Why Christians Should Go To Church

Why Christians Should Go To Church

 

   I was in New Zealand, in early 2011, watching the marathon event of the Paraplegic World Championships and while cheering for the athletes I ran into a former coach of mine at U.C.S.D. We spent a while catching up before I let him know that I had to get going. Both of us having such a good time talking and watching the competition he asked me why I had to leave. I told him that it was Sunday and I wanted to go to church. He sternly told me that I didn't need to go to church "because church is in here," poking me in the chest. I'm not sure what events from his past fueled such a bold statement but I do know that there are many different reasons why God's people do not respond to His call to worship Him weekly in a corporate setting. My assertion is that lack of regular church attendance can be attributed to one or both of the following conditions, a need for proper biblical instruction and need for realignment of priorities. In this article I will attempt to provide the instruction and hopefully your desire to realign your priorities will follow, because attending church on the Lord's day is a matter of obedience to God’s instruction and is in part a fulfillment of the Great Commission.




The Fourth Commandment

 

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-10

 

   I will not take the time here to prove the authority of the Bible in all matters of life and godliness but I also understand that simply saying, "go to church because God told you to do so in the fourth commandment" is not going to be a sufficient argument, though I wish it were. Instead let us look at the historical background and reason God gave that word to Israel in Exodus 20.

 

What is the Sabbath?

 


   In the beginning God created the universe in six days and on the seventh day He rested. In doing so He created a pattern for all to follow, modeled after His own creation rest. As my pastor has pointed out: "Sabbath-keeping is part of our responsibility as image-bearers of God." Likewise when God gave Israel the Law He commanded them to remember the Sabbath (literally the day of rest) and keep it holy. The Israelites were expected to work diligently all week but from Friday night to Saturday night they were to rest from labor. This rest was both a reminder to Israel of what God had delivered them out of in Egypt (Dt. 5:12) but also a foretaste of the eternal rest to come in heaven. One of my elders has called the Sabbath our "weekly link to both past creation and future consummation." Every seventh day reminds us of God's redemptive work throughout history and points to our eternal Sabbath in heaven. Our churches should play the primary role in reminding us of this.

 

Why Keep the Sabbath?

 

   God made a covenant with Israel to be their God and they were to be His people. They were to be holy and set apart from other nations. Remembering the Sabbath by resting and worshipping distinguished them from the gentile unbelievers who labored every day to sustain themselves. So too, we are noticeably different from unbelievers today when we carve out the time to go to church on Sundays. It is an evangelistic opportunity when our co-workers see that we are gone every Sunday. They’ll take notice that your commitment to church is greater than their commitment to the San Diego Chargers. When you miss a school competition to attend a church service people will begin to question what it is that makes you different. When on vacation and you seek out a place to meet with the Lord and His people your family will respect the lengths you go to in order to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

 

Can We Actually Keep the Sabbath?

 

   For those who may be feeling as though I’m putting forth a system of do’s and don’ts remember that God will indeed judge us according to His law and each one of us will be found guilty of not always remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy. Our inability to keep His commandments has lead us to recognize our need for a Savior. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12). Where once the Law told us “do this work and you shall live” the gospel now tells us “the work is done, now you are free live.” The chains of sin have been broken; we are now free for the first time to willingly worship with a local congregation in Spirit and in Truth. This is cause for great rejoicing and what better way to do so than amongst His people according to the manner in which He desires to be adored.

 

What Happens When We Keep the Sabbath?

 

   Going to church on the Sabbath therefore is to be a delight, not a chore. We have the joy of gathering together with like-minded saints. The privilege is ours to corporately sing songs of praise and offer prayers of thanksgiving. We have the blessing of hearing the Lord’s servant proclaim His covenant faithfulness in salvation, to have our faith assured and increased by receiving of visible and physical signs of Jesus’ sacrifice (baptism and the Lord’s supper), and be shepherded by the godly men He has called to lead us. In short to go to church is to participate in the fulfillment of the great commission.

 

The Great Commission

 

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

 

   Worship has always been meant to be practiced as God has prescribed for us in the Bible and is to be overseen by appointed church leaders. In the Old Testament, Israel received specific instructions as to how they were to speak and act toward God. Animal sacrifices were brought and a priest ritualistically spilled their blood as dictated to them in the Law. In the New Testament, the perfect sacrifice has been made by Jesus, our High Priest, and He has sat down once for all at the right hand of God the Father, whom together have sent God the Holy Spirit to aid us in our worship.

