Christian Christianity

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the role of Christians (as individuals and united as the church) in society – this is a difficult and multifaceted issue that certainly cannot be adequately addressed in this format; but as I was catching up on the news this morning a couple of things struck me. To clarify, let me begin by saying that I am not thinking of one particular news story or incident; I am looking at the big picture. Next, in referring to the news I am talking specifically about the news that relates to the government and politics. My basic premise (which is not at all unique or insightful) is that our government as a whole is criminal, immoral and lacks civility. I don’t deny that there are a few that do not fit this generalization but I believe they are the exception not the rule. By the way, this is not limited to one party or ideology; it is true of every party and branch of government and can be found in every sector. I think it is also important to state that I am not arguing for or advocating a “Christian” America (Christian nations are unobtainable and unbiblical – the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent will always be in conflict). In fact this is not even a political discussion. What I am concerned about is the church. I don’t want a Christian America, what I hope for is a Christian Christianity. The decline of our nation was certainly foreseeable – I am sure that most of us are familiar with this quote by John Adams:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

— John Adams, October 11, 1798

Those things that Adams claimed would break the strongest cords of the Constitution, avarice, ambition, revenge and gallantry, are certainly the rule of the day and they continue unchecked. Why? I believe that it is time for the church to take some responsibility for the decline. Moral people are not produced by a government agency – they are sinners remade by the justifying grace of God. But the gospel proclaimed by the church today is one that deals lightly with sin – it is even increasingly difficult to find morality in our churches. No longer are we told of the wrath of God against sinners. In fact our rebellion against God and His anger at our rebellion is generally not even put forth as our greatest problem, producing our greatest need. Churches have replaced the message of the gospel (man’s sin, God’s wrath, Christ’s death) with messages that are “relevant.” People listening to these sermons believe that their greatest needs are practical needs – the need to learn how to be better parents, a better spouse or better employees – some churches have even preached that what they needed was really a better sex life. In trying to be practical churches have made themselves irrelevant. What is needed is a Christian Christianity, where Christ and His gospel once again take their rightful place. John Piper says it well – “I do not aim to be immediately practical but eternally helpful.” We will do the greatest good in society when we stop taking the world’s concerns and wrapping them in Christian garb and start telling the world about its greatest problem – God is angry with sinners and He sent His Son as Savior. I know that I have not even begun to address the specific questions about Christians and their role in society – but this is a start; we must begin by recovering and proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

Deacons

Next Sunday morning at Covenant of Grace we will be receiving deacon nominations in anticipation of calling and ordaining our first deacons. This post is in anticipation of that exciting event.

God is a God of order and purpose. This is not a remarkable statement; the evidence for this is clearly revealed in creation (Rom. 1:19, 20). His design and purpose is not limited to the act of creation; it permeates every facet of human life from government to family. As a part of God’s design He has provided order for His church. God’s design for the church, when obeyed, effectively provides for both the spiritual and physical nurture of the body. Today I want to look at the way in which God provides for the physical needs of His people through the office of deacon. Certainly we must all look for opportunities to care for one another but God has also established this particular office to ensure that the practical needs of the body of Christ are being met. Today I will look at the establishment of the office and I will consider the kind of men that are equipped and called to this glorious mission.

The office of deacon rose up out of practical necessity; the church was growing both in number and diversity. The gospel was spreading and people from every tribe, tongue and nation were being united together by faith. As all of this was occurring it became evident that someone needed to ensure that those who had physical needs were being cared for. The particular problem facing the church was that the native Hebrew widows were receiving provisions while the Hellenistic Jews (those who had adopted the Greek language and culture) were not (Acts 6:1). We are not told why this oversight occurred only that it did. We also know that caring for widows ought to be seen as highest priority within the church (1 Timothy 5; James 1:27). The apostles respond to this situation by affirming the responsibility of the church to care for these widows. But they also taught the congregation that they themselves needed to be about the business of preaching and prayer not serving tables (Acts 6:2, 4). The apostles then managed this situation by instituting the office of deacon (Acts 6:3). It is true that the term deacon is not used in this context but the word deacon, “diakonos,” means servant and service is clearly what is being discussed. What kind of man was qualified for and appointed to this duty? What kind of man should we look for today as we seek to appoint deacons?

Members of the body (Acts 6:3) – as the body of Christ, the church needs to care for one another. We should not expect someone else to care for the members of the body in need nor should we farm this responsibility out. It is the body that needs to care for the body.

Men of good reputation (Acts 6:3) – there are a number of ways this could be understood, but lets just consider a few. These are men who are respectable, upright and just. I also think this means that they have to have a good track record of caring for the needs of the body. They need to be men who are clearly interested in serving their fellow believers.

Full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3) – obviously this indicates that they need to be Christians. But is goes farther than that, they are not to be novices to the faith nor lacking understanding. They are men of spiritual maturity and discernment.

Men of knowledge and understanding (Acts 6:7-7:53) – one of the deacons highlighted in Acts is Stephen. Stephen demonstrated a tremendous knowledge of the word of God. In fact, Acts 7 is a wonderful Old Testament survey. While the primary responsibility of deacons is to look after the physical needs of the body they must also be men who are accustomed to the word of truth.

Men who are committed to Christ and His kingdom (7:54-60) – ultimately Stephen gave his life for the cause of Christ. Deacons are men who are committed to Christ and commitment to Christ is clearly seen in commitment to His church.

May God grant to His church men of godliness and integrity, willing to serve the needs of the body for the glory of Christ and the good of His kingdom.