Tag: christian maturity

Are Your Ears Being Tickled? (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have known sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but, having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, be sober in everything, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. (New Revised Standard Version)

It’s only human in wanting to hear only those things we like to hear. Rarely do any of us purposely seek to listen to another voice which is contrary to our likings. This may be why we exist in such a polarized world; we simply have no intention of listening to any sort of opposing view on anything.

We put our fingers in our ears to stop hearing things we don’t want to hear; and conversely, we surround ourselves only with people who tell us what we want to hear.

The Apostle Paul would say that we like our ears tickled.

One of the hardest things to hear is that sometimes we need to hear hard things.

There is no spiritual growth, and no Christian maturity, apart from the willingness to hear what we need to hear, rather than to always hear what we want to hear. All of us need to keep developing our listening skills.

I would argue that one of the reasons there are umpteen Protestant denominations in this world is that groups of people don’t really want to listen to one another. We’d much rather insulate ourselves; label ourselves as right; and declare that everyone else is worldly and wrong, or an antichrist and a terrorist.

But that sort of thinking will not do for the Apostle Paul. It’s one of the reasons he took the time to write to his young protégé Timothy.

Paul’s letter to Timothy is filled with exhortations and warnings about making sure the church is ethical with their words; avoids useless and profane speech; holds to sound biblical talk; and stays away from speaking erroneously about apostolic teaching.

In other words, church folk must keep their life, their doctrine, and their speech in line with the words and ways of Jesus – even when we encounter hard words from our Lord and his apostles.

Listening to what we need to hear, instead of always what we want to hear, is a significant way of maturing in the Christian life.

We choose to listen to hard things, and things we don’t necessarily want to hear in order to connect with God and others; and to compassionately understand what they’re saying to us.

We need not be at the mercy of our own reactivity. Knee jerk reactions only breed ignorance, not spiritual growth.

Since listening is a skill to develop, that means we need a lot of practice doing it. We can begin by listening to Scripture; embracing the sort of faith which it advocates; and following the examples of godly persons, like the Apostle Paul.

In Timothy’s case, faith was learned and nurtured through the examples of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (2 Timothy 1:5). Their compassionate and beloved way of life displayed an embodied source of sound teaching.

There was a whole lot more going on with the godly examples than catechism classes and Sunday School lessons. Their teaching effected a deep and enduring desire to follow the example of godly living.

Every believer needs helpful examples and models, whether they are family or not. The truly Christian person is one who allows the inspiration of Holy Scripture to manifest itself in their life in profoundly powerful ways which brings transformation, not just information.

And whenever these godly persons are together, making up a Christian community, then there is wise discernment in carefully listening to what is right, true, good, and just. Gossip is jettisoned. Lack of evidence is not ever entertained. Rather, encouragement and spiritual nurture take hold.

Christians with the inspired text in the very marrow of their souls faithfully call out deviations and departures from godly scriptural speech. They hold to righteousness and embrace the good. They love mercy and exhibit humility in all things.

Holy Scripture was not a collection of facts for Timothy, but was engrafted into his mind and heart so that what came out of him was faith, hope, and love. Christians like Paul and Timothy had a well-rounded spirituality which was attuned to following Jesus and nurturing the faith of others.

Paul lovingly and confidently exhorted Timothy (and his congregation) to go diligently after Scripture, so that it could do its work within them. They were to speak out the gospel of grace, no matter the situation.

Believers are to liberally use apostolic teaching to convince, rebuke, and encourage each other toward the righteousness of God.

Everyone is to work together in practicing holiness, proclaiming grace, and promoting a way of life rooted in the life of Christ.

Everyone is to avoid flocking to leaders who only tell them what they want to hear. They are to instead flock toward humble and wise leadership who possess time-tested teaching – not pithy slogans and promotions of hate.

Reliable true-blue teaching understands perseverance, long-suffering, honesty, and fidelity to Christ’s words. The truth is stated plainly, and thinks of others. There’s no get-down-and-dirty pride; no posturing nor slick salesmanship.

Timothy cared nothing about getting as many social media followers as he could. And he wasn’t so insecure as to want everyone in his congregation to like him. But neither was he calloused by forcing his way on everyone. Paul taught him better than that.

Paul’s instruction took hold with Timothy by cultivating a genuine spiritual growth that is organic and patient, rooted in love, that can always hearken back to the faithfulness of Christ and the apostles.

It is profoundly sad to me how many persons have left the church. And yet, I understand why. There are too many pastors and elders and deacons who are driven by their own selfish desires for power, control, money, and personal followers. That stuff is a sure prescription for people to get hurt and disillusioned with Christianity, let alone the church.

