What Did Jesus Do?
Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
3 John 11
In a cynical world “no good deed goes unpunished.” But, in the kingdom of God, it is evil doing that is punished, while good deeds are the evidence of a saving relationship with the Father in and through the Son. No, I’m not in the least suggesting or talking about works-righteousness. But those whom God the Father has favored with the revelation of his glory and grace in the Son, he enables to follow the Savior by faith in Jesus Christ, doing good in his name and by his Spirit. It’s a mouthful, for sure, but it communicates the monumental truth of God’s love for us in the Son—Jesus enabled faithful following by supplying a glimpse of the fullness of God’s glory and grace.
We are, you know, great mimics. We all practice the art of imitation more than we realize, or care to admit as we try to assert our “individualism.” God knows this about us, that we will copy what we see, and demonstrate, by way of how we dress, how we speak, how we act, what we choose to mimic, what examples we follow. Diotrephes, whom John had singled out in his letter as worthy of condemnation, was a doer of evil, who talked a lot of junk, or, as John put it, had been “talking wicked nonsense against us” (“us” being John and others who preached the Gospel). Poor Diotrephes, he had never caught a glimpse of God, either by actually seeing Jesus in the flesh, or by receiving the fullness of the glory and grace of God in and through the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ which had in fact permitted many to “see” the Father in and through the truth and love enfleshed in the Son. So Diotrephes sought to throw his weight, and his words, around. And, being the imitators that we are, there was no little danger that people might have quickly started doing and saying the things Diotrepehes did and said.
So John exhorted “the beloved Gaius” and all whom Gaius would share John’s letter with, “do not imitate evil (by doing and saying what Diotrephes did and said) but imitate good.” And then John offered Gaius, and us, an example of one whose good deeds were worthy of imitation—Demetrius (verse 12). For Demetrius had earned a good reputation among believers by way of a three-fold testimony. First of all, John had heard nothing but good things about Demetrius--“everyone” witnessed to his faithful following of Jesus. Second, there was a strong and certain agreement between how Demetrius lived his life and the life of a disciple as prescribed by the Word of God, both in Scripture and even more in the life of Jesus—“the truth itself” testified to the goodness of Demetrius. Third, John was willing to stake his own authority and reputation to the faithfulness of Demetrius—“We also add our testimony.”
As John and the other apostles, had been enabled to faithfully follow Jesus because, in and through him they had glimpsed the fullness of God’s glory and grace, so Demetrius, and others were, and are, similarly enabled to faithfully follow by the glimpses of God’s glory and grace revealed in the Bible, in the proclamation of the Gospel, and in the person of Jesus Christ. As God grants us by faith to “see” his glory and grace, his truth and love, in his Son, so he enables us to walk by faith, imitating the example of others who walk faithfully before and beside us. And, all along the way, those who follow Jesus faithfully do good, for in and through Christ we have seen God.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenminstries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Jesus Exposed Fraudulent Faith
What Did Jesus Do?
But Diotrephes does not acknowledge our authority.
So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing.
3 John 9-10
The last thing a masquerader wants is to be exposed, to have someone who sees behind or through, their mask, to reveal what they would prefer remain hidden. Posers typically have an agenda, a motive for keeping up the charade, and it is always a self-serving one. People just don’t commit fraud for the fun of it. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how we respond to having the mask removed, Jesus exposes fraudulent faith.
In Jesus’ day there were no bigger frauds than the scribes and Pharisees upon whom Christ pronounced the seven “woes” in Matthew 23 (vv. 1-36). To all outward appearances, the gang whose masks Jesus saw through liked to pose as the most pious of their generation. Masked behind a façade of holiness, and cloaked in self-righteousness, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees loved their own ideas of God more than they loved God himself, and loved themselves much more than they loved their neighbors. But the life of faith is not some kind of costume ball where we can get away pretending to be someone or something we are not. It may be acceptable for comic book heroes to assume alter egos, and to disguise themselves behind a something other than who they truly are persona, but it does not work for one who would follow Jesus.