 

   Church leaders today have the same tasks as Old Testament servants. Actually, the roles and responsibilities the church has now are the same as those given to Adam in the garden of Eden. Adam was to be a king, priest, and prophet over all. As king, he was to be the lord and leader of all under his care, keeping things in their place and maintaining order (the New Testament church fulfills this role by guiding and keeping watch over our souls). As priest, Adam was to be the spiritual leader of mankind, maintaining holiness and representing man’s needs to God (as fulfilled in the New Testament not only when the church serves the poor, sick, and needy but also through baptism and the Lord’s supper). As prophet Adam was to represent God to man and proclaim God’s word on His behalf (this corresponds to the New Testament role of pastor who fulfills that role by preaching and teaching all that I have commanded you).

 

   All of that to say that the three roles and responsibilities of king, priest, and prophet comprise the Great Commission and are therefore the criteria of any true church. They are the primary means God uses to transform our lives and we will now take a look at each and see how going to a true church meets each of these criteria and in part fulfills the great commission.

 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . .

 

   Jesus commissioned the Apostles to make disciples, or followers/students, of Christ. In doing so, the Apostles laid up a foundation that congregations today are now building upon. We are the fruit of those first seeds planted, watered, and cared for. We have only gotten here by following the parameters enforced by our spiritual governing authorities. If everyone had acted on his or her own authority without regard to appointed leaders, the Christian church would have dissolved long ago. So, much like any sports team or class of students, there needs to be an ordered structure and method if we are to get where we are going. Elders appoint the time of our services on Sunday and are responsible for making sure that the Word of God is read and taught and that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are administered. They make sure the content of our services is consistent with God’s word as we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Without even knowing it we are being disciplined. There I said it, a mark of any true church is that it exercises discipline. We are usually unaware that this is even happening, and that’s a good thing. But the church has the responsibility, if someone steps outside the boundaries of God’s revealed will for His people, to bring them back into the sheep fold. This is often a painful and drawn out task but necessary for we are prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. But as I said, this is part of the Great Commission and a role to be fulfilled by the church today who acts on behalf of Jesus our true King, Priest, and Prophet.

 

. . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . .

 

   Secondly we come to the church’s role in the administration of the sacraments. Both baptism and partaking in the Lord’s Supper are required of every Christian because both are visible and physical symbols of our identification with the life and death of our Savior. These sacraments have been given to us in order to accommodate our weakness. God understands the difficulty in placing our faith in an audible word alone and so He has given us something that we can touch, taste, and see that the Lord is good every week. Respectively, baptism and communion symbolize the passive and active obedience of Jesus that we need in order to be considered righteous before God, for we are guilty of sins of omission and sins of commission.

 

   Without even knowing it you and I neglect to love the Lord with all of our heart, strength, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves. Therefore we need Jesus’ passive obedience, which He accomplished by receiving the punishment given to Him by the Jews and dying on a Roman cross. This righteousness is symbolized in our baptism of the Holy Spirit. No one goes out and baptizes them self with the Holy Spirit and so it is therefore a passive act when we are baptized. The Lord’s Supper on the other hand is something that would not get done if we did not pick up the bread and wine and place them in our mouths. This, then, represents the active obedience accomplished by Christ that cancels out all of the sins we consciously commit (i.e. lying, stealing, not remembering the Sabbath, etc.). In perfect faith Jesus actively loved God and His neighbor in everything He did, providing the merit that has been credited to our account.

 

   Therefore, going to church is our part in the fulfillment of the great Commission because it allows the church to exercise its proper role in the administration and reception of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This brings us to our final point.

 

. . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

 

   In a service the role of the pastor, as minster of the Word, is often the most visible and arguably the most important position in the church today (it could also be said to be the most beneficial part to us as receivers). We often see in the Old Testament that kings failed to fulfill their responsibilities (see King David) and priests erred in their priestly duties (see Nadab and Abihu), but rarely do we see a prophet not serving the purpose for which they were called to accomplish. That is because a prophet was meant to represent God to man and to deviate from this role was to misrepresent the Lord to His people, and God simply would not allow this. This is the same reverence with which the pastors must enter into the pulpit too, because the minister is not there to bring a message about God but to bring a message from God. In doing so he is aiding in furthering God’s kingdom here on earth by providing us with substance for our faith. The bible exhorts us to notconform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. This happens primarily in church services as the word is preached and our Sheppard feeds his flock.