The Apostle Paul wanted to see leadership which reflects the grace by which he himself had been saved. Furthermore, Paul was devoted to being a mentor in helping others like Timothy and Titus to live in ways which exhibit the grace and mercy of Christ.

A hard teaching is really only hard wherever there exists a hard heart. We all need ever-expanding and softening hearts which are receptive to the voice of Holy Scripture.

What’s more, we need non-itchy ears which listen to the voice of God and the voice of hurting people who need the gospel of grace.

We need godly leadership who knows the difference between truth and being a jerk.

Where are you in your own faith walk?

O God, Spirit of righteousness, you temper judgment with mercy. Help us to live out the covenant which is written on our hearts so that when Christ returns we may be found worthy to receive your gracious presence. Amen.

Spiritual Wisdom and Power (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
By Bible Art

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the testimony of God to you with superior speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. (New Revised Standard Version)

When it comes to proclaiming the gospel – the good news of Christ’s person and work – both the message and the messenger are important.

The Apostle Paul was dialed in and focused on the Cross of Jesus Christ. Although he could have used various methods of persuasion, he was determined to set aside all other means of proclamation, and declare Christ’s Cross as the message and method itself.

This means that Paul also deliberately faded himself into the background, in order to have the Cross of Christ in the foreground. He emphasized his own weakness, his fear and trembling, in order to highlight the strength and majesty of God.

Paul wanted the messenger to point to the message – which meant that all of his speaking allowed God’s Spirit and power to show itself through him, rather than in spite of him.

The Corinthians came to believe the message not because of a big showy demonstration of Paul’s strength, intellect, and wisdom. Instead, they embraced Christian belief because of spiritual power and effort.

If it is spiritual wisdom and power centered in the message of Christ’s Cross which saves us, then it is also more than good enough to sanctify us, as well, and be the core from which all of the Christian life emanates from.

The Apostle understood that he is God’s agent, God’s ambassador, but that God alone is the One who saves humanity and delivers them from sin, death, and hell.

Christ Carrying the Cross, by Martin Schongauer, c. 1480 C.E.

Paul’s argument doesn’t have anything to do with making sure that the word “cross” is said in every sermon and conversation, or that Christians have only one thing to talk about.

Instead, the Apostle wanted the Corinthian Church to distance themselves from their typical of use of worldly philosophical wisdom, in favor of a distinctly spiritual wisdom which demands a certain kind of ministry:

The cross of Jesus Christ is to be the central event in which all of Christian life and ministry revolves around. In other words, the shape of Christianity is cruciform.

And since the cruciform nature of Christianity is our reality, our wisdom is to be received and flow from the Cross of Christ. To do less is to rely upon a different power other than the distinctive spiritual power of Christ’s death.

It isn’t any one of us which breaks through to another’s spirit; the power of God compels a person to listen, receive the message, and be given faith to believe, grow, and spiritually mature.

When the good news of Christ’s person and work takes root and develops within us, then what comes out of us is spiritual power, and not our own homespun worldly human wisdom.

“Wisdom” is the ability to take a body of knowledge and apply it to concrete situations in life.

So, when it comes to spiritual wisdom, Christians mature in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus; then, they learn to take this important body of knowledge and apply it to all of the various circumstances and situations they are faced with every day.

This isn’t to say that worldly wisdom has no merit or significance, or that it is misguided. Rather, it means that this sort of wisdom doesn’t have the ability, the strength, or the power to move and change us, or others, toward deliverance and new life. We need the wisdom of the Spirit for that. And Paul insisted that this wisdom comes from the Cross of Christ.

The crucifixion of Christ is the wise guide for all of the Apostle Paul’s theology, message, and ministry. That singular event was like a massive meteor hitting the ocean of humanity, with a powerful tsunami of spiritual power and grace still making waves up to this very day.

Indeed, the Cross of Christ impacts all of creation, the entire universe. The person and work of Jesus Christ has cosmic implications for the salvation and deliverance of everything from the grip of evil.

