Salt & Light : August 2001

From the Minister’s Study

Unity – A recipe for growth

In his epistles the apostle Paul uses a number of metaphors to describe the church. The metaphor of the church as a body, however, is given more emphasis than any other. This emphasis echoes the words of Jesus when he described his followers as the ‘branches,’ He as the Vine and God the Father as Vine-dresser in John 15. These two metaphors have one thing in common: they both depict the church as a living organism that is inter-related, inter-dependent and functions best as a unit. The message I glean from this teaching, and that I share with you brothers and sisters is this: Unity is a recipe for growth. In the July issue I emphasised the fact that Unity is vital for survival. What I was actually saying without spelling it out in alarming terms is that Littleborough as the smallest circuit in the connexion for its own survival needs unity. What I am then saying in this Issue is: Unity is vital for growth.

In addressing the Christians in Rome and Corinth (Rom 12 & 1 Cor 12) Paul expressed his understanding of the Christian Community, the Church, by use of the word (“Soma” i.e. Body in Greek). Prof. Colin Brown in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology” points out that “The fact that the Christian Community is the body, and the body of Christ at that (I Cor 12:27), immediately takes up the spatial idea expressed by E. Schweizer, in Church Order in the New Testament 7b, 92), that “It is the realm of blessing in which the crucified Lord and the realm of dominion in which the risen Lord continues to work”. Brown continues “belonging to Christ means becoming like a limb, part of an organism in which each part has its own special function. Each is assigned a particular gift (charisma) to be exercised in mutual giving and receiving, for specific tasks within the fellowship itself or in fulfilment of its commission to those outside”. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul dedicates the first 3 chapters on doctrine and the last 3 chapters on Christian duty. The key idea in the first chapters was discovering our Christian Wealth in Christ. In the last 3 chapters Paul admonishes us to walk in Unity, purity, harmony and in victory. He devotes 16 verses on walking in unity (Eph 41-16)! Paul gives seven reasons why we should walk in unity: Firstly because we belong to the one body. Secondly, we have One Spirit. Thirdly, we have one hope of our calling. Fourthly we have One Lord. Fifthly we have One Faith. Sixthly we have one baptism and Seventhly, because we have One God and Father.

There is a lot of wealth and talent hidden in our 5 Churches in our Circuit and my appeal to each one of us is to mix and mingle in using these talents. I perceive my ministry as one of equipping and enabling. I take cue from Eph 4:12-16 and understand my ministry as “equipping the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building of the body of Christ”. I as your minister equip you to do the work, you are the ministers and with more than one minister ministering, there lies the recipe for growth! Please use the Salt and Light Magazine and the Circuit Web-page to find out what is happening around the circuit and turn up to support each other. The Physical body grows as each part does its job supported by the other. The heart pumps the blood the veins and arteries circulate it, the feet and hands do the exercises. The mouth take in the food, the teeth chew it, the stomach do the digestion to replenish spent energy for further growth. But for all these to function, the body parts must keep and function together that is the picture. Perhaps the following questions will sharpen it for you. What is your part in the function of the body known as Littleborough Circuit? What is your God-given talent to contribute to this body?

Enjoy the beautiful Summer Days, keep tanning, try and beat my tan.
Daniel

Why creeds and doctrines?
Aren’t creeds and doctrine as dry as dust? How did they arise? Do we still need them? And, if yes, should they be updated?

Nature abhors a vacuum. Converts to Christianity, particularly from other faiths and religions, need to ‘unlearn’ their previous beliefs and replace them with ideas that are correct, i.e. conform to Scripture. The alternative is called syncretism, which is a lethal mixing of elements from several faiths¾a sort of spiritual ‘pick n mix,’ like the so-called New Age movement.

Each time the Gospel reached a new area, and a new ethnic group entered into the Church, new and potentially damaging errors—heresies—were absorbed as theologians wrestled with the truths of the faith from within their own cultural backgrounds. It’s a danger we still face: for example, some Western Churches today are incorporating consumer culture into Christianity by means of the so-called ‘health and wealth Gospel,’ and some converts from Hinduism in India appear to be incorporating elements of classical reincarnation and Karma into their Christian faith.

Similarly, the message preached by a missionary generally comprises two elements: the basics of the faith, and cultural ideas from the missionary’s country of origin, which are often referred to as ‘cultural baggage’. It is therefore essential to define the fundamental of belief, then to embrace them on becoming a Christian. By contrast, most if not all the ‘cultural baggage’ should be ignored and forgotten. Unfortunately, converts sometimes retain their own ‘baggage.’ Worse, such converts may go on themselves to become missionaries and add their own baggage, so that the faith gets more and more overlaid with cultural ‘extras.’

