Category: Christianity (Page 6 of 23)

The President, Jesus and Our Allegiance

I am concerned about us. Not as a country. America will keep trucking along its progressive path as it always has. I am concerned about us as a church, as a body under the headship of Jesus. We are becoming increasingly divided. Of course division within the Church is not a new thing. I am fully aware of the many splits and the reasons for them, throughout our church history. I am familiar with why so many denominations exist. However, none of that changes the amount of distance this past political season has added to the divide.

Christian or Patriot

For over a year, leading up to the election this past November, I have seen and heard so many people equate being patriotic with being a “good” Christian. In fact, it is not simply the view that Christianity is the same as patriotism; it is carelessly viewed as a political issue on the same level as gun rights. Here are a couple of examples of some memes that list Christianity among other political or social issues…

Allegiance

Christianity shows up right in the middle of a list involving patriotism and guns. Here is another one…

Allegiance

Again, Christian shows up right in the middle of an obviously politically charged list of issues. And it is presented in a blatantly divisive and excluding way. Not only is it polarizing, but it also suggests that a Christian cannot possibly hold liberal views. The inference is that a Christian has to be a gun-loving, conservative who runs around saying ‘merica. It rejects the possibility of any other view and alienates entire parts of the body of Christ. To be fair, there are many Christians who would view themselves as liberals also contribute to this division and alienation. Unfortunately, it is the conservative side (typically White Evangelicals) who are often more verbal about the supposed marriage between American nationalism, or patriotism, and Christianity.

I did look for memes that expressed a liberal view of Christianity as American, but they almost do not exist. The best I could do was this one, which suggests conservatism is not consistent with Christianity.

Allegiance

Allegiance to Christ

My issue has nothing to do with whom you support as the president; support whomever you feel aligns best with your values. Moreover, if you are a Christian, God commands us to pray for the president regardless of your political leaning. Nevertheless, the truth is, Christianity is not synonymous with American patriotism. You can be a Christian fully apart from being an American. The reverse is also true. Still, the depth of your love for your country is not a measure for being a good Christian. Somehow, that continues to grow as the qualifier.

My concern is it seems many on both sides have forgotten the others are Christian. Maybe it is less of having forgotten, and more of a rejection of the possibility. And why? Because they have different political views? With increasing frequency, it seems as if Christians believe their commitment to a political candidate, or in this case a president, is allowed to trump ( see what I did there?) their commitment to fellow Christians. As Christians, when our allegiance to a political party, candidate, or president eclipses our allegiance to other believers, then by proxy it also eclipses our allegiance to Christ. The Apostle John says the same thing in 1 John 4:20. He said, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” When that happens, we need to consider what we believe about unity and our allegiances.

Biblical Unity

So what does the Bible have to say about our allegiance and unity? A lot. The first commandment (Exodus 30:3) points specifically to our allegiance to God. It is clear that we should set nothing before God. From that foundation, the rest of the bible points toward full devotion to God and absolute unity among His people, both through Christ. In fact, the New Commandment Jesus gave to His disciples, and us, was to love each other so that the world would know we are His (John 13:34-35). The whole chapter of John 15 consists of Jesus explaining the importance of remaining in Him (commitment and allegiance). He goes on to describe how much the world will hate us because of Him and how unity, through loving each other, keeps us connected to Him.

In the end, following Christ requires that we be good citizens, but does not direct us to be patriots. Our real allegiance is not to the President, a flag, or even a country. Our real allegiance is to Jesus and His bride. We have to understand that His desire is unity among his body, not unity with the world. So go ahead and support the President, pledge the flag, be patriotic for your country, but know it is just a shadow of what our allegiance to Jesus and His body should look like.

Does America Have a Spiritual Obesity Epidemic?

Spiritual ObesityI previously wrote an article titled Breastfed Christians. In it I talked about the huge number of Christians that never graduate from spiritual milk (the basic truths of our salvation) to spiritual meat (the deep truths of God). In this article, I want to swing the pendulum far the other way and touch on the other end of the spiritual milk/meat issue; spiritual obesity.

