Tag: christian life

Faith, Hope, and Love

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
            God is real.  The Christian life works.  Those are the bedrock presuppositions and assumptions I work from each and every day of my life and ministry.  If I did not believe those statements I would be knee-deep in the muck of church work with little to offer people.  Because I believe that Christianity works for people, I also confidently hold that the correct response to the reality of God is faith, hope, and love.  Any response to God less than this will result in an inability to function well in the Christian life. 
 
The path to maturity for any local church is to bring all thinking, desires, attitudes, aspirations, and actions in harmony with trusting God, loving God, and making Him the object of our hope.
 
            At first glance this might sound difficult.  But this is really not rocket science.  It is only confusing if we have not been taught correctly according to the Word of God.  If we have lived in error when it comes to how the Christian life works, then there are established patterns of thinking and behavior which are neither easy to identify and evaluate, nor to defeat.
 
            Therefore, the very first step in solving this kind of problem is to get back to the bedrock belief of God.  We cannot effectively respond in faith, hope, and love to a God we do not know much of. 
 
Knowing God, then, is an absolute necessity to the Christian life in order to experience spiritual freedom and be fruitful in ministry.
 
            God is a Person.  He is the infinite God, the Creator of all things and is thus worthy of all our trust and affection (e.g. 1 Samuel 17:20-51; Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Chronicles 14-16).  God is absolute truth, love, and holiness.  God will always remain true to himself in all of his relationships and actions with us.  He does not act out of harmony with his basic character.  Therefore, God can be trusted.
 
            God has revealed himself through the Christian Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.  The Bible is God’s Word to us.  The Word of God cannot fail because God cannot fail.  God is always true to himself and to his Word (e.g. Psalm 119:49-50; 146:5-6; Jeremiah 32:1-44; Romans 4:21; Hebrews 2:1-3).  The Word of God is living and is therefore powerful. 
 
To the degree that we know and practice the Word of God, we have the experience of the grace of God and therefore have the power of God.
 
            It is a wonderful and tremendous privilege to possess the Word of God with all of its potential to effect change in our lives; its certainty concerning who God is; and, its assurance of pardon through faith.  So, then, each and every believer has a sacred responsibility:
 
We must be aggressive in knowing the Word of God; we must be confident in believing God; we must be active in claiming the promises of God; and, we must be intentional about living according to what God has revealed about himself and his creatures.
 

 

            Church ministry, then, has a sacred trust to help people know God better.  No matter what the ministries, programs, or activities, our greatest aim is to connect people with the God who is real and who has given us guidance by means of his powerful Word.  Faith, hope, and love are the logical and heartfelt responses to knowing God.  The promise we have is that when we seek God will all our heart, we will find him.  Amen and amen.

Thoughts on the Successful Christian Life

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            The entire Christian life can be summed up in three important words:  faith, hope, and love.  Both new believers in Jesus and veterans in the faith know from experience how difficult it can be to practice these in our daily life.  One reason for this difficulty, even when we want to please the Lord, is due to the confusion that occurs between our inner feelings and our outer actions.  Once we have an understanding of this confusion and how to evaluate our inner experience, then it is a whole lot easier to make daily decisions of faith, hope, and love – decisions that are vitally essential to the successful Christian life.
 
            The confusion starts with the creation and fall of humanity.  In the beginning God created humans as persons with our relationship to Him as central to daily life (Genesis 1:26; 2:16-25).  What is more, God created us with the capacity to receive His revelation through our ability to think and reason (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10).  Before disobedience entered the world, in the original state before the fall, all human functions were under complete control with an inner experience of unity and harmony with one another and God (Genesis 1:31; 2:7, 16-25).  It is critical for us to recognize the distinction between our being persons and the functions that we do (Romans 1:21-32; 6:16-22; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Ephesians 4:21-32).
 
            If we do not grasp how cataclysmic the fall of humanity was, we are going to have big struggles with living the Christian life.  With Adam and Eve’s original disobedience to God, the authority for life was transferred from God to ourselves so that our sinful bent is to call our own shots without God.  The source of authority was also transferred from our ability to think and reason to our emotions so that our feelings rule how we think and act.  As church leaders, if we do not understand this dynamic we will be forever frustrated with people because they do irrational things.  We are flabbergasted that parishioners do not simply take what we teach them and go and do it.  If it were that simple there would be no place for the Holy Spirit!
 
            There is more.  In the fall, we lost control of our capacity to function well.  We are all now vulnerable to manipulation from our inherited sinful natures, from the surrounding culture, from sinful people, and, of course, from Satan (Ephesians 2:2-3; Galatians 5:16-21).  As a result, our inner consciences have become confused.  We are not always certain of right and wrong.  We misunderstand what life is really supposed to be all about.  We become obsessed with feeling comfortable and secure and pursue false gods.  And those false gods disappoint us and leave us with a lack of fulfillment in life.
 
            But the good news is that through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and a new birth, the bondage of sin was broken in our lives are we were legally reinstated in a relationship with God where He is central in our daily life and the final authority.  In this new relationship we can again receive truth through the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures.  We regain control of our functions.  However, unless we learn the Scriptures and growin a daily walk with Jesus, the practical experience of this relationship with all its freedom, joy, assurance,  power, and fruitfulness may be greatly limited (Romans 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4).
 