 

   So we see here a straightforward command and commission to regularly attend a worship service with no room for discussion. Nowhere in the bible do we have believers who were not a part of a local, regular, gathering of worshipers. We are told in Exodus 31:14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Similarly, all of the New Testament epistles (letters) were written either to churches or to individuals who were part of churches. This is no valid excuse for a Christian to be outside of the body of Christ. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” That is in fact what one says when they do not regularly attend church; “I will be my own king, priest, and prophet, despite God giving these gifts, which I need, to the church.” Thus, we come face-to-face with a commandment and a commission that requires our lifestyle’s to conform to Scripture. You may have dozens of reasons for not attending church from one Sunday to the next but the truth is we make time for the things we really want to do. Do you really want to be obedient to the holy, holy, holy, Lord of all who has accomplished salvation for you through the death of His Son, or would you rather follow the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? The only thing keeping you from going to church is an obedience that will require you to realign your priorities. I hope to see you at church this Sunday.

Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus

What I have attempted to put forth here is a systematic explination of why I believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I've tried to stick strictly to the facts but have interjected a couple logical arguments of natural consequence.

To begin with, in order to assert that Jesus died and rose again, He first obviously had to have lived. This is no longer a topic of debate among non-liberal scholars of repute due to the large amount of ancient non-Christian sources who confirm Jesus' existence, some of which include The Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin, Folio 43a, 33-34 (a book of Jewish oral tradition dating back to the 2nd century), 1st century roman historian Flavius Josephus' The Antiquities of the Jews, 18:63-64, p.86 (Hendrickson Publishers, 1987; eighteenth printing), Philo of Alexandria, Cornelius Tacitus, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillas, Emperor Trajan, Pliny the younger, and a total of as many as 43 authors wrote about Jesus within 150 years of His death.

From this we can historically conclude that Jesus' life was not the stuff of legend, nor did He fake His own death or have a body double, but could He have been revived? First, you need to understand that the Romans had perfected killing. Pax Romana (Roman Peace) was accomplished by asserting their authority and making examples out of others, often hanging bodies at the city gates for all comers to beware of Roman rule. And the crucifixion of Jesus was a way to keep the peace between them and the Jews. So you have the means, and the motive, of the two major powers ensuring that Jesus did in fact die on the cross of Calvary outside of Jerusalem. I'll mention in passing that the Swoon/stunned/drugged/fainted theory has long since been refuted, as articulated by Dr. William D. Edwards in The Journal of American Medical Association.

Now we come to the five reasons I have for believing in the supernatural resurrection of Jesus.

#1 The Empty tomb. Neither the Jews nor the Roman authorities contested the fact that Jesus' tomb was empty tomb two days after His death. In order to debunk this myth all the hostile witnesses would have had to do was produce His body, but this never happened. So it wasn't that they simply went to the wrong grave (the women who found the empty tomb were the same ones who helped bury Him) and this was a public trial, nothing was done in secret. The grave was purchased, Jesus was buried, and Roman guards (who could be put to death for falling asleep or losing a prisoner) were placed around the entrance of the tomb, which had a large stone blocking the entry with a Roman seal on it. There is no way anyone could have gotten in or out without being detected, but the fact remains, His tomb was empty.

#2 Eye witness accounts of 500+ people who saw Jesus just days after He was killed on the cross. Again, you need to understand that the 27 New Testament books are historically validated, so when I quote them it's not circular reasoning. The figures, events, and places spoken of have been confirmed and do not run contrary to contemporary 1st century historical records. These were letters written by individuals, to groups of people, before they were in "The Bible".

• Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
• Peter, 2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power andcoming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
• John, 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life.
• Luke, Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, ²  just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

If the authors had been contriving stories and passing them off as fact, the recipients would have said, "wait a minute, we didn't see him. That's not what we heard. No one saw him after His death." But that simply was not the case. We have no record of anything that runs contrary to that of the eyewitness accounts recorded in the Bible. So ask yourself, would Christianity have taken root if the disciples were saying things that their audiences knew was exaggerated or false, even though historians agree with the basic claims that they made?

