A Biblical Church Makes Disciples

Have you ever heard someone say: “That’s not biblical!” Or, they might say, “In MY bible, it says...” Or “There’s no way God is gonna bless that person/organization/church, ‘cuz they aren’t following the bible.” I hear it all the time. I see it on social media in various religious “discussions,” I hear it at conferences and meetings. I see it in essays, articles, and books. At our best, we Christians have a sense that we want to “get it right” when it comes to our faith and life. But, at our worst, we Christians also have a tendency to use the bible as a weapon to attack people who say or do things we don’t like. To try and understand what is “biblical” you see, is a double edged sword.

Also, the desire for Christians to declare something “biblical,” believe it or not, is a relatively new thing for the church.

It all began back in the 1750s when a group of Christian thought leaders began to study the difference between two different ways of reading the bible. On the one hand, you can read the bible to learn the history of God’s people, learning our beliefs, including what is right and what is wrong, in the process. On the other hand, you could read the bible as a record of history, of real events that happened.

In those days, people were starting to understand more and more about the ancient world, the people who lived, and what happened. The development of scientific inquiry, archaeology, and other areas of study added greatly to our understanding of history. So it happened that people who studied the bible began to raise questions like: “Did this or that event in the bible really happen the way the bible said it did? What about all these people? Who were they really?” They also noticed that certain things recorded in the bible weren’t “adding up.” Like, for example, in the bible stories in Genesis and Exodus, the number of people in Israel goes from such a small number to such a huge number in such a short time frame that, in order for it to be accurate, each woman in Israel would have had to give birth to dozens of babies every year. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met a woman who wants to be THAT “blessed!”

As people began to recognize more and more of the complexities within the bible itself, and continued to study the scientific and historical information that was available, some rather interesting things happened. For example, there is this thing you may or may not have heard of called the “Jesus Seminar.” (sigh) The Jesus Seminar is an organization founded in 1985 to carry on the “quest for the historical Jesus.” (eye roll) They were looking at the gospels trying to learn which parts of Jesus’ story “really happened” and which ones didn’t. If they could determine what “really happened”, then, they thought, they would know who the historical Jesus really was. (shake head) They would get together for seminars, discuss each and every verse of all four gospels, and then they would take votes on whether the stories were “real history” or not. If you want to know more, you can buy their thousand page book they wrote. (shrug)

So, here’s the thing: if you asked me: “Brother David: which of these ways of reading the bible: reading the bible as a source of beliefs and morals, or reading “Between the lines” to figure out what “really happened,” is the right way?” My answer would be:

“absolutely.”

Would it be trite for me to say I don’t really care how you read it, as long as you promise me you’re gonna read it? This pastor right here (point to myself) could die a happy man if I knew you were committed to reading the bible; that you really did it. I don’t know if every event recorded in the bible happened exactly the way the bible said happened. And honestly, I don’t care. What I do care about is this: when I read scripture I encounter the God who created me and His Son, Jesus Christ, who lived on the earth, who went to the cross as a sacrifice to atone for my many sins, and the Holy Spirit who encourages, comforts, and challenges me to grow to full maturity as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

In other words, I don’t know if the bible is “accurate” or not. What I do know is: the bible is sacred. In the bible, I find my identify as a child of God. The bible shapes who I am. The bible is my compass, my north star in life that points me back to God.

Today marks the beginning of a sermon series: “Biblical Church.” We will be reading passages from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians throughout this series to guide us as we consider several characteristics of a biblical church. And while each of the marks will be helpful and encouraging for us, please understand me clearly when I say the only way St. Paul UMC will EVER be a “Biblical Church” is when we, that is ALL OF US, make the word of God the center of ALL our lives. Jesus said in “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, was a man who read many books. But there was one book that he recognized was more important than all the others. Listen to his passionate words:

“To candid, reasonable men, I am not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought, I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God: just hovering over the great gulf; till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing,—the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri. [Translation: A Man of One Book] Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone; only God is here. In His presence I open, I read His book; for this end, to find the way to heaven.”

Now, I admit

This is why, if God is nudging you even in the slightest bit, to take the Disciple Course, I urge you to make the commitment. Make the Word of God the center of your life. Help St. Paul UMC become a “Biblical Church.” I’ve asked My wife, Emily, to share a few words this morning about her experience in taking Disciple, how it helped her make the bible the center of her life, to describe the difference it made for her.

(Emily Shares)

Read Scripture Lesson: Ephesians 2:11-22

The New Revised Standard Version One in Christ

11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Prayer

The first mark of a biblical church is: “Biblical Churches Make Disciples.” I chose this passage from because it calls all of us to remember that there was a time when we were separated from God, when we weren’t disciples. I don’t have time this morning to go into all the details, so instead I’ll share with you an image that will help us reflect on the simple truth that biblical churches are called to share the light of the Gospel with others based on the fact that we were once recipients of that same light.

There is an old story recorded in John Wesley’s Sermon “On Living Without God” about an ancient oak tree being cut down, and split through the middle. When the logger laid the two pieces down, out of the very center of the tree hopped a large toad, and scurried off just as fast as it could. How long, do you think the toad lived inside that tree? 50 years? 100? 150? There are some species of oaks that can live up to 900 years. For that entire time period, it had been alive. But what sort of life could one live nested within the hard fibers of a tree?

The life that toad lived, is it not what life is like for those who don’t know God? Isn’t that what it was like for you and I before someone lovingly shared with us the good news of the gospel? That toad, no doubt, had lived a life that we could technically call life. It certainly had a pulse, and brain waves, and it’s blood circulated through its veins. But was the toad really alive? Wesley said this is what life is like for the un-churched, the person who is “without God in the world.” There is a veil, something keeping him from seeing the world the way it really is. That toad, he had not idea about God, or the light of the sun, or the rustling of leaves, or the feeling of soft grass underfoot. He had no way of gaining true knowledge, there in the trunk of the tree. The good news of the Gospel has spread throughout the world, and yet the un-churched person doesn’t recognize it or comprehend what good God can accomplish in his life. He does not taste the goodness of God in communion, or recognize the power of God at work in the world. He doesn’t feel the Holy Spirit at work in his heart.

But then, the tree is split open, and the Spirit of God, Wesley writes, “strikes the heart of him that was until then without God in the world.” All at once, the unchurched person sees everything new. The light of Jesus Christ shines on him, and he sees the glory of God at work in his heart and in the world.

“He sees, so far as his newly-opened eyes can bear the sight,

the opening heavens around him shine,

With beams of sacred bliss.”

Sisters and brothers, remember, there was a time when you didn’t know this glorious life with God. Recognize that there are those who even now don’t know this glorious life with God. These are your neighbors, your friends. These are the people who serve you in restaurants, dry cleaners, coffee shops. They are bank tellers, solid waste workers, contractors, lawyers, doctors, government officials. They own businesses. They are rich, poor, and everywhere in between. Most importantly: they are far away from God. Remember. Remember. Remember. Remember what it was like for you. Remember with it is like for them.

Father. Son. Holy Spirit.