Granted, when Christ comes and confronts our infidelities and our insincerities, when he removes the mask and exposes who we really are, both to ourselves and the world, it is painful. But, in an instant, the Lord gives to us a whole new identity, and this is no mere cosmetic makeover, for in Christ we are reborn. Sadly, there are Christian frauds today, just as well as Pharisaical frauds at the time of Jesus. Christian posers put on what is no better than false face for the world to see. Sooner or later, however, Christ will reveal all, even the posers, though it may come too late for their salvation (see Matthew 7:21-23).
Now John the apostle had witnessed the exposing of the scribes and Pharisees, and had heard the Lord pronounce the seven woes over them. So, how do you think the apostle dealt with the fraudulent faith of Christians? That’s right, he exposed them. A case in point is Diotrephes, whom John singled out in verses 9 and 10 of his Third Letter. Where Jesus humbled himself (see Philippians 2:5-8), Diotrephes “put himself first.” (3 John 8) Where followers of Jesus were called to extend a genuine, gracious, even sacrificial, welcome to other believers (Romans 15:7), Diotrephes both refused to welcome gospel workers, and made life, well, hell, for those who would (3 John 10). The bottom line is, fraudulent faith is simply too pernicious to be permitted to carry on its masquerade.
But before we all go out and march up to someone who we are sure is a poser, a Christian fraud, there is one thing we must do—stand in front of the nearest mirror, and take a good look at the one who is looking back at us. If we see any sign of sham or charade going on, if, looking closely and carefully at the face in the mirror, we detect a mask of some kind, STOP! We must not even think about exposing the Diotrephes in another until the Diotrepehes in us is revealed, and confessed, both to God, and to those whom we have been deceiving. And, if we have trouble looking closely at the mirror, then we must turn our face toward the Lord, and ask him to do the revealing, trusting that he will expose any fraudulent faith in us.
Nothing subverts Christian fellowship more swiftly and surely than reducing it to a game of charades. Nothing undermines our relationship with other believers more than self-serving posturing, even a posture of humility if it is insincere. Conversely, there’s nothing that would more encourage another to get out from behind his or her mask than for us to remove our own in front of them. The good news is, as Jesus, the Son, exposes fraudulent faith in us, true faith is permitted to flourish, to the glory of the Father.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
But Diotrephes does not acknowledge our authority.
So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing.
3 John 9-10
The last thing a masquerader wants is to be exposed, to have someone who sees behind or through, their mask, to reveal what they would prefer remain hidden. Posers typically have an agenda, a motive for keeping up the charade, and it is always a self-serving one. People just don’t commit fraud for the fun of it. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how we respond to having the mask removed, Jesus exposes fraudulent faith.
In Jesus’ day there were no bigger frauds than the scribes and Pharisees upon whom Christ pronounced the seven “woes” in Matthew 23 (vv. 1-36). To all outward appearances, the gang whose masks Jesus saw through liked to pose as the most pious of their generation. Masked behind a façade of holiness, and cloaked in self-righteousness, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees loved their own ideas of God more than they loved God himself, and loved themselves much more than they loved their neighbors. But the life of faith is not some kind of costume ball where we can get away pretending to be someone or something we are not. It may be acceptable for comic book heroes to assume alter egos, and to disguise themselves behind a something other than who they truly are persona, but it does not work for one who would follow Jesus.
Granted, when Christ comes and confronts our infidelities and our insincerities, when he removes the mask and exposes who we really are, both to ourselves and the world, it is painful. But, in an instant, the Lord gives to us a whole new identity, and this is no mere cosmetic makeover, for in Christ we are reborn. Sadly, there are Christian frauds today, just as well as Pharisaical frauds at the time of Jesus. Christian posers put on what is no better than false face for the world to see. Sooner or later, however, Christ will reveal all, even the posers, though it may come too late for their salvation (see Matthew 7:21-23).
Now John the apostle had witnessed the exposing of the scribes and Pharisees, and had heard the Lord pronounce the seven woes over them. So, how do you think the apostle dealt with the fraudulent faith of Christians? That’s right, he exposed them. A case in point is Diotrephes, whom John singled out in verses 9 and 10 of his Third Letter. Where Jesus humbled himself (see Philippians 2:5-8), Diotrephes “put himself first.” (3 John 8) Where followers of Jesus were called to extend a genuine, gracious, even sacrificial, welcome to other believers (Romans 15:7), Diotrephes both refused to welcome gospel workers, and made life, well, hell, for those who would (3 John 10). The bottom line is, fraudulent faith is simply too pernicious to be permitted to carry on its masquerade.
