CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
April 4, 2004
PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING:
Our congregation The Stolte’s in Germany
Our college students David and Leon in the Navy
Our nation, military and leaders Various relatives, friends and co-workers
Yevette’s dad still having heart problems
FUTURE HAPPENINGS:
May 6 - National Day of Prayer
June 6-12 - Encounter
APRIL BIRTHDAYS: Yevette (1st), James (8th), Sarah (28th)
THOSE PESKY SLOGANS
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
Slogans are a convenient way to boil down a idea or belief to simple terms. In politics it is called “the party platform.” History has its share: “Give me liberty or give me death” and “Remember the Alamo.” In church history, various groups have developed creeds by which to live. But like many things they are difficult to repeat unless one is in the context where one first learned them. One example is “The Pledge of Allegiance” which we can say at football games but is more difficult to say when asked immediately to repeat it.
Churches of Christ have developed slogans as well. While not meant to be creeds, they have become somewhat of a standard to follow. They sound good but have we thought out the implications of them. Let’s examine a few of our slogans. “Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent” and “We do Bible things in Bible ways using Bible words” are the first two. These are similar and are saying basically the same thing. Many like to repeat them especially if there is some disagreement. It is felt that these should be a guideline to all that we do. I think that this idea is a noble goal but they have there limitations. For instance, there are things we do that have neither Bible words or examples for scripture is silent on them. Church buildings, vacation Bible school and classes are some things not mentioned in scripture. I have no problem with any of these things. However, in order to justify these ideas we have come up with a method of interpretation (also not mentioned in scripture): command, example and necessary inference or expediency. The above are expedient so we can do them even though they “violate” our slogans. We use the term “worship service” though scripture knows nothing of such. They came together in the assembly (the real meaning of church) to edify each other because they saw their lives as worship (Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 13:15-16).
Maybe the above is knit-picking but consider some other things. We do things in Bible ways when it is convenient for us. What do I mean by this? In Matthew 18:15 we are told to go to our brother and attempt to work out our difficulties. However I know that if a congregation has elders, many run first to the elders and tell them to deal with it in clear violation of scripture, and the elders take the task of doing so rather than confronting the individual with his responsibility. We are told in 1 Corinthians 13:5 not to keep a record of wrongs out of love, yet often we cannot let go of past hurts. We find ways to justify our actions in our own minds. We are told to consider others more important than ourselves (1 Corinthians 10:24 and Philippians 2:4, NRSV). Yet we want our way, we are comfortable with the way things are, we do not want change, and any who attempt to change something are criticized.
The next slogan is “We are New Testament Christians.” This has become the leading mantra of churches of Christ. Have we really thought it through as to the meaning of this. Some have come to the point that we are only to study Acts 2 through Revelation and that the rest of scripture is nice to look at but stay with the “important” stuff. Unfortunately I think that this has effected our theology causing us to build on a weak foundation of “the church” rather than on Jesus Christ. The sermons in Acts all point back to Jesus and His sacrificial death. Paul, Peter and John proclaim the example of Jesus in the life of the church. The gospels were written after the resurrection to the church! Why? One reason is what Luke states: “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (1:4). That makes it clear that the early church was being taught about Jesus.
There is another thing to reflect on here. What was the scripture of the New Testament church? What scripture did the noble Bereans search carefully? It was the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures! Why did the New Testament writers spend so much time quoting and illustrating from the Hebrew Bible to New Testament Christians unless they were being taught those very scriptures? Yet I have had complaints about spending too much time in the Old because we are “New” Testament Christians. It’s something to think about.
One last slogan which has fallen on hard times is “We are Christians only but not the only Christians.” Popular in the middle 1800s, as the movement to restore New Testament Christianity crystallized, the view narrowed as to who was and who wasn’t a Christian. It narrowed to the point that what is now taught is that we are the only Christians. In some places we are known as the only ones going to heaven, though other groups have also proclaimed this idea. It leads to a very judgmental attitude to the point that “we” decide who is in and who is out, not God. It also causes a very legalistic outlook on Christianity. There are some brethren challenging this idea. I don’t know where all of this is leading but I know that there is a desire by all to be Biblical in approach. There are few who would be willing to give up cardinal teachings found in churches of Christ. Others see those teachings as differences between believers that can be studied if we approach people in love.
One of the problems is that we have read the Bible legalistically or as a law book. We have difficulty with certain texts. For instance, Psalm 115:3 tells us that God does whatever He wants. In Hezekiah’s day, after major reforms, Israel celebrated a Passover. Some had come from the north who were not properly prepared for this feast. Hezekiah asked God to forgive them because they had come seeking Him with their hears and God did (see 2 Chronicles 30). Even Jesus tried to teach His disciples that there were some who followed Him that they didn’t know (Luke 9:49-50). Sometimes we think we have God all figured out but then…He does whatever He wants.
Slogans are nice but we need to think them through carefully. There is more involved than trying to boil things down to some simple statement. It is too easy to become complacent. Rather we need to be willing to search all scripture like the Bereans and understand that life is not an easy formula.
George B. Means