ALL THAT MATTERS

“All that matters is faith, expressed through love.”

-Galatians 5:6b

This morning, as I prepared to read a devotional from A. W. Tozer, I reached over and grabbed the book. It was upside down, so I took a moment to read the following from the back cover: “Many of these 365 devotional readings come from sermons Tozer preached close to his death in 1963.”

When I came to the end of the devotional for today, I read, “-but when everyone goes home, no one is any better than he was before… The danger is that we teach and live so that truth is given no opportunity of moral expression.”

Preachers, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and Christians everywhere, take heed. The disease of sin is pervasive and resistant. There is no quit in our enemy. His influence upon culture and ideology is systemic. He’s engaged in a brutal war already lost. Yet he intends to maximize the carnage and body count. He intends to steal, kill and destroy. He poses as an angel of light leading saints astray - reducing their ministries to novelty and rubble.

Prior to Tozer’s quote above he wrote, “We need the caution that much theology, much Bible teaching, and many Bible conferences begin and end in themselves. They circle fully around themselves...” They do so because our ministries circle fully around ourselves.

At the end of his life and ministry, Tozer thought it imperative to share with us the allure and danger of fruitless endeavors “given no opportunity for moral expression.” I wonder how much of our lives are filled with such? How many of our days are filled with hollow existence bereft of authentic worship? How often are we truly, and fully, surrendered to the will and mission of God?

Pastors, preachers, church leaders and followers of Christ: are we universally committed to the fruitful multiplication of disciples or are we content with polite gatherings and performances? Are we addicted to the fleeting high of post-sermon handshakes and smiles or are we committed to the preaching of the gospel that is simultaneously a stumbling block and foolishness to unbelievers? Are we perfectly content with familiarity and the coziness of it all?

Is the measure of faithfulness to the gospel the size of our congregation, the size of the offering, or the Sunday-high? Do we teach and live without ever giving truth an opportunity for moral expression?

My sincere concern is that our enemy has convinced a vast multitude they are secure in Christ because of external trappings - not unlike the Pharisees and religious leaders, whom Jesus despised. We know the lyrics to Christian tunes. We own Bibles. We might even read it from time-to-time. We have a fish on our car and a “He is Risen” sign in our yard. We attend church and our small group. But, from our social media posts… from our expenses… if one were to interview our neighbors, co-workers, spouses, and children… If God Almighty were to examine the fruitfulness of the ministry of the gospel in our lives… where is love's expression?

“-but when everyone goes home, no one is any better than he was before… The danger is that we teach and live so that truth is given no opportunity of moral expression.”

When the devotional ends, the sermon finished, the Bible study complete, the small group dispersed… what then? Were you challenged, transformed or transfigured to be poured out for the gospel of Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom? If not, what’s the point?

Are we looking for the equivalent of a Christian pub “where everybody knows your name” or are you intentionally and relentlessly being grafted into the glorious narrative of redemptive history for the glory of His name?

If faith expressed through love is all that matters, does the fruitfulness of your life convey that truth and reality?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisicple.com

THINGS ABOVE

If then you have been raised with Christ, the things above you will seek, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

-Colossians 3:1

Christ truly is the Beginning of all things. We see that first in Genesis 1:1. We also see it throughout the entirety of Scripture. In the New Testament, it is explicit in places like:

For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

-Colossians 1:16-17

...He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe… upholding all things by His powerful word.

-Hebrews 1:2-3

Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

-John 1:3

We would be remiss if we failed to connect the reality of Christ as The Beginning with the overarching Bible narrative. It is an intentional narrative that has a definitive terminus. It is a narrative that goes well beyond entertaining bedtime stories for children, moral code, or social pacification. It is God’s revelation of Himself and it ushers in abundant life.

God’s vision eclipses corporate vision statements, which are little more than wishes attached to coins flipped into fountains. Contrastingly, God’s vision is a love story of the past, present, and future - all rolled into one. God shares His vision with us through Scripture. His vision is one of humanity’s eternal destiny - simultaneously a foregone conclusion and continually unfolding.

As we have read in the passages above, Christ is the Almighty Sovereign of creation. Everything (reality, time, space, etc.) is made, sustained, fulfilled, and perfected in, and by, Him.

In Romans 8 Paul wrote about all of the forces, powers, and principalities that are incapable of separating us from the love of Christ. But there is one thing within the entirety of creation that God chooses not to control, and it is the will.