But before we all go out and march up to someone who we are sure is a poser, a Christian fraud, there is one thing we must do—stand in front of the nearest mirror, and take a good look at the one who is looking back at us. If we see any sign of sham or charade going on, if, looking closely and carefully at the face in the mirror, we detect a mask of some kind, STOP! We must not even think about exposing the Diotrephes in another until the Diotrepehes in us is revealed, and confessed, both to God, and to those whom we have been deceiving. And, if we have trouble looking closely at the mirror, then we must turn our face toward the Lord, and ask him to do the revealing, trusting that he will expose any fraudulent faith in us.
Nothing subverts Christian fellowship more swiftly and surely than reducing it to a game of charades. Nothing undermines our relationship with other believers more than self-serving posturing, even a posture of humility if it is insincere. Conversely, there’s nothing that would more encourage another to get out from behind his or her mask than for us to remove our own in front of them. The good news is, as Jesus, the Son, exposes fraudulent faith in us, true faith is permitted to flourish, to the glory of the Father.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Jesus Loved and Prayed for Friends
What Did Jesus Do?
“To the beloved, whom I love in truth…I pray that all may go well with you.”
3 John 1-2
A lot of us have more friends than we can count these days, that is if we can “count” the dozens (even 100s) of “friends” we have on Facebook, notwithstanding that we may have never actually met or spoken, uh, face to face, with many of these folks. “Friend” has become a rather abstract term nowadays, whereas it was very concrete at one time. Was a time when the highest expression of love was the willingness to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Sure, we may say all those folks on Facebook are our friends, but how many of them would we really be willing to die for? Jesus, who actually died for his friends, and, even more, for his enemies, truly loved, and prayed for, his friends. John 17 is perhaps the best example we have of a friend expressing his love of, and of praying for, his friends.
It is not at all surprising, then, that the apostle John emulated the One who loved him and who prayed for him, by loving and praying for his own friends. 3 John is a letter written by a friend to a friend. The first part of the letter, verses 1-8, which we’ll consider today, expresses love and prayer for a friend, along with some encouragement and advice. And there is no mistaking that Gaius was a friend of John’s.
Unlike so many today who toss around the word love as if it were nothing more than a sweet bon-bon, John loved Gaius in truth. As in, he loved his friend in a Jesus way because, well, Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). What’s a Jesus kind of love look like? Out of this world! It’s a love that is obsessed with the one loved, as in: Jesus never thought of himself but always of others, never did anything selfishly but always selflessly, and, though he was fully aware of the ultimate cost of agape (That’s loving like God loves), he did not flinch from paying the full price of love on the cross. That was the kind of love John had for Gaius, love in truth, love in Jesus.
One of the greatest, and most neglected, acts of love, is to pray for a friend. Not just when they tell you they need prayer, but rather, because you are their friend you count it as privilege to lift them up to the Lord eagerly and often, asking his blessing, grace, and mercy for them. Again, John learned to pray for his friend Gaius in this manner because John had heard his friend Jesus pray in this manner for him.
John did not stop at loving and praying for his friend Gaius, he also encouraged him and gave him some advice. First of all, John applauded the genuine faith of Gaius as demonstrated by his generous hospitality to itinerant preachers who had shown up on his doorstep (3 John 5). As the preachers had headed out, with no means of support, to spread the Gospel, it was fit and proper, as they used to say, for all believers to help them, and in so doing be fellow workers for the truth (3 John 8). That’s a timeless piece of advice, which the Church needs to hear today as much as Gaius needed to hear it in the First Century.
Here’s the thing, uh, beloved. As Jesus had done, so did John. That is, the apostle loved in truth and prayed for his friends. It might not be the flashiest of ministries, and it will often go completely unnoticed. But there are few things more important for us to do as believers. I can say this with complete confidence because that’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“To the beloved, whom I love in truth…I pray that all may go well with you.”