            Even though we may have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and have believed in Him, it is still possible to regress to giving our functions and our emotions a place of authority in our daily life.  This is why Christians can experience conflict, doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and confusion.
 
            To live correctly means to grow in the experience and application of what it means to have Jesus Christ at the center of our lives.  We must, therefore, make daily decisions of faith, hope, and love based in who we are in Christ and recognizes His authority over us.  The following seven suggestions may be helpful:
 
1.      Recognize that you are a person with the ability to function in faith, hope, and love as God’s beloved child in Christ (2 Corinthians 7:1; Romans 8:14-17).
 
2.      Recognize the difference between yourself and your functions.  Evil thoughts and emotions do not make you evil.  What you do with your feelings is what is vital.  (Check out how Jesus handled this in Matthew 4:1-11).
 
3.      Recognize that you can take charge of your functions and your life (Galatians 5:22-23).
 
4.      Recognize that the key in all of this is your use of the will in living in harmony with revealed biblical truth.  In other words, you really can make choices of faith, hope, and love that seem to contradict your feelings (Romans 4:17-21; Psalm 56:3; Psalm 43:5-11).
 
5.      Recognize the absolute necessity of rejecting whatever is contradictory to the Bible – in your thinking, emotions, and bodily desires.  All non-biblical patterns of action must be broken in Jesus’ name (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:5-9; Titus 2:11-12).
 
6.      Recognize the absolute necessity of choosing to respond to God and His Word by daily obedience.  Learn to think and act on the basis of truth and in spite of how you think, feel, or desire (Acts 27:25).
 
7.      Recognize that practicing the truth will result in freedom, a re-patterning of thinking and functions, as well as the fruit of the Spirit (John 8:32; Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:12-16).
 

 

Part of the reason the church exists is to provide a supportive community of fellow redeemed people who worship and love Jesus together.  Just showing up at a church building without sharing our collective learning of the Scriptures and daily struggles of faith, hope, and love will inevitably result in a spiritual immaturity over the long haul.  Rather, seek to become part of a small group or bible study which will help to reinforce godly decisions and spiritual growth.  Talk about your shared experience of worship and the preaching of the Word.  In doing so, God is glorified and the church is strengthened.  

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?

Reconcile the Past

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            The Bible exhorts the believer in Jesus to live according to the truth.  When we fail to do so we suffer spiritual loss.  We are told to confess and reject all sinful patterns of past behavior and not allow these to influence us today (Titus 2:12; 1 Peter 1:14, 18).  Neglecting such spiritual responsibility will inevitably cause repercussions in other areas of life – emotional, mental and physical.  When the Apostle Paul said “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” he could say that because he had come to terms with and reconciled his own terrible past (Philippians 3:4-13).
 
            It is both helpful and necessary to go back into one’s life and deal with the past on the basis of biblical truth.  When we do so, we are seeking to honor God and obey his Word.  Ask the Lord to turn his searchlight of truth on you and your past.  Trust God to bring to your remembrance all those times which you need to reconcile.  Make a choice before God to be as honest as you possibly can.  The following are some suggestions from a former professor and mentor, the late Dr. Victor Matthews, (put in my own words) to carefully follow:
 
1.      Start with your earliest memories as a child.  Write out (reject the temptation to just think about it or talk it out) every time you sinned or were hurt.  Be complete, name the people involved, state what happened, do not try and protect yourself or other people and do not fantasize and let your thoughts run amok.
 
2.      Evaluate each past event on the basis of truth.  If you sinned, then confess it to God truthfully and receive his forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).  If you were hurt by someone, and it was their fault, then state “so and so should not have done that to me.”  When you have finished writing out the event, then deliberately stop and completely forgive the person(s) (Mark 11:25-26).  If you were at fault in some way, then confess that to God, as well.
 
3.      Resist the temptation to hurry with this process!  Do not generalize by putting many events into one.  Be specific and take the time necessary to get in touch with what the Holy Spirit of God is trying to help you connect with.  This practice of reconciling the past is not introspection, so do not indulge in self-pity, self-criticism, or develop a martyr syndrome.
 
4.      When you have finished each event and have confessed and/or forgiven the person(s) then do two things, and these are absolutely vital to bringing closure to past hurtful events:
 
—Make an affirmationthat Satan, the Accuser, may no longer use what you have written out against you.  Make this statement and say it with flavor:  “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I take this event away from Satan and declare that he may not use it against me anymore!” (Ephesians 4:27; 5:11; 6:14).
 
—Choose to receivethe healing the Lord Jesus died to provide for those who believe in him and live according to his Word (Isaiah 53:5).  Make this statement and say it with sincerity and conviction:  “Now that I have made this right with you, heavenly Father, I receive the healing you have provided for me through the cross of Jesus Christ.”
 

 

When you have finished your work (and, by the way, do not overlook the anger and/or grudges you may have against God) then count it finished.  After all, when Jesus said “it is finished!” he meant what he said.  Reconciling the past means leaning into the finished work of Jesus for our complete healing.  If and when you think of the bad event in your past, then firmly state:  “I have dealt with that truthfully and it is settled.”  Whenever you sin from this point forward, confess it, receive forgiveness, and make the affirmations of truth.  In doing so we are living by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.  Amen and amen.