This is why, from the very earliest times, many people have been confused about exactly what constitutes an essential belief and what does not. For example, there are accounts in the book of Acts of the early Church confusing the two; even the apostle Peter was, for a time, preaching that all converts to Christ needed to be circumcised. In effect, he was saying that there were two classes of Christian: Jewish and non-Jewish (Acts 15). The question therefore arises: ‘what defines Christian belief?’

Peter’s misunderstandings were addressed when Paul visited Jerusalem, and a frank exchange of views—with recourse to prayer and Scripture—allowed for the truth to be discerned at the so-called Council of Jerusalem in 51 ad. From then on, the Church used councils to find out the truths underlying the Christian faith. These fundamentals of belief are called doctrine.

After the Council of Jerusalem, there were seven more councils between 325 and 878 ad to discuss the finer points of doctrine, with delegates (mainly Bishops) attending from Churches across the known world.

And just like trans-national conferences today¾like the G8 Summit in Genoa last month¾the conclusions of the councils were summarised in closely-worded documents: the Creeds. A Church living by these creeds and articles of faith was said to be orthodox, which means ‘right belief’—hence the name of the World’s oldest Church, the Greek Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy was and still is our goal. In effect, as we analyse what we believe (individually, and as a Church), we ask the question, ‘Are we following the truth, or are we barking up the wrong tree?’

Some of the credal statements appear unnecessarily wordy, and technical, but the alternative is chaos. It is all too easy for a faith to become corrupted if it lacks such a conceptual framework. For example, Jesus consistently taught that the Law of Moses and the Prophets spoke about him, yet the additions of later Christian teachers had obscured this idea: that’s why the early days of the Church were characterised by doctrinal fights. The only winner was the devil, as believers wasted their energies in arguing about meaningless rituals and practices. This is why it is so essential for the purity of the faith to be maintained.

This explains why we need doctrine to prevent heresies from creeping in.

Modern heresies

The modern Church is just as prone to heresy as was the early Church. There are three principal errors. The first says that all religions lead to Heaven, so it is not essential to be a Christian. In fact, Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father (i.e. gets into Heaven) except by me’ (John 14:6). This heresy is called universalism, and is particularly prevalent in the more liberal Churches. It is an obvious thing for the devil to say, for if someone is not a Christian, then they belong to him.

The second and probably the most common heresy in the Church today is the idea that the devil does not exist. It has been said that this is the devil’s master stroke during the past century, to convince ‘modern mankind’ of his non-existence, because if people think he does not exist, they are not forewarned and forearmed. Jesus himself was certain that the devil existed—he even ‘debated’ with him in the wilderness (e.g. see Luke 4:1 or Matthew 4:1). The devil’s existence is taught by the Bible; a view so contrary to the Bible is therefore a heresy.

The third popular heresy is the so-called health and wealth gospel. This heresy teaches that God blesses those who do His will by making them rich and permanently free from illness. The sub-text is very damaging, as this heresy implies that God does not love the poor and the sick, or that they have too little faith. In fact, the Bible—particularly the New Testament—is clear that wealth is a snare. We are wise to have few possessions, because possessions have the habit of possessing us. Read Luke’s Gospel concerning Jesus’ many warnings about wealth, and the desirability of giving to the poor. Jesus said that he came so that people might have life in all its fullness (see John 10:20); he was talking primarily about the spiritual life—the fullness that comes from knowing God and having an assurance of faith. In fact, both the book of Job and the story of the man born lame in John 9 both show that sickness is not associated with sin. Even St Paul had ailments (e.g. see 2 Corinthians 12:7); Jesus suffered and had no material possessions!

This third heresy is particularly popular in today’s United States, and is increasingly being preached here in the UK. It has also spread to South America and Africa, with some people converting to Christianity with the motive of alleviating their present poverty rather than gaining eternal life.

So let’s get back to the Bible and live by its eternal truths!

The atheist and the bear

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that the ‘accident of evolution’ had created.

‘What beautiful animals!’ he said to himself.

As he walked alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him, and turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charging toward him. The man ran as fast as he could, up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing. He ran even faster, so scared that tears were coming to his eyes. He looked over his shoulder again and the bear was even closer. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster.