#3 The enduring transformation of the Apostles. If the twelve Apostles of Jesus had not seen Him after His death they would not have had the faith needed in order to press on. On the eve of His crucifixion, and the day of, all 12 of Jesus disciples deserted Him. The New Testament authors do not give us a glorifying account of the Apostles actions (even though they were writing about themselves!), they did not act like heros. In fact, they left another to purchase his grave and the women prepare Him for burial. Yet, after seeing Jesus alive again, they proclaimed Jesus' Lordship to their death, as recorded in the bible, history, and notably in Fox's Book of Martyrs. Stephen was stoned to death in A.D. 34. James was beheaded in A.D. 44. Philip was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified in A.D. 54. Matthew was slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah in A.D. 60. James was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller's club. Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded. Mark was taken and crucified on a cross. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria. Jerome saith that Peter was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was. Paul gave his neck to the sword. Jude was crucified at Edessa in A.D. 72. Bartholomew was beaten and then crucified. Thomas was martyred by being thrust through with a spear. Luke was supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree. Simon was crucified in A.D. 74. Which of these formerly cowardly men would have died for that which they knew was a lie?

#4 There are approximately sixty different fulfilled Old Testament Prophecies regarding the Messiah. I've chosen only to include a few specifically dealing with His death and resurrection that were outside of His control.

• The Messiah will be forsaken by His disciples: Zachariah 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ Matthew 26:56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
• The Messiah will be pierced: Zechariah 12:10 when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
• The Messiah will be given sour wine to drink. Psalm 69:21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Matthew 27:34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. Matthew 27:48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
• The Messiah's bones will not be broken. Psalm 34:20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
• They will cast lots for the Messiah's cloths: Psalm 22:18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. John 19:23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, ²⁴ so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.”

Many have tried to fulfill these prophesies themselves and disprove what I'm trying to assert. Sure someone could lose their friends, get stabbed, be given sour wine to drink, not break a bone, and have someone cast lots for their cloths. In fact, I could say that I have fulfilled the first four, but I wasn't a Jew, born in Bethlehem, by a virgin, from the line of David, while the temple was still standing. As I said, these are specific prophesies that in their proper context are pointing the Old testament Jewish nation to their coming Messiah and they were fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus.

#5 External evidence, as I cited earlier, affirms that Jesus appeared to be alive after he had most certainly been crucified. Non-Christian Jewish, Greek, and Roman historians alike (specifically Josephus, Philo, The Talmud, Tacitus, Pliny the younger) assert that large numbers of people were becoming followers of Christ (Christians) because they believed that this guy they called Jesus was raised from the dead even though Christianity was undergoing heavy persecution. This persecution caused Christians to flee Jerusalem to all areas of the Mediterranean.  Since many of the New Testament books were not written until decades after Jesus' death one cannot argue that these men got together and corroborated on a story. Paul wrote a letter from Rome, John from the island of Patmos, James from Jerusalem. Furthermore there are too many dissimilarities, not inconsistencies, for someone to say that the myth of Christianity was a well crafted plan, if fact the dissimilarities add credibility, as any lawyer in a courtroom will tell you when two witnesses testimony is word for word the same. But if you could take away the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity would fall apart. It proves that He is who He said He was, which is why He was killed.

So let's briefly take a look at who He said He was:

• Mark 14:61 Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, andcoming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? ⁶⁴ You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
• John 5:16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus,because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” ¹⁸ This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was hebreaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
• John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. ³⁰  I and the Father are one.” ³¹  The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” ³³ The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1960 pp. 40-41

Jesus was either a liar, it which case He would have been inconsistent at some point in either His words or actions, yet we have no evidence to suggest that this might be true.

or

Jesus was a lunatic, again, who would have been inconsistent at some point instead of being an incredibly articulate, influential, and respected teacher.

or

Jesus was and is God, as He said He was.

This is why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus. This is why I am a Christian.

Persecution Part 1

These are my lecture notes from Dr. Frank A. James III's History of Christianity 1 class at Reformed Theological Seminary. The entire course and many others are available on iTunes.