In Eden, our will was unmarred by, and free from, sin. Only then were we truly free to choose either to remain in the presence of God or autonomy. Adam chose for us, sin entered, and we have reaped the harvest of death ever since. That condition of total depravity and hopeless inability wrecked our ability to freely choose, and have faith in, God. We see this articulated throughout Scripture in places like:

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

-Genesis 6:5

All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

-Psalm 14:3

And because we are born into this world as hopelessly depraved, broken, and faithless beings - everything we are, everything we think, and everything we do categorically falls under “sin.”

... and everything that is not from faith is sin.

-Romans 14:23b

True, it is impossible for us (on our own) to choose Christ. If we were simply required to make a logical, or even a spiritual, decision on our own (regardless of the mountain of evidence before us) we, like Adam, would choose faithless sin and death each and every time. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit transcends logic and circumstance. Graciously, encounters with Christ cause the scales to drop from our eyes, thus allowing us to recognize our depravity and inability. The reality of Christ gives us the unmerited opportunity to respond in humility.

Once we are in Christ, truly, nothing can separate us. Prior to the endowment of the gift of faith and permanent seal of the Holy Spirit, there is only one thing that separates us - and that’s us. We choose to ignore. We choose to deny. We choose faithless sin as our residence, our prison, and our destiny. But God decided not to leave it there.

Numerous times in Scripture (SEE HERE) the LORD made statements about making things “new” or doing a “new” thing. Over sixty times in the New Testament there are references to producing “fruit.” The point of them is the “newness” of Christ alive in us changes everything. His wellspring of life overflows within and beyond us. Those who are born again adorn Him as His ambassadors to every family, tribe, and nation on earth.

In Colossians 3:1 Paul said, “If then you have been raised with Christ, the things above you will seek, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.”

Does that describe you?

Have you ever recognized your absolute hopeless depravity apart from Christ? Have you asked to receive His gracious gift of faith? Have you been born from above by the washing of the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you producing fruit in keeping with repentance? Are you recognizable to Jesus through the fruit of unity and selfless love manifest in a life poured out for Him? Are you actively seeking things above? Or, are you still stuck down below?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

WHERE TO START

Research and publications ranging from The New York Times to Christianity Today agree, Evangelicalism is vanishing from the American landscape. In his article, The Most Common Factor In Declining Churches, Thom S. Rainer notes, “Stated simply, the most common factor in declining churches is an inward focus.”

Some time ago Francis Chan preached on the unrecognizability of the American church (VIDEO HERE), stating, “Sometimes I feel like we’re playing a game. I almost feel like it would be like walking into an ice skating rink and seeing a bunch of people throwing fish at little hamsters that are running around. And you walk in and go, ‘What are you guys doing?’ And they go, ‘We’re playing soccer.’ And you just kinda go, ‘Oh. Where do I start with this.’”

Chan goes on to say, “I feel like that with church sometimes - especially in the Bible Belt. I’m serious. I’m sorry, but at least in California if we don’t believe in Jesus we’ll just say it. Here it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m a Christian. We get all dressed up and we do this whole… we don’t swear a whole lot. We don’t drink a whole lot. We come and read the Bible, sing songs, and go home.’ That’s church. Everyone’s cool with it. But when I’m alone… I’m going, ‘What are we doing?’”

Chan concludes saying, “But I read the Word of God. I read the Bible, and I go… ‘I don’t even know where to start.’ I look at the book of Acts and the church was unstoppable. It would be amazing to be part of something like that. Then you look at our churches and go, ‘They’re pretty stoppable.’ Just have the pastor leave. If he was a good speaker - bring in one that’s not as good and the church is dead. Cut the budget. Your band sucks and people leave. ‘You guys changed service times. I’m not coming anymore.’ I don’t even know where to start.”

Rainer’s number one indicator in declining churches: “There are very few attempts to minister to those in the community.”

James Frick once said, “Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are.” Churches today will tell you that they are very community focused. They’ll show you their budget and how much they spend on worship services and youth programs. But as we all know, statistics are pliable and subject to interpretation. As Daniel J. Levitin notes, they can lead to absurd observations, such as: “On average, humans have one testicle.” Just because you spend a lot of money on doing Sunday church and youth programs, just because your church is “growing,” that doesn’t mean you're invested in the advancement of the Gospel. It doesn’t mean that your vision and mission are aligned with Jesus.

