The Gospel of Jesus Christ is something we should be proud to explain to others. We have no reason to apologize for teaching the truth. We shouldn't feel ashamed because other ministers in our town don't agree with us. Paul told Timothy: "Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." We shouldn't be timid because of what others may think of us or plan to do to us. We have the Truth! Paul told Timothy: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord."
What should we emphasize in our teaching? We learn much from Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus. Paul mentored each and sent them out to the churches to encourage and instruct God's Children of Grace. Notice how often Paul uses the words "command," "warn" and "remind" in his letters to Timothy and Titus. God wants us to be loving and gentle in the way we teach His children, but He also wants us to be strong, precise and decisive in what we declare. We are not "asking" Christians to obey God's Word. We are "telling" them what God commands. We have no special power in ourselves, but when we preach God's Word we have the "Power" of God behind us! Our preaching and teaching should be in the "Power and Strength" of God. He gave us the responsibility and authority to declare His Word. We do it humbly, but we do it.
Paul told Timothy in his first letter to stay in Ephesus "so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies." Paul told Timothy that the goal of that command was "love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." Paul told Timothy to "fight the good faith, holding on to faith and a good conscience." He explained the truths of spiritual living and told Timothy "If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed." Paul emphasized that pastors, evangelists and teachers should "have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly." He told Timothy "Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." Paul told Timothy to "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching." Paul told Timothy "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save yourself and your hearers." Paul went into great detail about how ministers should treat older men, younger men, older women, younger women, widows, fellow elders, slaves and masters. Then he wrote, "These are the things you are to teach and urge on them." Paul told Timothy to flee from the love of money and "pursue righteousness, godlines, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." Paul told Timothy to "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
Paul told Timothy in his second letter "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus." We learn how and what to teach and preach from the Apostle Paul. He is our example, our pattern, of sound teaching. Paul told Timothy to "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 men who will also be qualified to teach others." Paul's pattern of teaching includes mentoring other ministers so that they qualify to teach others. Paul told Timothy to "endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Paul listed several Truths of the Gospel and told Timothy to "Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words." A minister's job is never done. We must return to the same Truths of God's Word regularly. We must "remind" our brothers and sisters about the Truth. We must even "warn" them about certain practices that are against God's Will. Anything God says we shouldn't do is something to list as against God's Will. Knowing God's Will includes what we should and shouldn't do. Paul told Timothy to "flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." He told Timothy "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." Paul reminded Timothy about his teaching, personal suffering and the kind of life he had lived as an Apostle. He told Timothy "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it." Paul told Timothy "I give you this charge: Preach the Word, be prepared in seasons and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." Paul knew that Timothy and other Christian ministers would face difficult times when people would not put up with sound doctrine. Paul knew those people, to suit their own desires, would gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears wanted to hear. He told Timothy "But you, keep you head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
Paul had many stirring directions for Titus. Paul had left Titus in Crete so he might "straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town." As in his letters to Timothy, Paul was very specific with Titus about what kind of Christians he should appoint as elders in churches. Paul wrote that an elder "must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." Opposition is a big part of what Christian ministers have faced since the first century. We are sometimes opposed by other teachers! How did Paul tell Titus to handle the opposition? "They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain...Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth." Paul told Titus "You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." As in his letters to Timothy, Paul detailed how Titus should teach older men, older women, younger women, young men, slaves and masters. Paul wrote "These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you." Paul also told Timothy to "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." Paul reminded Titus about how our lives changed when "the kindness and love of god our Savior appeared." He told Titus to "stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone." Paul also told Titus to "avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless." He told Titus to "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him." Paul ended his letter to Titus by writing "Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives."
I spent two decades preaching and teaching in a variety of churches across America. I served as pastor to a few and visited many as part of a traveling ministry. I appreciate the opportunity God gave me to see how church leaders approached the issue of building a church that pleased Him. Each congregation called itself biblical, conservative or fundamental in faith and practice. How did the people and their leaders measure their success as one of Christ's churches? Following certain doctrinal beliefs was one important measure in every church. People who believed or acted differently on points of doctrine were usually not allowed to participate in anything meaningful in worship or leadership. Conformity was important. I've talked to many Christians who were frozen or forced out of churches because of unimportant differences. Some of it came down to petty jealousy and envy on the part of a few powerful church members. Many Christians measured their churches by the amount of money they spent on missions. Others counted the number of people saved and baptized each week. Most looked at numerical membership growth as a very important measurement. Some of the churches were struggling to reach their first 100 members. Others were reaching their first or second or third thousand members. No matter the number, increasing membership was a primary measuring goal.
