Category: Exploring Church Ministry Blog

Hindrances to the Christian Life

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
           Within the church there are those persons who are committed, growing, and participating in the life of the congregation and exhibit spiritual sensitivity.  There are others, however, that are marginal in the church, seem stagnant in their faith, and do not readily express a fellowship with God.  And there are more who move in and out between vital relationship and indifferent service within the church.  There is no one-size-fits-all reason why this reality is so, but anyone who has been around the church very long knows that the congregants within are at differing places as to their spirituality.  It is possible, even with the best of intentions, for many believers in Jesus to be mistaken in some important area of belief and are living in error.  These erroneous beliefs almost always produce incorrect actions and become barriers to their Christian lives.  If we are to be successful in living the Christian life and be a vital part of the church’s life we must search out and destroy these hindrances.  God only delivers on the basis of truth.  Satan, on the other hand, keeps people in bondage through lies. 
 
            Consider twenty-five of these errors concerning the church and the Christian life that I have heard from people over the years as a pastor, preacher, and teacher.  I include these because they have been expressed several times from various people in different churches.  Buying into any one of the following of these mistaken beliefs inevitably brings spiritual slavery and hinders a believer from realizing the blessings of living for Christ and enjoying his church:
 
1.      God does not really care about me like he does others.
2.      There are “second rate” Christians.  God has not given himself equally to all believers.
3.      Only clergy are really called to ministry; the rest are not as obligated to either God or the church.
4.      Knowing the Bible is not necessary for everyone.  As long as the pastor knows Scripture, others can rely on his understanding.
5.      Prayer is for the spiritual, and not for everyone.  Moral action can take the place of prayer.
6.      I don’t need to learn because when I get to heaven the “egalitarian zap” by God will make me understand everything.
7.      Spiritual growth can happen apart from Scripture and the church.
8.      Religious feelings are reliable as confirmation of God’s will.
9.      Since I am saved, sanctified, and redeemed by the blood I can live however I want.
10.  The commandments of God are good advice, but not obligatory.
11.  Since I am a Christian, there is nothing I can do to displease God.
12.  I am under no obligation to grow spiritually; spiritual growth is optional.
13.  Faith is a feeling.
14.  I am saved by faith, but spiritually grow through effort.
15.  God will stop me if I am doing something wrong.
16.  I have tried the church thing and it doesn’t work for me; not everyone needs the church.
17.  Some sins are worse than others – physical sins are worse than spiritual sins.
18.  If someone in the church hurts me, I should hurt them back so they will know not to do it again.
19.  If I confess my sin to God I do not need to confess it to others.
20.  If I confess my sin to God I will be totally free from its consequences.
21.  Christianity works for some people, but not for everyone.
22.  As long as one is sincere, then everything is okay with God.
23.  If I cannot serve in the church giving 100% effort, then I should not serve at all.
24.  I put in my time serving the church; there is no need for me to serve anymore.
25.  A person can be right with God without believing in Jesus, if they are a good person.
 
What are some statements you would add to this list? 
What hindrances have you identified and overcome in your own Christian life? 
How would you respond to someone who believes any one of these errors? 
Do you have a plan for discipleship in your church to help people learn Scripture and grow in grace and truth?

 

Will you pray for your church and its leaders on a regular basis?

Evicting Complaints

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
            

 

 
            Every person on planet earth knows what a complaint is because we have all done it and we have all been the brunt of it.  In order to handle grumblers we must first deal with our own complaining spirit.  When our ancestors, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and fell into a state of sin, their attitudes changed.  Whereas their reflex responses in the garden Paradise were to enjoy God and be open with Him, their automatic emotional reflexes after their fall were to hide and blame.  Adam’s first response to God after disobeying Him was to point his finger at Eve:  “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”  And Eve’s initial reflex attitude was blame, as well:  “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3).
 