A pastor and friend of mine recently shared with me, “Cancer is a growth. It’s not healthy, but it’s growth.” You don’t herald cancer as a victory. When it comes to cancer you eradicate it with extreme prejudice.

The unstoppable church Chan refers to in the book of Acts wasn’t about Sunday productions or even youth programs. The church was about one thing - advancing the Gospel. That’s evangelism.

In his New York Times article, “The Decline of Evangelical America,” John S. Dickerson writes, “We evangelicals must accept that our beliefs are now in conflict with the mainstream culture. We cannot change ancient doctrines to adapt to the currents of the day. But we can, and must, adapt the way we hold our beliefs — with grace and humility instead of superior hostility. The core evangelical belief is that love and forgiveness are freely available to all who trust in Jesus Christ. This is the “good news” from which the evangelical name originates (“euangelion” is a Greek word meaning “glad tidings” or “good news”).”

Adaptation has taken many forms in the “evangelical” church movement in America. There are strains of the Emerging Church movement with a blatant jettison of orthodox doctrine (e.g. Jesus as the exclusive way). Doctrine, for the Emerging Church, is seen as a cancer to authentic relationships; therefore, doctrine is aggressively irradiated, eradicated and excised. But there’s another, much more subtle, movement that is responsible for the decline of Evangelicalism in America. This movement is the kind that Chan describes as producing churches that are “pretty stoppable.” They’re the kind that split over music, service times and a whole host of entertainment and convenience factors.

This is the church of Sunday production. Proportionally, the topsy-turvy budgets of these churches have little emphasis on international missions, community impact, or (and most importantly) the empowerment of the congregation for ministry (i.e. discipleship). These churches typically have a huge youth ministry budget and staff because their strategy looks something like this: If we can capture the attention of our youth - their parents will likely follow.

This flawed strategy sets the church up not only to fail but to create dysfunctional followers of Christ. Rather than equipping the parents to be the primary spiritual leaders in their homes, the church creates, and actually encourages, a culture of co-dependency. As a step-dad, I know what it is like to see young kids faced with the option of a home with structure, boundaries, and consequences vs a home-life with an emphasis on entertainment and immediate gratification.

Kids shouldn’t be put in a situation where they determine what’s best for them. That’s the role of a parent. That’s the responsibility we’ve deferred to the local church and its (qualified?) youth pastor. The bottom-line to youth ministry is “How many?” How many kids were at camp? How many decisions were made? How many baptisms? If you’re numbers are up over last year - you’re a success. If you’re numbers are down… well, then it's time for us to find a replacement. In Matthew 13 Jesus said, “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”

I’m not saying that the seed isn’t landing on some good soil now and again, but I think that has more to do with the grace of God than the strategic approach of most churches. I was born-again much later in life. God blessed me with the gift of faith in my 30’s. The only kids I ever met who were “on fire for Jesus” were the same ones going to bars with me on the weekends. The same ones sleeping around with anything with a pulse. The same ones asking me if they could borrow money for an abortion. The normative life-cycle of a Christian in America is something like this:

• Get saved as a kid because you prayed the magical “Jesus come into my heart” prayer.
• Run with all the kids who go to loudest, biggest, craziest youth group.
• Stuff all that in a box for 10 years while you're partying at college, living with your boy/girlfriend, and chasing your career.
• Now that you’ve got a couple of kids - look for a church where you’re entertained and comfortable. You know, the kind where your kids can grow up and repeat the whole cycle.

Therefore, rather than having mature, godly mentors serving in these crucial roles - we have the equivalent of the Chris Farley's and Melissa McCarthy's “leading” our kids. Leading them to what? What’s our philosophy of youth ministry? Bigger is better? Louder is better? Crude and edgy are “effective tools” of discipleship?

Wait a second, can you tell me what that word “discipleship” means again? The Apostle Paul described it something like this, “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

As I’m typing this in real time, I get a text message from my oft-disgruntled 14-year-old step-daughter that reads, “Hope you’re having a great week! I miss you so much and am very thankful to have you in my life. I’m sorry that I don’t show it very well. I love you!” If, like parenting, church were merely a popularity contest, those whom we are responsible for would suffer greatly. Few have the courage, conviction, or resolve to persevere.