I watched churches in the 70's set huge goals for attendance and membership. I saw pastors ride donkeys into church and take pies in their face to "get people in the tent." I, along with thousands of other ministers, attended "church growth" seminars that taught how to use marketing and promotional techniques to bring people in the doors of the church and keep them in through a variety of "programs." I met with some pastors of America's largest churches to hear their secrets of building large, powerful churches that could impact entire cities and regions for Christ. I participated in city-wide evangelistic and revival campaigns that brought hundreds of people to the altar to receive Christ, confess their sins, get right with their family or neighbors or announce their call to the ministry. I heard Christians talk about how "successful" their program had been because of the large number of people who responded to it. I watched as churches, large, small and in-between, pulled their children out of public schools and went into debt to start Christian schools to protect them from the philosophies of the world. I saw church members struggle with the issue of digging deep into their personal budgets to support the new venture or continue sending their children to public education that their tax dollars already supported. I saw good people leave their churches because of arguments about it and not attend anywhere else.
I saw "growing" churches fall into public disgrace because of fights and feuds. I saw churches and ministers split because of small issues. I saw them spread all types of vicious rumors about the others throughout their community. I saw Christians rejoice at the failure of people with whom they once worshipped and labored. I saw young Christians leave churches in disgust, never again to darken the doors of a local assembly. I saw churches lose hundreds of members in a matter of weeks because leaders had overspent church funds on marketing techniques and programs. I saw church after church pushed to the door of bankruptcy. I watched as pastors by the hundreds left their ministries each year because of battles with their congregation.
What I saw and experienced led me to ask some tough questions about how we should measure a church. I am not discounting the importance of winning people to Christ, supporting missions and working to bring new people into the church. Not at all. What I have asked myself is what can Christians and their leaders do to please God. What does He want?
The process of asking and answering that question led me to a couple of firm beliefs. One is that Christ is "in" us and we are "in" Christ. That is our position. The second is in Rightly Dividing the Word of God. That is our purpose.
I met pastors years ago who talked about their churches and their calling as if they were building a personal kingdom. They talked about people in their churches as if they were their personal subjects. They called on their people to give sacrifically for the purchase of church buildings and equipment, even to the point of placing families in danger of financial ruin. The pastors preached almost entirely from the Old Testament and quoted promises for the Church and America that God had given to Israel. They quoted from Acts 2 about the thousands of people who heard the preaching of the Apostles and received Christ day after day. I heard them preach on radio and television about how puny and disobedient the modern church was because it wasn't seeing thousands come to Christ like it did in Acts. They spoke harshly about how Christians weren't selling all they had to give to the growth of the church. I heard pastors say the measurement of the Church God wants is always "results." I heard preachers try to place God's Children of Grace back under the Law.
Even as I listened to the voices of Christian leaders in the 20th century, I found great joy in studying the letters Paul wrote to churches in the 1st century. I didn't know why at the time, but something in Paul's writings was different, fresh, and innovative. Paul talked about living Christianity in a real world. He wrote about Freedom. He wrote about revealing secrets God had kept hidden from before time. It was in the writings of Paul I discovered what God wants.
God wants "love" in His churches. He wants Christians to be "kind" to one another. He wants believers to "forgive" each other. God wants us to "rejoice" with each other. He wants us to be "patient" with one another. God wants us to be "faithful" to Him and other Christians. He wants church leaders to be an "example" of Love and Grace for all believers. God wants us to be unified in things that matter to Him.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The Christian Church would marvel at someone who could speak in the languages of all men on earth and the angels in heaven. They would be stunned at someone who understood all mysteries and possessed all knowledge. They would be amazed by someone who had faith that could move mountains. They would be humbled by someone who gave everything they had to the poor and who surrendered their body to the flames. Pastors all across the land would get in line to have that person speak at their church. They would promote that person's coming in every media available.
Paul said something even more stunning than the abilities of this special someone. Paul said if he could do all these things but didn't have love, he would be only a "resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." Paul said he would be "nothing" and "gain nothing."
God's emphasis is Love. No church program is worth anything without "love." No multi-media campaign to bring the multitudes in the doors of a church is worth anything without "love."
How can we measure whether our church is a "loving" church? Paul gives us that measurement.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."1 Corinthians 13:1:4-8
That's a tough measuring stick! Are our people patient and kind? Do they envy or boast? Are they proud? Rude? Self-seeking? Easily-angered? Do Christians keep a record of other believers' wrongs? Do they delight in evil or rejoice in truth? Do believers protect each other, trust each other, hope for each other, persevere for each other? How about church leaders? How do they "measure up" to God's Standards?
God has given us a High Standard, but it's not too high. It's a wonderful Standard we can reach for with the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who can help us become all God wants us to be. Paul taught the Church that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." (Galatians 5:22-26) Allowing the Holy Spirit to be God in our hearts and minds will lead us toward the true measurement God has for His Church, the Body of Christ.
Paul told the Ephesian Christians to "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Unity is one of God's measurements for His Church. The Church has fallen short in that one. How many denominations do we number as part of the Body of Christ today? How many splinter associations do we have within those denominations? That's such a shame because Christians have so many reasons to be unified. "There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:3-6)
Where does "Body Unity" begin? It starts at the beginning. "As a prisoner for the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:1-2) Before Paul told the Christians in Ephesus to make every effort to keep the Unity of the Spirit, he told them to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received." He told them to be "completely humble and gentle." He told them to "be patient, bearing with one another in love." Unity is not something we can get or hold on to easily. Paul said we need to "make every effort" to keep the Unity of the Spirit.
