. I’ve been discipling him anyway, helping him take one step closer to Jesus. In the midst of this discussion on evangelism, he openly said he hadn’t come to faith yet, but was hanging around us because we seem to know God. He ended up in an extended dialog with us about what it meant to come to faith in Jesus. The dialog was mostly between him and me although the others joined in. It was a gentle, gracious and friendly back and forth conversation with lots of questions. When I mentioned a Bible passage I’d have Toño look it up and read it. This was exactly the kind of redemptive life and conversation I had been talking to the guys about. Our lives were attracting German. And because of this, we could follow Jesus into a conversation where Jesus and his good news was the focus.

Think about this. I pray the 10:2b prayer for my friends. I ask that Jesus would trust them out into the harvest. In response, Jesus starts giving them multiple dreams about them sharing their faith. I had actually not discussed this issue specifically before, because it had not come up. I just prayed and waited for Jesus to respond. Not only did Jesus give them dreams that lead to training on evangelism, he set up a situation where they could participate with me in sharing their faith with one of their friends. I’d call that a theme. This is what Jesus wants my friends and me to focus on. Our job is to listen and obey.

  • What themes is Jesus bringing up in your life?
  • How do you think you should listen and obey?
  • What other ways does God talk to us?
  • What is the implication of someone who doesn’t hear the Shepherd’s voice?
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Good Investment

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, Evangelism, New Covenant by rossrohde — 1 Comment
April 6, 2011

We need to make a good return on the people we invest in.

Imagine with me for a moment that you had a million dollars to invest. Now, imagine that someone said they had an interesting investment portfolio. Three out of four of the stocks he would have you invest in would return nothing; you would lose all the money you invested in them. However, every fourth stock you invested in would return at least 30 times what you invested in. Some would actually return 100 times the amount of money you put into them. So, at the end of your life, you would end up with somewhere between $30,000,000 and $100,000,000. Would you go for the deal?

This is basically the investment opportunity that Jesus is offering us in the Parable of the Sower. Three out of four of our investment opportunities will go south. Some of the “converts” we begin to invest in are almost immediately sidetracked by Satan (Mark 4:15). The good news doesn’t take deep root in other “converts” we invest in (Mark 4:16-17). About another 25% of the “converts” we invest in get drug down by the particular demon of our Western society, the love of money and the stuff money can buy (Mark 4: 18-19). But then there are disciples. Disciples reproduce; boy do they reproduce. They are so productive that they are worth all that wasted investment in converts.

By now it should be clear that I’m making a big differentiation between converts and disciples. So let’s talk about converts for a minute; then let’s talk about disciples. Converts get sidetracked. Jesus points out a number of the common ways they get sidetracked, lack of deep commitment, persecution and troubles or conversely too much of what we would consider to be a good thing, material well being. But all three of these types of converts have something in common. They are still focused on themselves. Their entrance into the Kingdom was based on what was in it for them. They never actually become a disciple.

Disciples, on the other hand, are focused on what is important to their King, his kingdom. They want to see his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus longs to redeem his lost and broken world. His disciples, because they are focused on him and his desires, resonate with his longing. If they are truly his disciples, they will allow him to change them so that their very lives become a redemptive analogy for others. The righteousness they live, the Jesus they reflect, becomes attractive to others (I Pet. 3:15). In other words, as Jesus mentioned not long after the Lord ’s Prayer, we should seek his kingdom and his righteousness. In the logic of the Kingdom, if we seek God’s desires, instead of our own, we end up getting everything we could possibly need. We gain them by not worrying about them. And, conversely those who focus on their own needs, risk losing everything.

We enter into a contract with God; click the image to see the terms.

This is being a disciple. A disciple understands that they have entered into a contract with God, where he will be their God and they will be his people (Heb 8:10). And like all Hebraic covenants, the faithful parties look out for the interest of the other party. We seek God’s good, he takes care of ours. We are Jesus focused, he is lovingly focused on us, his beloved. Converts, by looking out for their own good, are breaking their contractual agreement. They show they don’t trust the God they’ve entered into a contract with. This is why the Bible explicitly encourages us to faith (trust). We can trust the God we have a contract with. He will keep up his end of the bargain.

Jesus told us to make disciples, not converts. But look at the way we tend to preach the Gospel nowadays. In essence we are saying; join the club and you get to go to heaven. The focus is on our benefit and Jesus is only a causal agent in us getting what we want. He isn’t a beneficiary of the contract. We get what we want and he gets to suffer and die for that purpose. It may all be factually true; but it is unbalanced in the extreme.

So how do we get a good return on our investment? We make disciples. We let them know from the very beginning that they should always be moving toward Jesus and his desires for their life. They can trust him to work for their benefit. But they keep focused on the author and perfecter of their faith. So, how do we make disciples? It’s simple, we consistently help everyone we know take one step closer to Jesus. That will get a good return on your life investment.

  • Ask Jesus to help you take an honest look at your life. Are you a modern day cultural Christian, a convert focused on your own benefit, or are you a disciple, focused on Jesus?
  • How do you preach the gospel? Is it designed to make disciples or converts? Do you preach the gospel?
  • Do you believe discipleship is really that easy, just helping everyone we know take one step closer to Jesus? Do you buy the implications of this, that you can be intentionally disciplining non-believers? What would that look like?
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