I think Chan’s question, “Where do I start?” is valid. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing.” Where do we start? The answer, quite simply, is “In the Beginning.”

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

MATTERS TO GOD

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

-Edmund Burke

Perfunctory: an action or gesture carried out with minimal effort or reflection.

In the previous blog entry, In The Beginning, we looked at the Ancient Near Eastern context of existence as functional rather than material. We noted that the universe with all of its spheres (space, sky, waters, land) and functionaries (stars, planets, animals, humanity) did not exist (in the literal sense) until God took up residence with us (Immanuel) and rested within His creation.

We went beyond that to describe Genesis 1:1’s proclamation, “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and described “Beginning” as referring to Jesus Christ as source rather than how creation happened (e.g. ex nihilo) or when (e.g. young vs old earth theories).

When we come to Genesis Chapter Two we find a much more personal account of creation. Even God’s name has been nuanced from simply “Elohim” (conveying a sense of almighty, transcendent, omnipotent, sovereign, and eternally relational God) to a very personal “Yahweh Elohim.” The Yahweh aspect conveys an intimately and personally involved God. Throughout the rest of Scripture (e.g. Exodus 3:14) this name, “Yahweh,” identifies God as the Sovereign King of creation who simply refuses to leave us hopelessly destitute in sin’s rebellion.

In Genesis 2:15 we read that the man (הָֽאָדָ֑ם) is dedicated by God in the Garden of Eden (not simply "put") with a very specific purpose: to minister to, cultivate, serve (Hebrew verb abad) and watch over, guard, protect (Hebrew verb shamar) the woman.

Most English Bibles botch the translation here and render it something like, “to work it and take care of it.”

The problems with this rendering are extensive and numerous. Suffice it to say that, firstly, it fails to convey the significance of the man’s divinely ordained ministry to the woman whom God is about to create from the man’s own body.

Secondly, it fails epically as a polemic against other Ancient Near Eastern culture cosmogonies (origins stories), which typically explain human origins to labor, work, and slave for the gods; e.g. maintaining the earth to relieve the gods from these burdensome tasks.

In other words, nearly all Ancient Near Eastern creation stories describe human origins -not- for fellowship with the gods, but rather doing the burdensome menial tasks, which the gods despised.

In stark contrast, the Bible paints a picture of humanity as the whole point, in fact, the crown jewel, of creation: so that Yahweh Elohim could sabbath rest with us and bless us with abundant joy-filled life in His glorious presence - forever.

If Yahweh Elohim had merely created humanity “to work it and take care of it,” (referring to lawn and garden maintenance), then the polemic is moot and the profound exclusivity of humanity 1) being made by God, 2) made in the image and likeness of God, and 3) made to simply enjoy God forever... would ALL be diminished to novel insignificance.

Additionally, if Yahweh Elohim had merely created humanity “to work it and take care of it,” there would be little significance to God’s curse upon man in Genesis 3:17-19. That would be like telling teenagers they need to do their chores every day. Then telling them the consequence for not doing chores is that they’ll need to do their chores every day.

Huh?

Exactly!

God’s “work curse” in Gen 3:17-19 would have merely changed man from a happy-go-lucky farmer to a disgruntled one.

Adam is “dedicated” in the garden with a very specific ministry: to care for and watch over the woman -the one whom God creates- in order for them to function and experience what it is to be made in the image and likeness of God, i.e. relational beings functioning in altruistic, selfless, and benevolent love.

Adam’s failure is evidenced in Genesis 3:6 when we realize that throughout the entire theological debate between the crafty, slick, devious, and wily serpent and the woman, Adam simply stood by.

In Romans 5:12 we read, “sin entered the world through one man…”

Apathy is the doorway of sin.

“Perfunctory” (an action or gesture carried out with minimal effort or reflection) is a great way to describe Adam’s performance in the midst of the serpent’s attack.  

At best, Adam was idle, careless, apathetic, disinterested, disengaged, and inattentive. At worst, he was blatantly negligent.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how much time had transpired since the whole “rib” incident, so there’s no point in speculating. But I can say this: after being married for just a few months - I had a whole new level of appreciation for Adam’s plight of perfunctory disconnectedness.