3 John 1-2
A lot of us have more friends than we can count these days, that is if we can “count” the dozens (even 100s) of “friends” we have on Facebook, notwithstanding that we may have never actually met or spoken, uh, face to face, with many of these folks. “Friend” has become a rather abstract term nowadays, whereas it was very concrete at one time. Was a time when the highest expression of love was the willingness to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Sure, we may say all those folks on Facebook are our friends, but how many of them would we really be willing to die for? Jesus, who actually died for his friends, and, even more, for his enemies, truly loved, and prayed for, his friends. John 17 is perhaps the best example we have of a friend expressing his love of, and of praying for, his friends.
It is not at all surprising, then, that the apostle John emulated the One who loved him and who prayed for him, by loving and praying for his own friends. 3 John is a letter written by a friend to a friend. The first part of the letter, verses 1-8, which we’ll consider today, expresses love and prayer for a friend, along with some encouragement and advice. And there is no mistaking that Gaius was a friend of John’s.
Unlike so many today who toss around the word love as if it were nothing more than a sweet bon-bon, John loved Gaius in truth. As in, he loved his friend in a Jesus way because, well, Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). What’s a Jesus kind of love look like? Out of this world! It’s a love that is obsessed with the one loved, as in: Jesus never thought of himself but always of others, never did anything selfishly but always selflessly, and, though he was fully aware of the ultimate cost of agape (That’s loving like God loves), he did not flinch from paying the full price of love on the cross. That was the kind of love John had for Gaius, love in truth, love in Jesus.
One of the greatest, and most neglected, acts of love, is to pray for a friend. Not just when they tell you they need prayer, but rather, because you are their friend you count it as privilege to lift them up to the Lord eagerly and often, asking his blessing, grace, and mercy for them. Again, John learned to pray for his friend Gaius in this manner because John had heard his friend Jesus pray in this manner for him.
John did not stop at loving and praying for his friend Gaius, he also encouraged him and gave him some advice. First of all, John applauded the genuine faith of Gaius as demonstrated by his generous hospitality to itinerant preachers who had shown up on his doorstep (3 John 5). As the preachers had headed out, with no means of support, to spread the Gospel, it was fit and proper, as they used to say, for all believers to help them, and in so doing be fellow workers for the truth (3 John 8). That’s a timeless piece of advice, which the Church needs to hear today as much as Gaius needed to hear it in the First Century.
Here’s the thing, uh, beloved. As Jesus had done, so did John. That is, the apostle loved in truth and prayed for his friends. It might not be the flashiest of ministries, and it will often go completely unnoticed. But there are few things more important for us to do as believers. I can say this with complete confidence because that’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Jesus Praciticed Publicly
What Did Jesus Do?
And he went all through Galilee…
Matthew 4:23
Considering how Israel had been eagerly longing for the coming of the Messiah, I am a little surprised that Jesus didn’t simply set himself up in a private practice, hang out a shingle that said, “Messiah,” and open up shop in Nazareth, or perhaps Capernaum, and wait for the people to come to him. I mean, wouldn’t you have expected they would beat a path to his door? It’s what enterprising young professionals do, isn’t it, go into private practice? But Jesus, it turned out, wasn’t that kind of Messiah at all. Jesus practiced publicly.
Jesus knew, from the very beginning, that he needed to start where the people were, not sit back and wait for them to come to him. Oh sure, as his fame spread, many did eventually seek him out. But the Lord never showed any inclination to turn from his very public, to a private practice. As the Father sent, so the Son went. Jesus was, after all, on a seek and save mission (Luke 19:10). Jesus, you see, was a where the action is kind of guy. And he really didn’t have time to sit and wait for people to find him, there was a genuine urgency to his work.