He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike.

Without thinking, the atheist cried out, ‘God help me!’

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving. A bright light shone upon the man, and a voice came out of the sky,

‘You deny My existence for all of these years, teach others I don’t exist and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect Me to help you out of this predicament? Am I now to count you as a believer?’

The atheist looked directly into the light and answered, ‘It would be hypocritical for me to be a Christian after all these years; but, perhaps, you could make the bear a Christian?’

‘Very well,’ said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran again. The sounds of the forest resumed.

The bear dropped to its knees . . . brought its paws together . . . bowed its head and said: ‘For what I am about to receive, Lord make me truly thankful.’

Do we sometimes find that God hears our prayers, and grants them . . . and then we realise we didn’t want Him to?

Honey or vinegar?
A preacher placed two identical jars on the table next to the pulpit, and quoted I Samuel 16:7. He said, ‘The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’

‘These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same materials, and can hold the same amount. But they are different,’ he explained. Then he upset one and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other, and vinegar spilled out.

‘When a jar is upset, whatever it contains must comes out again. Until the jars were upset, they looked alike. The difference lay within, and could not be seen. When they were upset, their contents were revealed.’

Similarly, until we are upset we put on a good front. But when we are upset, we reveal our innermost thoughts and attitudes, for ‘Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks’ (Luke 6:45).

What if someone tipped you over today? What would flow out? Would you reveal the ‘honey’ of grace and patience, or the ‘vinegar’ of anger and sarcasm?

‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins’ (I Peter 4:8)
'Emmerdale’ Country

Emmerdale viewers will know that in the series the nearby market town is called Hotton. Usually, over the years, the filming for this place has been done in Otley¾a beautiful town in Wharfedale, which is surrounded by farmland, and overshadowed by a steep ridge called the Chevin.

In the 1960’s, the vicar of Otley Parish Church, the Revd Pat Ash, arranged for a large banner to be hung along the railings of the Churchyard, running along the main street. It read: “This Church is for sinners only.” Not all the Church members were thrilled.

In the Church, we do well to remember that we are, indeed, sinners saved by God’s amazing grace. Outside the Church, it is good to realise that only ‘sinners’ are allowed to join. (The ‘self righteous’ would not have seen the need.)

The Lord Jesus came to call sinful men, women, boys and girls, to turn away from evil (with God’s help) and receive instant salvation.
Anon

Convicted or Condemned?

‘Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death’ (2 Corinthians 7:10)

Psychologists tell us that feelings of shame and guilt are bad, that we need to dig into the past and analyse where they come from, and that understanding why we feel them is enough to cure them.

But Christianity takes a different view. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul says that it is right to feel bad about our own wrongdoing: as long as those feelings of guilt and shame lead us to repentance and not into a mud-bath of self-loathing or self-pity.

Like most people, I sometimes feel bad when I read a passage of the Bible or hear a sermon that points out something I’ve done wrong. How do I know whether those bad feelings come from God, or whether I’m just being emotional?

The difference seems to be between feelings of conviction and feelings of condemnation.

When I feel CONVICTED, I feel bad about what I’ve said or done, but I don’t hate or pity myself as a person. I think that’s God speaking: I feel as I did when, as a child, my parents told me off or punished me for doing something naughty. I felt bad, but I knew they still loved me and that they would have me back.

When I feel CONDEMNED, however, I feel hopeless and useless: I feel as if I’m beyond redemption, and I sink easily into self-hatred and self-pity. In Paul’s words, this is not the ‘godly sorrow that leads to repentance’, but the ‘worldly sorrow [that] brings death’.

Did you know that ‘Satan’ means ‘Accuser’? John talks about him in Revelation 12:10 as ‘the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before God day and night’. God’s response to this is to hurl Satan down. Christians have Christ as their advocate and His sinless death for our sake has wiped away those sins the devil wants to bring to God’s attention. Revelation 12:11 describes this as the overcoming of the devil ‘by the blood of the Lamb’ and by the testimony of Christians to what Christ has done for them.

So when we feel condemned and hated, it’s a fair bet that it isn’t God speaking, but the devil. God wants us to change and He reprimands us for our sin, but He does it with love, separating the sinner from the sin, loving the sinner and hating the sin. The devil hates the sinner and is delighted when we respond by hating and pitying ourselves. The devil accuses us in order to destroy us: God convicts us in order to build us up and help us to become the people He wants us to be.