While there are pastors that spend their whole career serving milk to their congregants, there are those who have led their congregation to regularly consume the meat of the Gospel. And while they may be producing well-equipped and capable ministers of reconciliation, there are still those who show up on Sunday and consume more than their fill of spiritual meat. These well-fed Christians know the teaching, commit to devotional time, attend small groups and even volunteer for church-sponsored “outreach projects.” The whole of their Christian life is based on consumption. But, the amount they consume is not really the issue.

The larger issue is the lack of balance between their consumption, physical activity and rest. So, because they show up and eat and eat and eat, never working out what they consume, they become obese. Eventually their spiritual obesity causes them to sit stagnant, never activating their faith. This causes it to be near impossible to delineate them from the world they live in. The hope is not that a Christian would simply graduate from spiritual milk to spiritual meat, but their maturity would compel them to display works that reveal their faith.

A.W. Tozer said, “The health of the church is in direct proportion to the health of each individual Christian. If the church is to grow and be healthy, the individual Christians comprising the church must grow spiritually.” If we are going to be healthy Christians there are three things we need to focus on.

Nutrition

But Solid food is for the mature… (Heb 5:14)

Hebrews tells us that every Christians should eventually mature to be teachers of God’s truth. The example, and one that I previously mentioned, is that of an infant maturing from consuming milk to solid food. Just as nutrition is important for physical health, it is also important for our spiritual health. Here are three ways that we can seek a deeper understanding of God’s truth:

  1. Consume God’s Word Daily. Hearing it only on Sunday is not enough.
  2. Commit to a Community. Connect to a group of believers that will challenge you
  3. Commune with God Daily. Author E.M. Bounds said, “In God’s name I beseech you let prayer nourish your soul as your meals nourish your body.” In other words, pray.

Exercise

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (Jm 2:17)

Our faith and what we learn about God has to include action. The Message version of James 2 asks the question, “Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?”

These God-acts include the work of the ministry for building up the body of believers in love (Eph 4) and the ministry of reconciliation for bringing unbelievers into Christ (2 Cor 5). And while James gives the example of feeding and clothing a friend, this isn’t an area where someone can provide a list of things that will reveal you as a healthy and committed follower of Jesus. Instead, this area is about intention and what compels you. In John 15:5 Jesus explains this idea when He says, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” As we remain connected to Jesus, He creates a change in us that produces much good fruit.

Rest

…and I will give you rest. (Mt 11:28)

No healthy lifestyle is complete without including the habit of rest. It provides the body with the opportunity to recuperate. Rest is just as important if we’re to be a healthy Christian. In Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man…” Theologian Matthew Henry explains this by saying, “The Sabbath was made a day of rest, only in order to its being a day of holy work, a day of communion with God, a day of praise and thanksgiving; and the rest from worldly business is therefore necessary…” Our rest is intended to provide us with relief from the world and draw us into God. We should seek rest which is focused on communion with God.

Repeat

The key to staying healthy is keeping the routine going and eventually it letting it become habit. But, to make sure you succeed, you have to do it with a community of people who value it as much as you do. You will know you found that community because they will show their love for you in the way they challenge you to walk as Christ walked.

Jesus wants us to be healthy Christians, because our community and the world need us to be.

 

photo: Daily Radio Bible

The Missing Piece of “Authentic” Manhood

Authentic

Evangelical Christianity has seen a recent surge in calling men to live out authentic, sometimes referred to as biblical, manhood. This teaching is grounded in biblical principles, centered on becoming more like Jesus. Publications, sermons, and group study materials are readily available. Even so, we have missed one significant piece to the authentic, manhood formula.

MORE THAN A CHECKLIST

All too often, we end up pitching guys a list of the “dos and don’ts” to reach authentic manhood, and hope they leave anything disturbing behind. We don’t acknowledge what has wounded them. Deep emotional hurts, dark secrets, fears, and doubts are all but taboo discussion. Those topics require the investment of the church and our personal time – and typically lots of it. We either are, or pretend we are, too busy. However, never addressing their deep hurt and brokenness only sets them up to fail.

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This post was originally posted on The Whole Man
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