Church and Roman state relations

Initially there was very little persecution of the Church as long as Christianity was perseved as a sect of Judaism. Judaism was a legal religion in the Roman empire while Christianity was not. Persecution was mainly local and sparatic, mostly as a result of mob violence. After 250 A.D. the Roman government issued an empire wide policy to persecute Christianity in order to maintain the integrity of the Roman State. The Roman leaders thought that Christians were disloyal and trying to establish a state within a state for at least three reasons:

1) The majority of Christians were unwilling to offer incense on the alter of the Roman Emperor, although almost all of the Jews were willing to do so. An alter of worship was constructed because there were some Emperors who thought of themselves as deities.

2) Christians use to get together at night in private away from the public eye, so authorities were suspicious that they were conspiring against the governing authorities.

3) Even during the day Christian meeting were somewhat secret, prompting immoral accusations against Christians. Among the accusations were those of incest (the Kiss of Peace), cannibalism, drunkenness, and orgies (Love Feasts). Slaves were taken and tortured, falsely admitting that their Christian master's were indeed involved in these accusations. Romans also misunderstood the meaning of Christian language, eating the body of Christ and drinking His blood and so on. At this time the Romans were also faced with civil unrest, plague, and famine, which made it easy for the popular idea of Christians to be bad, even blaming them for the problems of the day. They became scapegoats, so to speak.

From 33 A.D. to 64 A.D. Christians were seen as a subcomponant to Judaism, which the Romans allowed the Jews to control. Herod Agripa I executed James, the brother of John, in 44 A.D. and in 62 A.D. the Jewish high priest executed James, brother of Jesus. He was beaten and clubbed to death. Eusebias, c 263 to 339 A.D., includes these accounts and more in his work The History of the Christian Church. Tertullian, c. 160 to 220 A.D., is famously quoted as saying "the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church".

Roman persecution intensified from 64 A.D. to 250 A.D. Emperor Nero, who reigned from 54 to 68 A.D., was the first to openly persecute Christianity. In 64 A.D. a fire broke out in Rome and destroyed a good part of city. Rumor is that Nero started it, and in order to divert attention from himself he accused the Christians of setting the fire. Paul and Peter were killed during his reign. Nero did not persecute much outside of Rome and it only lasted 4 years, until 68 A.D. His persecution was based on a legal matter, it was a capital offense to be a Christian. He was a ruthless ruler, later he killed his mother, brother and other family members.

Next there was emperor Domitian, who reigned from 80 to 96 A.D. In 95 A.D. towards the end of his reign his government may have been attempted to be overthrown causing him to execute a reign of terror while in a state paranoia. Christians were caught in the crossfire because they most likely refused to swear loyalty to the Emperor. The Apostle John may have been exiled turning this time. Christians were not persecuted throughout the empire by decree. Emperor Tragian, who ruled c. 110 to 115 A.D. organized persecution of Christianity as a matter of policy.

Light of the World

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Upon first reading these verses may look familiar and obvious, leading us to gloss right over them, but in fact these are profound words and their implications are weighty.

Light is a prominent theme throughout scripture. In Revelation 22 we are told there will be no need for a sun because God will be our illuminating source. Elsewhere we are called sons of light. God’s word is a light unto our path. John 8 refers to Jesus as the Light of the world. Since verse 14 declares that we are the light it brings us back to the reality that we share everything with Jesus, we are in Him and He is in us.

In verse 14 we see a declaration from Jesus “You are the light of the world.” He is telling us who and what we are and then follows with another declaration, “a city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Before moving on Jesus explains this declaration in effect saying, “you are the city on a city and God has given you this gift of faith. Because of it you will stand out, be different, and He didn’t cloak you or veil you but instead set you on a lamp stand for all to see.”

We often read verse 15 as though this were our responsibility. “Don’t put your lamp under a basket,” I can hear Sunday school teachers telling me. Jesus is merely explaining why we are in the world and integrated into society and not in some little garden of Eden with all other believers. So instead we should read verse 16 in light (no pun intended) of what God has done, and where He has put us, in verse 15.

Verse 16 describes both the means and the end of life, our purpose for being here. We are to use this gift of faith and all that the Father has given us to glorify Him. We are exhorted to regularly live in such a way that others may see our good works are a result of our faith in the one true risen and ascended Lord and praise Him alone. We see may examples of this in the Old Testament and in effect this is one reason why many people followed Jesus during His earthly ministry. This is now our ministry.