So, how come his Church seems largely to have missed this truth about the kind of Messiah/Savior Jesus was? Think about it. If anything, times are more urgent now than in Jesus’ day. Yet, most churches are in what amounts to private practice. They put up a building, effectively anchoring themselves to one place, and have walls and doors, and often beautiful but impenetrable stained glass, which separates them from the rest of the world, from people. Oh, yeah, they leave the doors unlocked, sometimes, and they have a big sign out front, perhaps with some witty phrases about things like “knee-mail” (prayer) on it, sort of by way of trolling for the lost. But very few congregations understand that, as Jesus was a Messiah on a Mission, so his Church is a fellowship of missionaries who he perpetually sends to continue his work of seeking and saving. In other words, we can’t really do church parked in a pew, or presiding in a pulpit, it’s simply too private for an enterprise that is supposed to walk in the footsteps of the Savior. For, you see, Jesus practiced publicly, and so must we.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
And he went all through Galilee…
Matthew 4:23
Considering how Israel had been eagerly longing for the coming of the Messiah, I am a little surprised that Jesus didn’t simply set himself up in a private practice, hang out a shingle that said, “Messiah,” and open up shop in Nazareth, or perhaps Capernaum, and wait for the people to come to him. I mean, wouldn’t you have expected they would beat a path to his door? It’s what enterprising young professionals do, isn’t it, go into private practice? But Jesus, it turned out, wasn’t that kind of Messiah at all. Jesus practiced publicly.
Jesus knew, from the very beginning, that he needed to start where the people were, not sit back and wait for them to come to him. Oh sure, as his fame spread, many did eventually seek him out. But the Lord never showed any inclination to turn from his very public, to a private practice. As the Father sent, so the Son went. Jesus was, after all, on a seek and save mission (Luke 19:10). Jesus, you see, was a where the action is kind of guy. And he really didn’t have time to sit and wait for people to find him, there was a genuine urgency to his work.
So, how come his Church seems largely to have missed this truth about the kind of Messiah/Savior Jesus was? Think about it. If anything, times are more urgent now than in Jesus’ day. Yet, most churches are in what amounts to private practice. They put up a building, effectively anchoring themselves to one place, and have walls and doors, and often beautiful but impenetrable stained glass, which separates them from the rest of the world, from people. Oh, yeah, they leave the doors unlocked, sometimes, and they have a big sign out front, perhaps with some witty phrases about things like “knee-mail” (prayer) on it, sort of by way of trolling for the lost. But very few congregations understand that, as Jesus was a Messiah on a Mission, so his Church is a fellowship of missionaries who he perpetually sends to continue his work of seeking and saving. In other words, we can’t really do church parked in a pew, or presiding in a pulpit, it’s simply too private for an enterprise that is supposed to walk in the footsteps of the Savior. For, you see, Jesus practiced publicly, and so must we.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Died For The Truth
What Did Jesus Do?
“For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—
to bear witness to the truth.”
John 18:37
It is amazing, shocking, deeply troubling, that so many people who call themselves Christians know so little about the One whose name they presume to take for themselves. To hear most Christians today, Jesus was all about love. Period. End of story. But, when he was on trial for his life, when we would expect Jesus to lay it all on the line, his testimony was not about love, but about truth. In fact, I believe it is accurate to say that Jesus died for the Truth.
Think about it. Did Jesus say that he was born for the purpose of bearing witness to love? No. From his own lips, at the most critical moment in his life, Jesus said he was born for the purpose of bearing witness to the truth. And, since few would contest the statement that Jesus was born to die, it is absolutely appropriate to acknowledge that Jesus died for the truth. What, then, of love? Surely love, if not the purpose of his life’s mission, was still of great importance to Jesus. It is absolutely appropriate to say that love was so much a part of the life of Jesus that we fall into great error if we do not yoke truth and love together when we consider the life of the Lord.
Truth, yes, but not alone; truth never without love. Love, yes, but never before truth; love never contravening truth. Here’s the thing, truth without love, is still truth. Yes, it may be cold, hard, unappealing, but it is still the truth. But, love without the truth, well, it isn’t really love at all. Love without truth always, let me make sure you catch this, always degenerates quickly into selfish, destructive narcissism. Make sure you get this—ALWAYS. It’s been this way ever since the first time truth was chucked in the name of love. If the occasion escapes you, go read Genesis 3. What amazes me is that we still don’t get it. Even with Jesus coming and dying for the truth, we insist on trying to make it all about “love,” the he_ _ with truth. And, the truth is, love without truth makes life hell, and, if we never hear and accept the truth, love sans truth narrows our options for eternity down to one very unpleasant destination.