On the practical daily level of things, none of this is about trying to do or be better, to somehow work harder at being a Christian or doing Christian mission and ministry. The fact of the matter is that we can only give to others what we have received from God. This means that:

  • The Holy Scriptures are to be received with reverence and fear, as a message given for us to learn and know so well that it becomes as familiar to you as the backdoor of your house.
  • The Christian life is about dying to self, taking up one’s cross and following Christ. If we desire the power of the resurrection, then this will first require embracing and allowing the powerful suffering of the cross to do its work.
  • Faithfulness is at the heart of living. Our task is to show up, pay attention, and speak the truth in love, and let God use this to accomplish the Divine holy will. Being married to outcomes and consequences will likely lead to reliance upon worldly wisdom, and eventually disappointment.
  • The Cross of Christ is what everything and everyone hinges upon. The world does not revolve around you nor me. So, let’s get in sync with the Spirit of God and rely upon the cruciform power provided for us by means of Christ’s death.

O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; who lives and reigns now and forever. Amen.

Developing the Skill of Wisdom (Colossians 1:9-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Colossians 1:9-10, by Bible Art

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (New International Version)

When I was younger, I played a lot of ping-pong. And I got good at it. In fact, during a several months stretch, back-in-the-day, I had a record of 156-2. Not bad.

That kind of record was only possible because of the two reasons that make any skill an accomplishment:

  1. Knowledge. I learned the game of ping-pong and eventually knew it inside and out.
  2. Experience. I practiced for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in developing my technique.

The sort of knowledge that Paul was talking about was more than information and intellectual understanding; he used a specific word (in the Greek language – ἐπιγινώσκω, pronounced “EPee-gi-NOS-ko) which refers to knowledge gained by experience.

In English, we need to put two words together in order to communicate Paul’s concept: experiential knowledge – an understanding which is gained by continual repetition and practice until there is proficiency.

There are just some things that can only be learned and integrated into life through constant use and development over time. And this is precisely how a person becomes mature in life:

Growth + Time = Maturity.

And with maturity comes the wisdom to live life as it meant to be lived. This means that wisdom doesn’t come overnight or quickly; to be wise requires a great deal of learning, effort, experience, and time.

The wisdom and understanding Paul refers to is not some sort of secret information which has to be accessed through careful initiation into a group of people who have the inside knowledge. No, this is wisdom which can be gained by anyone who embraces a life of faith and spiritual discipline.

The highest form of knowledge for the Apostle Paul is knowing God in Christ.

This sort of knowledge is an understanding of salvation, and experiencing deliverance from guilt, shame, and the false self. Such knowledge is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit in living a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Colossians 1:11, by Bible Art

From the outside of Christianity looking in, it may appear that this is all a grand achievement of the human will. But it isn’t. On the inside, the Christian life is thoroughly a work of God’s glorious power, bringing new life, and effecting spiritual growth and maturity into a wise and good way of life.

We did not deliver ourselves. God did. The Lord transferred our membership from the realm of darkness to the empire of light. Christians are simply people who have been redeemed by God in Christ. Our liberation is because of God’s gracious forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness, however, is not the end game. Forgiveness frees us to pursue the spiritual life without guilt and shame hindering us and weighing us down all the time. Forgiveness opens us to the possibilities of positive and life-giving relational connections with God and other people.

In our relationship with God, prayer becomes the conduit of divine/human conversation. That connection, in the past, had blockage because of our unhealthy lifestyles. But it is now unobstructed because of God’s gracious intervention by Jesus, in the Spirit.

So, when it comes to our interactions in prayer, there’s no need to invent a new game; we just need to learn the one we’ve got, and put in the hours of work necessary to become accomplished at it. 

Today’s New Testament lesson is a prayer from the Apostle Paul to the Colossian Church. His prayer for them was singular: To have wise minds and spirits, that is, to have knowledge of God – an understanding of who God is and how God operates.

To learn divine ways is to acquire the skill of wisdom.

Paul prayed for a reason: so that we might live our lives in a way which pleases God and enables us to sustain a lifetime of spiritual growth. 

As people created in God’s image and likeness, we are hard-wired with a spirit which needs strengthening and exercise. That happens as we put in the constant repetitions of connecting with the divine and putting in the time on our knees – praying daily for ourselves and others to mature in faith so that we might all together act wisely and justly in this world, for the life of the world.

A good place to start is to use Paul’s prayer as our own. Never has there been such a need than now for us to know how to apply wisdom in the places and in the circumstances we’ve never been in before. 

For wisdom to happen, we must grow in our knowledge by putting in the hours of prayer.

The skill of wisdom doesn’t magically happen. Wisdom is the culmination of acquired understanding; a lot of practice exercising love in the places where love is not; and engaging in a lifetime project of becoming knowledgeable through constant learning, struggling, and growing.

Direct me, O Lord, in all my doings with your most gracious will and wisdom. Further in me your continual help – that in all my work and in all I do and say, I may glorify your holy name; and, by your mercy, obtain the life that is truly life; through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.