The Salt of the Earth

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

In Jesus’ day salt was both a flavor enhancer and a preservative. Salt was used on food to add flavor to an otherwise bland meal and as a preservative when it was packed onto meat so that it wouldn’t dry out. In both cases what already existed had something else introduced to it in order to improve it. In the life of a sinful person who has fallen short of the glory of God and is headed toward eternity in hell in subjection to God’s wrath, what could improve or enhance better than the saving message of the gospel of Jesus the Christ?

Christians are different, unique, special, and serve a purpose in the same way. We are in the world and while here it’s our joy and duty to bring this message, even if it is irritating like salt in a wound or sweat in someone’s eyes. The Church, the Body of Christ, preserves and spreads the message of the great and glorious God we serve and who has saved us from the just punishment we deserve.

This verse does come with a clause, if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. This should be a somber warning to us. Imitation salt in Jesus’ day was used for one meal and after it lost it’s flavor it was thrown out onto the walking path to keep it clear of vegetation. Whether it be for a day, or for a period of time in our lives such as a year, may we participate with God the Holy Spirit in our sanctification in such a way that we never lose our effectiveness as ambassadors of the true and risen Lord Jesus. Amen.

The Christian's Scriptural Identity

Who am I?

I am the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13

I am the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

I am a child of God. John 1:12

I am loved by God. John 3:16

I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life. John 15:1 5

I am Christ's friend. John 15:15

I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. John 15:16

I am a slave of righteousness. Romans 6:18

I am a slave to God. Romans 6:22

I am a son of God. God is spiritually my Father. Romans 8:14 15

I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him. Romans 8:17

I am a temple, a dwelling place, of God. His Spirit dwells within me. 1 Corinthians 3:16 6:19

I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

I am a member of Christ's body. 1 Corinthians 12:27

I am who I am. 1 Corinthians 15:10

I am a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18 19

I am a son of God and one in Christ. I am adopted into God family. Galatians 3:26

I am an heir of God since I am a son of God. Galatians 4:6 7

I am a saint. Ephesians 1:1

I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. Ephesians 2:6

I am God's workmanship, His handiwork, born anew in Christ to do His work. Ephesians 2:10

I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God's family. Ephesians 2:19

I am a prisoner of Christ. Ephesians 3:1 4:1

I am righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:24

I am a member of Christ's body/bride. Ephesians 5:30

I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. Philippians 3:20

I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. Colossians 3:4

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. Colossians 3:12

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. 1 Thessalonians 1:4

I am a son of light and not of darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5

I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. Hebrews 3:1

I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life. Hebrews 3:14

I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. 1 Peter 2:5

I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. 1 Peter 2:9 10

I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. 1 Peter 2:11

I am an enemy of the devil. 1 Peter 5:8

I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns. 1 John 3:1 2

I am born of God, and the evil one, the devil, cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18

Jesus, The Son of God

Last night I was praying for my Dad's salvation and for an opportunity to share the gospel with him. I then began praying about what it was that I would say to him. My mind drifted a bit as I thought of different lines of apologetic reasoning until I thought of forcing my Dad to respond to what Jesus has said about Himself, the classic Lord, Liar, or Lunatic example. I new that I could prove that what He said about Himself was true due to manuscript evidence, so my dad would have to come to a conclusion based on Scripture.

I thought of a few different verses like I am in the Father, and he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me, but then I though about Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of God (John 10). And I remembered how some people that I've spoken to don't think that those verses are sufficient evidence to prove Jesus' deity, and I thought to myself why is that? Well maybe they think like the Jehovah's Witnesses, that Jesus was born of the Father and therefore not as powerful and inferior. Normally at this point I would launch into an explanation of historical Jewish family tradition, but then I had a powerful thought.

Often times when children are growing up we have expectations for them based on their parents abilities, i.e. they should be a great artist or musician because their Father was. These expectations begin even before birth. People will regularly say when an attractive couple get together, "Oh you're going to have such beautiful children". And boy would they be surprised if they had some ugly kids. If the couple were accomplished athletes the tendency would be to assume their son is going to be a standout, and how many people are disappointed when little Johnny has asthma and a frail bone structure. The truth is that we expect children to have the same abilities as their parents have. The Truth is Jesus is exactly like the Father, they just differ in their roles and relationship with one another. God is perfect and therefore His only begotten Son is perfect and lacking in no way.