“Oh, you’ve got a better idea? You wanna talk to the snake about theology? Oh certainly! By all means please do. See how that works out for ya! I’ll just stand over here and watch the grass grow. A snack? Sure thing... You got this from which tree? Oops.”

Scripture tells us that Adam was negligent. It also tells us the result was exactly what God said it would be - death. Sin entered the world through one man.

In the midst of humanity’s self-induced death sentence, God blessed everyone with mercy via a prodigious proclamation of hope “In the Beginning.”

The man and woman might have simply dropped dead apart from ever experiencing God’s gift of procreation (woohoo!) and subduing the earth (1:28). Clearly, they failed epically in exercising dominion over it - something God had ordained as part of their function, i.e. existence.

Death wasn’t the final word. God heralded the future advent of a male offspring who would utterly destroy the serpent and all those who followed his crafty, slick, devious, and wily ways.

Humanity would endure exclusively by God’s grace, albeit currently marred by sin. Meanwhile, the serpent and its crafty offspring are assured imminent destruction via the hand (heel actually) of the woman’s future male offspring, i.e. Jesus.

Unlike Adam, this anticipated male offspring of Eve would most certainly never stand by idly as His Bride is attacked. Rather, He zealously crushed the serpent’s head. Permanent unquestioned and definitive victory.

In their desperation and futility, the man and woman “sewed fig leaves together.” Their efforts were grossly inadequate. Therefore, God “made garments of skin” (3:21). The Bible does not say that these “garments of skin” were made from an animal. That assumption results from deductive reasoning, not inductive study. Scripture does tell us elsewhere (Rev 13:8; 1 Peter 1:20) about a Lamb that was slain “from the creation of the cosmos.”

In yet another act of grace - Elohim, God, placed “cherubim and a flaming sword” to “watch over” (there’s that Hebrew verb shamar again!) “the way to the tree of life.”

Watching over was something that the man was supposed to do for his bride, i.e. the woman, his rib-friend, his partner, and his co-image bearer of eternally relational God Almighty.

Our failure became His joy and pleasure. Not in the sense of sadistic gloating, but as an opportunity to abad (serve, cultivate, minister) and shamar (watch over, guard, protect). Now, God is graciously serving and watching over all of humanity until we can be brought back into right relationship - communion, atonement, Sabbath rest.

That reconciliation happens exclusively “In the Beginning” through the source of creation and the covering of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the cosmos.

The Lamb, the Beginning, Eve’s anticipated single male offspring, i.e. Jesus permanently crushed the serpent and all his wily “brood of vipers” offspring and said, “It is Finished.”

“In the Beginning” The Lamb of God, slain before the creation of the cosmos, sacrificed Himself in order to perfectly and permanently cover humanity’s rebellion and sin. Later, God placed powerful angelic beings (cherubim) and the Holy Spirit’s presence as a flaming sword between humanity and the Tree of Life.  

Throughout the Bible, cherubim are identified with the presence of God. They appear on the throne of the ark where God’s presence dwelled (Exodus 25:18); in Ezekiel (22 times); in Psalms 18:10, 80:1, 99:1; and also throughout the New Testament: Matt 10:34; Luke 22:36; Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12; and Rev 1:16.

Throughout the Bible we read about people who stood idle and allowed events to unfold around them with little or no interest in anyone or anything but themselves.

God told us the Messiah was coming. God tells us that standing idly by is no different than vehemently opposing Him. Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

God's explicit warning is this: we can either be like Abram - part of the solution, “all the people of the world will be blessed through you,” or continue to be the problem. The latter will ultimately hear, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

There will be no sin in heaven because there will be no apathy, no perfunctory attitude, no doorway, no cracked windows, and no entry point or portal for sin to enter - ever. Satan is overthrown. Death is defeated. Everything that fails to function as God intended will be thrown into the eternal lake of fire (Rev 20:14).

There is no apathy in the children of God. There is no detachment, disinterest, or lassitude for the members of the Bride of Christ. For those with this malady Jesus says, “So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” -Revelation 3:16

Instead, we who follow are intimately identified with, and actively involved in, the will of Father, the obedience of the Son, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. That’s what it means to be baptized in Their name. That’s when Jesus promises: “And surely I am (Yahweh) with you always (Immanuel), to the very end...”

Adam demonstrated that life ends the day we become silent. It's not just about things that matter (subjective), but about the things (objective) that matter to God.

Will you follow or stand idly by?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com