Recover the Relational Commands (1 Timothy 6:13-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (New International Version)

Jesus is Lord, and Ceasar is not. The Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy, in some ways, could be summed up in this way.

As Timothy ministered to the fledgling church in Ephesus, he was to continually keep his eyes on Jesus and take his cues for ministry on the apostolic teaching handed down to him. Timothy was not to get caught up in the fear of living in an Empire that commanded fealty to Ceasar as the supreme being over all.

Timothy was to flee all that is contrary to the sound doctrine of Christian faith. He was instead to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Paul encouraged and exhorted Timothy to fight the good fight of the faith; and take hold of the eternal life to which he was called. Timothy was to live into his confession of Christ and his call from God.

Embrace Jesus as Lord, and quit trusting in Ceasar as Lord.

Although we see nothing subversive about today’s New Testament lesson, it very much was when Paul originally wrote it. The Apostle was essentially saying that, as Timothy goes about pastoring the church at Ephesus within the Roman Empire, he must always uphold the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus Christ as supreme – which, if seen by Roman authorities, would be taken as a subversive action against the state.

The Empire cares about submission to the state, and would see Jesus as Lord as Timothy and Paul teaching people to submit to a different ruler than Ceasar. And they would be right because neither Paul nor Timothy had any intention of engaging in the cult of Ceasar.

Contrary to the Roman imperial gods, and Ceasar himself, Paul lifted up the God who gives life to everything. It is this God – embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ – whom Timothy is encouraged to maintain a steadfast and consistent commitment to. And, what’s more, this commitment is to be carried out without any spot or blame.

Timothy had no need to bully people or shame others into accepting and holding onto the gospel. The means and the methods of how we embrace our charge from God matters a lot. By persevering in faith, holiness, and humility, Timothy would preserve himself and be of benefit to his listeners.

Believers are to keep up this spiritual commitment until Christ returns. It is always open season on gospel proclamation and Christian growth and maturity – lived with a gracious spirit.

By looking to Jesus, followers of Christ can maintain their witness. Times of discouragement are bound to come. And in those difficult seasons of life, we are not to change or switch our allegiance to the political powers. As important as government is, politicians are not saviors; and a particular system of government is not going to deliver us from our greatest oppressions.

The Apostle Paul described Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords, the blessed and only Ruler. Christ is  sovereign over all earthly powers.

Furthermore, God alone is immortal and lives in unapproachable light. God is pure light, and in the Lord there is no darkness. God’s glory is bright and blinding; therefore, no one can see God. To this God deserves honor and might forever.

The mighty and holy God will fulfill all divine promises. Paul was looking to reinforce some courage in Timothy by reminding him of the sort of God they both serve.

In our current and contemporary world, it’s easy to become discouraged. Injustice abounds. Hardness of heart is everywhere. An inability to truly see one another is rife. And people look everywhere and to anyone who appears successful. They want to know the secret in how to survive and thrive on this earth, in their workplaces, and in their homes.

But it’s no secret. The hard work of relationships is what it takes – both human and divine. There is no replacement or surrogate work to the labor of investing yourself into others lives. There’s no substitute for a relationship with God which involves prayer and basic Scripture reading, worship and spiritual disciplines; and face to face relations with actual real people – getting to know them, their joys, their fears, and what motivates them.

Until we recover things such as spiritual mentoring, spiritual practices, group prayer, congregational worship, and create the time for relationships, we shall continue to struggle with a fundamentally broken world and all of its dysfunctional relationships.

No matter the organization, the neighborhood, the family, or the church, we need real people to do honest real work. Whenever a manager, a block captain, a parent, or a pastor allows themselves to be vulnerable and authentic – and lives on the same level as those they serve – then no one is looking for a secret sauce to success.

The Christian’s path of life is always to involve humility, gentleness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking, in doing the work of right relations with the people around them. This is the way of Christ.

Trying to discover a process or a system – apart from the muck of relationships – will fail, every time. This is the way of Ceasar.

Paul took the time and invested the effort into his relationship with Christ. Then, he put himself in a position to mentor others in the faith. Furthermore, he encouraged people like Timothy to do the same. Apart from this work, there is no Christianity.

Believers in Jesus are here today because of Paul and Timothy and the body of teaching and work they passed on to others who, in turn, did the same.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV)

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and fulfill the calling you have received, the calling of righteousness (right relationships) with both God and others – because Jesus is Lord, and Ceasar is not.

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.