The basic sinful nature of us humans from that time forward has been to have an automatic reflex attitude of blaming, quarreling, and complaining.  The heart drifts toward complaint as if by some gravitational pull because grumbling seems a reasonable response to disappointing events. Generally, you do not have to extend an invitation for complaint to show up. It arrives as an uninvited guest. You return home from a frustrating day to discover that complaint has moved into your guest room, unpacked its luggage, started a load of laundry, and is rooting through your fridge. Even as you work to evict complaint—as you move its bags to the curb and change the locks—it somehow crawls back into the guest room window. Complaint resists eviction.  Before we know it, complaint feels right because it is familiar. With every struggle, we become like the Israelites murmuring in the desert (Exodus 16-17). God desires to prepare our faith for his work and service in the community and in the world, but we are hunkered down in our automatic reflex pattern of grumbling.
 
We can discourage complaint’s residency in our lives by inviting another guest to move in with us. That new guest is a prayerful attitude of trust and gratitude. When we choose to trust God and give Him thanks in the face of deep disappointment, complaint has less space to maneuver. While attempting to unpack for an extended stay, complaint discovers that trust and gratitude have taken all the drawers in the guest room and already occupies the empty seat at the supper table. Faith and gratitude evict complaint because faith and a grumbling spirit are not able to live in the same house together. One inevitably pushes the other one out.
 
It does not take any effort to complain most about the people closest to us – which is why marriages need to be continually strengthened; the relationship between pastor and people must always be nurtured; and, the closest relationship of all, with God, ought to be characterized not by murmuring and complaining, but by an automatic response of trust and gratitude in the face of trouble.
 
The ancient Israelites experienced the greatest miracle of the Old Testament – being delivered from harsh slavery in Egypt through the parting of the Red Sea so that they could walk across on dry ground and escape the Egyptian army’s pursuit.  It is easy to praise God when great things happen, and the Israelites had a whopper of a praise and worship service after that deliverance.  But it is quite another thing to praise and trust God when trouble happens – and when it happens over and over again.  Immediately after the praise and worship, Moses led the people into the desert and there was no water.  God led the people on purpose into a difficult situation because he wanted to test their faith.  Faith is a muscle that must be exercised so that it can strengthen and grow.  But the Israelites quickly forgot the blessings and grumbled about their situation.  The Israelites reflex attitude response was to complain and ignore God’s direct commands.  Maybe they did so because they spent four-hundred years in slavery in Egypt and complaint had made such a home with them there that it was second nature to them to murmur about their situation.
 
 
 
I keep a little c-clamp in my office to remind me that I am not in control, but God is.  The c-clamp also reminds me that I need to keep a clamp on my tongue when it comes to grumbling and complaining.  Sins of the tongue are some of the most dominant forms of disobedience to God in the Bible.  We use our words and our mouths because the tongue is powerful.  The Apostle James put it this way:  “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:7-8).  Here is a probing question:  Can any of us go 24 hours without complaining about something or someone?  Those of us who cannot answer ‘yes’ must recognize that we have a serious problem. If you cannot go 24 hours without drinking liquor, you are addicted to alcohol. If you cannot go 24 hours without smoking, you are addicted to nicotine. And if you cannot go 24 hours without grumbling about something or someone, then you have lost control over your tongue and you are addicted to murmuring and have an adulterous relationship with complaint.
 
We must drink from the well of everlasting life and not from the well of complaint.  Jesus is the Living Water we need.  If we find ourselves being compulsive complainers, it could be that we have not yet found the spiritual water we are thirsting for.  We complain because we are not content and we are thirsty.  So, drink deeply of Jesus Christ.  Everyone who drinks of complaint will never be satisfied.  But everyone who drinks the water Jesus gives will never thirst, and that water will become in that person a spring welling up to eternal life.
 

 

God is with us.  Difficult circumstances, trouble, hard situations, problem people, and the seeming impossibility that things will not change are not evidence that God isn’t there; instead, it is evidence that He is with us, wanting us to come to him and trust in his grace and provision.  Will you trust God with your impossible situation?  Will you give thanks to God for everything, including your trouble that humbles you to pray?  Will you come to the fount of Living Water and find satisfaction and contentment in Jesus Christ?

Victory Over Satan

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment

 

 
            The big three enemies of every Christian are:  a sinful world system (1 John 2:15-16); the inherent sinful nature (Ephesians 4:22); and, the devil, who seeks to exploit the world and the sinful nature to tempt and move us into rebellion against God (1 Peter 5:8-9).  The good news is that Jesus Christ has obtained deliverance and freedom for His people from each of those enemies.  However, for this deliverance and freedom to be a practical reality in daily experience, each believer in Jesus must know and practice the truth.
 