What is Unity? The Greek word is henoteta . It means "unanimity, agreement." We do not have unanimity or agreement in the Body of Christ today and won't have it until we are "competely humble and gentle." Unity won't happen until we are "patient, bearing with one another in love."
How do we get Unity within the Body of Christ? Where does it start? It starts with me. It starts with you. We can be in agreement about what God says He wants us to do. We can have unanimity about what God says are the "important" things. If two people can agree, maybe four people can agree. If four people can agree, maybe eight people can agree. If eight people can agree, maybe sixteen people can agree, etc. Unity can happen, if we all want what God wants.
Does unity come easily? Does it come without sacrifice? Is it easy to keep? No! Paul makes it clear we must "make every effort" to keep Unity through the bond of peace. The Greek word is spoudazontes . It means "to make haste, be eager, be diligent, do one's best." Unity is worth much to God. He wants us to be eager and diligent and make every effort to "keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Notice that the "unity" God wants us to work so hard to keep is not our idea of unity. No. It's the unity of God's Spirit he wants us to be eager to keep. I've watched some Christians treat churches as if "they" owned them. I've seen Christians fight about miniscule, unimportant issues in churches because they thought they were protecting "their" church. Hey! It's not my church. It's not your church. It's not their church. It's God's Church! Christ died for the Church. He owns it. Jesus is the Head of His Body and what He wants is for Christians to make every effort to keep the unity of His Spirit through the bond of peace.
Unity is agreement. That agreement comes through the bond of peace. Peace is the binding factor in Unity. It's not a peace that comes from blind obedience or a lack of knowledge. It's a peace that comes from hearts woven together by an understanding of who we were "in" Christ. It's a peace that comes from grasping the cost to God of our salvation. It's a peace that comes from knowing the challenge that faces each of us as members of the Body of Christ.
God measures each church by His revealed Word for this Dispensation of Grace. God told Christians to "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." He told Christians to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." God told Christians to imitate Him "as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." God reminded all Christians that they were once "darkness, but now you are light in the Lord." God told Christians to "live as children of light." God told Christians that the "fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth." God told Christians to "find out what pleases the Lord." (Ephesians 5:1-10) That's our goal as members of the Body of Christ: to find out what pleases the Lord and then do it.
It's interesting to read Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus to see what he told them about God's measurement of a church. What we find is spiritual leadership that is "above reproach." We see leaders who "must be" temperate, self-controlled, respectable, one who loves what is good, upright, holy, disciplined, having a good reputation with outsiders, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not over-bearing, not quick-tempered, not a lover of money, not a recent convert, blameless, not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient, able to manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. A church leader "must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." That's a tall order, but it's what God wants in His Church. God measures churches by the leadership.
God also measures churches by the people who serve it. Paul told Timothy and Titus that deacons should be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, not pursuing dishonest gain, keeping hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience, managing his children and household well, tested first, then if there is nothing against them, they can serve as deacons. "In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything." God wants Christians to serve His Church lovingly and properly.
God measures churches by the people in it. Churches are made up of individual people who God loves with all His Heart. How does God measure individual Christians? Paul told Titus to remind believers "to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." He told Titus to "teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and endurance." Paul told Titus to "teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good." That is important because older women in a church can "train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." Paul told Titus to "encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." Paul told Titus to teach slaves "to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive." Paul told Titus to "stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."
How do our churches measure in God's eyes? What kind of "growth" is God looking for in His churches? Does God want "numbers?" There's no question God wants to save people. God's Word teaches that He loves the lost and makes His appeal to them through Christians who share the Gospel of His Grace. Is that how we measure ourselves and our churches: by numerical growth? Look at how Paul, the Apostle of God's Love and Grace, prayed for members of Christ's Body:
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19) That's how God measures His Children of Grace. He wants us to be strong through His Spirit in our inner being. He wants Christ to be able to settle down and make a home (katoikesai ) in our hearts through faith. God wants His children to be rooted and established in love and have the power, together with all Christians, to grasp the immensity of the Love of Christ. He wants us to know Christ's unique love completely by experiencing it continually (gnonai ). God wants Christians to be filled with all His fullness. It's mysterious, it's amazing and it's wonderful! Most importantly, it's what God wants.
Christ "in" you will measure you. Christ "in" you will teach you how to measure others. He will show you the Way.
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."Colossians 3:12-15
"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © , 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers."
Taking God's Grace to the World!
Return to The GraceLife(tm) Menu Page for more studies about the Gospel of the Grace of God.
Copyright © , Mark McGee , 1990-2000 / mamcgee@mindspring.com
Last Updated: 12/20/1999