So remember, ‘Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.’
Anon

The noun pistis (meaning ‘faith’) does not occur in John’s Gospel, but the related verb pisteuein ‘to have faith’ occurs frequently. Perhaps John wished to emphasise that true faith is expressed by ACTION.

Did You Know?

The devil has several names, each of which helps us to understand his nature.

The usual name for the devil in the Old Testament is Satan e.g. see Job 1 and 2, or Zechariah 3. The name means ‘accuser.’ One of his favourite roles is to tell us that we are useless, hopeless and that there is no point in asking God for forgiveness.

We also hear in the Old Testament of Baal, which literally means ‘lord’. This name, corrupted over time, became Beelzebub—which means ‘Lord of the Flies.’ ‘Beelzebub’ occurs in the New Testament e.g. in Matthew 10:25, 12:24 and Luke 11:19, and emphasises the corrupting nature of sin, since flies are most often found over dead bodies.

Finally, Lucifer means ‘Son of light’ (which, incidentally, explains why the first matches were called ‘Lucifers’). The name does not appear explicitly in the Bible, but is alluded to several times, such as in 2 Corinthians 11:14, ‘For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.’ Before he fell, the devil was one of the greatest angels.

Freedom
Lord hear us:

Forgive our sins.

Free us from evil.

Deliver us from bondage.

Release us from captivity.

Liberate us as people.

Loose us from convention.

Unfetter us from habit.

Save us from worry.

Allow us to trave.

Feed us in the desert.

Protect us from hunger.

Sheild us from thirst.

Shelter us from harm.

‘That we may know the glorious liberty of the children of God.’

New Feature: Social action page

Imprisonment and torture in Turkmenistan

Shagildy Atakov is a member of the Baptist Church in the former Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan, and is serving a four-year sentence in a labour camp. He has been fined for alleged fraud, but Amnesty International, Open Doors and other members of his Church believe the real reason for his imprisonment is that he is a Baptist Christian. (Christians are under intense pressure in Turkmenistan at the moment and all foreign missionaries have been expelled.)

Shagildy Atakov has been in prison since December 1998, and it is believed that he has been ill treated there. Early on in his term of imprisonment he suffered temporary loss of vision after systematic beatings, and was unable to embrace his family when they visited him because of his injuries. He was later given mind-altering drugs as ‘psychiatric treatment’ and reportedly almost died.

When human rights groups pursued his case, the authorities transferred him to different prisons, trying to shake off the international attention he was receiving. When this did not work, they offered him his freedom, if he and his wife would leave Turkmenistan and go to live in the USA. With great courage, this Christian and his wife (who has also suffered harassment in their home village: she and the children have been placed under ‘village arrest,’ and other relatives have been forced out of their jobs) refused to accept this offer. They feel that their place is in Turkmenistan: it is their home.

Please pray: For Shagildy Atakov and his family. Pray that God will give them the courage to proclaim the Gospel with boldness, and the faith to hang on in these times of trial. Please pray for those who are persecuting the Atakov family, that they will come to know the love of Christ themselves, repent and be saved.

Remember: Faith without deeds is dead (James 2:17)

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is made up mainly of desert and has the smallest population of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia. It was also the poorest republic within the Soviet Union. It is effectively a one-party state.

The country has a population of 5.5 million. The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, which comprises mostly former communists, faces no opposition parties. There are no independent media. Real power is concentrated in hands of President Saparmyrat Niyazov, whom the Parliament has granted presidency for life. Having forced the main opposition activists out of the country, he has developed a bizarre personality cult unrivalled in Central Asia.

Although the country’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, the country is largely Islamic and all other religious groups must register with the government. Christians in Turkmenistan face fines, harassment, beatings, detention and expulsion resulting from arbitrary use of these laws.

Pray please:

· For the President, who is a sick man, that he will use his considerable influence to allow religious freedom

· For Christians in Turkmenistan who live in daily fear of detention and torture

· For Shagildy Atakov and his family, and other prisoners of conscience

Clothing in the Bible

1. Who was given garments of skin to wear?

2. Which Old Testament prophet wore a garment of camel hair, tied at the waist with a leather belt?

3. Which character in the New Testament consciously copied the person in question 2?

4. Who wore an undergarment that was woven in a single piece?

5. Whose clothes were ‘whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them’?

6. Which people were said to love wearing long tassels on their garments?

7. Which group of people will be given robes of white?

Answers

1. Who was given garments of skin to wear?