            In the original Fall of humanity there was a passive response to the temptation of the serpent, an acceptance of doubt concerning God’s Word, the acceptance of insinuations concerning God’s goodness and wisdom, and a deliberate choice to follow the suggestions of Satan and disobey the only true and living God.  The seriousness of that Fall into disobedience cannot be overemphasized.  The Fall introduced the dimensions of sin, lust, depravity, slavery, ignorance, death and every form of evil into the human race.  In short, people became alienated from God and enslaved to the devil.  The final effects of this sinful bondage will not be completely severed until the final judgment.  The hold of the devil is so profound that it took the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to break that hold and make it possible for humanity to be redeemed.
 
            The descriptive titles given to Satan indicate his activity and what he is up to:  Tempter (Matthew 4:3); Deceiver (Revelation 12:9); Accuser (Revelation 12:10); Adversary (1 Peter 5:8); Murderer and Liar (John 8:44); the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4); and, the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).  Holy Scripture indicates that a Christian can be significantly influenced by the machinations of Satan through:  giving the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27); lying (Acts 5:3); physical and spiritual attacks (Job 1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:7); deception (Revelation 12:9-10; 2 Corinthians 11:3); temptation (1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5); pride (1 Timothy 3:6); corruption (2 Corinthians 11:3); accusations (Revelation 12:10); hypocrisy (Acts 5:1-11); and, “fiery darts” (Ephesians 6:16).  In other words, the Christian ignores the activity of Satan at his/her peril.
 
            Satan’s purpose and aim is to keep each and every believer in Jesus from spiritual progress and maturity, and from the daily experience of living in the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, the evidence of Satan’s success is all around us, and even in the church.  All Christians are under the attack of the enemy of our souls in some way, shape, or form.  When well-meaning Christians experience difficulty in prayer, in reading Scripture, in witnessing to the truth of Christ, in overcoming sins, and in maintaining right fellowship with other believers, then this is a tangible reminder of the subtle and powerful effect that Satan has in the church, not to mention the world.  Such a situation requires that we know and understand the provision we possess in overcoming the evil one.
            The most basic truth to know and practice is that in the crucifixion and resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan (Colossians 2:15).  Jesus has through his death and rising from death destroyed the power of death and delivered those held in bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15).  In fact, Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth so that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).  What is more, through the Ascension Jesus was seated in triumph over Satan and this tremendous victory has been given to each and every believer in Christ (Ephesians 1:19-21; 2:5-6).
 
            In order for this incredible access to become a reality there must be a complete and honest confession, repentance and renunciation of past and present sins.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  There must be a complete and honest practice of the truth in the obedience of faith and love through standing with the truth (Ephesians 6:10-18).  There must be a complete and honest as well as aggressive resistance of the work of Satan through constant vigilance and standing firm (1 Peter 5:8-9).
 
            When you are made to feel guilty but do not know what you have done or why you should feel this way – then be aggressive about rejecting it.  When you are accused (i.e. “If you were really a Christian you would not be thinking a thought like that…”) – then be aggressive about refusing the guilt.  When your thoughts, emotions, and desires threaten to get out of hand – then take charge of them and bring them into subjection to Jesus.  You have all the authority of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension behind you to reject and refuse error and satanic whispers.
 

 

            Know the enemy’s lies and deceptions and be aggressive about dealing with them according to the truth of the gospel.  Always attempting this alone is somewhat like trying to be an army of one – it would go much better with the help of the church as we share, pray, and practice the truth together in the context of community.  May the kingdom of God come in all its fullness as Christians learn to know and practice the truth.  Soli Deo Gloria.

You Must Be Born Again

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
It could be that being “born again” is a settled thing for you.  You are saved, sanctified, and redeemed by the blood; you have seen the one way track to on high and are on the Jesus train to heaven!   But consider this:  In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:1-21), Nicodemus considered his relation to God as a settled matter.  Nicodemus was a good guy; an upstanding Jewish citizen; a devout and pious man; he had Old Testament Scripture quotes all over his Facebook page; a Fiddler on the Roof ringtone on his cell phone; he was a faithful Temple worship attender; and, a member of the most prestigious religious group around.  Nicodemus was not a bad guy; he was not a religious huckster; not a shady politician; and, not any kind of unsavory character.  And, yet, it was this very guy, Nicodemus, whom Jesus said:  “You must be born again.” 
 
            Why in the world would Jesus say this to such a good egg as Nicodemus?  He told Nicodemus that he must be born again because Nicodemus was a big fan of Jesus, but not really a committed follower of Jesus.  The Lord Jesus Christ is not looking for adoring admirers; he does not want thousands of fans sitting in the stands of life giving him cheers and props for being a godly teacher and performing some really cool miracles.  Jesus is looking for people to move from being cheerleaders and admirers to taking up their cross and following him no matter the cost.  For all his good deeds, Nicodemus needed to have a totally new life in following Jesus.
 
            The further away we are from birth, the easier it is to take God for granted and to have such a spiritually settled way of life that the mystery, wonder, and awe of life is slowly drained from us.  That’s why I think two-year-olds probably know more about God than anyone around – since they can articulate the wonder of life being only a few short years from their birth.  One night I came home and walked into the kitchen to find my four-year old grandson unashamedly crawling on all fours with his face barely off the floor.  I said, “Kolten, what in the world are you doing?”  He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eye and a serious tone in his voice and said, “I’m sniffing for clues.”  None of us will likely be found on our kitchen floors sniffing for clues, but would any of us be found by another sniffing for clues of God and doggedly pursuing him and following hard after him? 
 
            The problem with Nicodemus is that, because he was such a good guy, he did not see himself as in need of a new life.  Meeting Jesus at night was deeply symbolic of the fact that Nicodemus was literally “in the dark” about his true spiritual condition and the true reality of God’s ways and how the world works in God’s kingdom.  He was not willing to step into the light of the day and stand up for Jesus as a devoted follower.  Nicodemus was quite content to maintain his position as only a fan of Jesus.
 
 
 
            So, how do we move from being merely a fan to being a follower of Jesus?  We must believe in Jesus.  To truly believe in Jesus means that we must move from a mere intellectual faith that the teachings of Jesus are wise, just, right, and good.  To truly believe in Jesus means that we must move from having only a heartfelt faith that is warmed and cheered when seeing Jesus perform a miracle.  To truly believe in Jesus means we move to an actual spiritual life of complete and total trust in Jesus as a dedicated follower.  This is more than simply asking Jesus to help us get out of a jam or a bad situation; it is more than simply asking Jesus into my heart; it is telling Jesus that at last we are putting ourselves in his gracious hands so completely that we want Jesus to decide what to do with us and remove any and all shortcomings, character defects, and sins from us.  It is to be cleansed, like being born again and having a new life. 
 
            We cannot be deceived into thinking that all we need is a little spiritual elbow grease to have eternal life.  Instead, we must intentionally and deliberately relinquish control of our lives and of everything to Jesus and become his faithful followers.  Information is not transformation; and, observing transformation in another person’s life is not a substitute for transformation in my own life.
 
            Jesus does not want to have a bunch of groupies admiring him in the dark; he wants to save the world – which is why God sent his Son to be lifted up on a cross.  Maybe the biggest threat to Christ’s church today are fans who call themselves Christians but are not actually interested in following Jesus.  They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.  Fans, like Nicodemus, often confuse their admiration for devotion.  They mistake their knowledge of Jesus for an actual relationship with Jesus.  Fans assume that their good works and their good intentions make up for any need of being a full-time follower and living a new life.
 

 

            What does moving from being a fan to being a follower mean for us?  For some, it means taking the step of making a public profession of faith; for others it means believing in Jesus for the very first time, trusting that God has not only forgiven others of their sin, but forgives me as well through the cross; for some it means taking up the mantle of service in the church; for others it means becoming part of a small group or a bible study; for us all it means moving from hiding in the shadows to coming into the light of God’s truth and openly living for God in every facet of our lives.  May it be so.  Soli Deo Gloria.