I can hear the folks whose biblical knowledge goes no further than John 3:16 crying out, “What is all this about truth? Don’t you know that God sent his Son because he ‘so loved the world’?” Yeah, I know. But do you know that when the Father wanted to express his love most sublimely he did so in and through his Son, who leads us in the way of God’s agape love, teaches us the truth of God’s agape love, and, by sending the Holy Spirit to fill us, empowers us to live, in and through him, the life of God’s agape love? That’s right, Jesus, the highest and fullest expression of the Father’s love, made it plain as day—He is the way, the truth, and the life. If we truly want to know the love of God, we must come to him by way of the One who is Truth. We may claim to cherish the old rugged Cross, but Jesus died for nothing if, no matter how much we pretend to love, we don’t live in and for the truth.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—
to bear witness to the truth.”
John 18:37
It is amazing, shocking, deeply troubling, that so many people who call themselves Christians know so little about the One whose name they presume to take for themselves. To hear most Christians today, Jesus was all about love. Period. End of story. But, when he was on trial for his life, when we would expect Jesus to lay it all on the line, his testimony was not about love, but about truth. In fact, I believe it is accurate to say that Jesus died for the Truth.
Think about it. Did Jesus say that he was born for the purpose of bearing witness to love? No. From his own lips, at the most critical moment in his life, Jesus said he was born for the purpose of bearing witness to the truth. And, since few would contest the statement that Jesus was born to die, it is absolutely appropriate to acknowledge that Jesus died for the truth. What, then, of love? Surely love, if not the purpose of his life’s mission, was still of great importance to Jesus. It is absolutely appropriate to say that love was so much a part of the life of Jesus that we fall into great error if we do not yoke truth and love together when we consider the life of the Lord.
Truth, yes, but not alone; truth never without love. Love, yes, but never before truth; love never contravening truth. Here’s the thing, truth without love, is still truth. Yes, it may be cold, hard, unappealing, but it is still the truth. But, love without the truth, well, it isn’t really love at all. Love without truth always, let me make sure you catch this, always degenerates quickly into selfish, destructive narcissism. Make sure you get this—ALWAYS. It’s been this way ever since the first time truth was chucked in the name of love. If the occasion escapes you, go read Genesis 3. What amazes me is that we still don’t get it. Even with Jesus coming and dying for the truth, we insist on trying to make it all about “love,” the he_ _ with truth. And, the truth is, love without truth makes life hell, and, if we never hear and accept the truth, love sans truth narrows our options for eternity down to one very unpleasant destination.
I can hear the folks whose biblical knowledge goes no further than John 3:16 crying out, “What is all this about truth? Don’t you know that God sent his Son because he ‘so loved the world’?” Yeah, I know. But do you know that when the Father wanted to express his love most sublimely he did so in and through his Son, who leads us in the way of God’s agape love, teaches us the truth of God’s agape love, and, by sending the Holy Spirit to fill us, empowers us to live, in and through him, the life of God’s agape love? That’s right, Jesus, the highest and fullest expression of the Father’s love, made it plain as day—He is the way, the truth, and the life. If we truly want to know the love of God, we must come to him by way of the One who is Truth. We may claim to cherish the old rugged Cross, but Jesus died for nothing if, no matter how much we pretend to love, we don’t live in and for the truth.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, February 10, 2012
Jesus Came and Met Us Face to Face
What Did Jesus Do?
I hope to come to you and talk face to face,
so that our joy may be complete
2 John 12
I know young people will find this shocking, even hard to believe (Perhaps it’s a good thing that it is likely that very few young people ever see these WDJDs?), but there was a time when there was no email, no instant messaging, no Twitter, no Facebook. “Gasp! NO Facebook? How awful. It must have been terribly lonely for people back in the day.” Actually, people are more lonely now. You see, with all the modern electronic ways to keep in touch, there is a lot less actual touching, that is, truly coming into contact with others in a way that creates real relationships, happening these days. People are more isolated and lonely than ever, even though they may have dozens, even hundreds, of cyber-friends. The trouble with cyber-friends is that they can’t actually lend us a hand when we need it. They can’t hold us and hug us. They can’t pat us on the back, or offer a shoulder to cry on. Thankfully, Jesus was not that kind of friend to us, Jesus came and met us face to face.
The importance of real contact, of genuine encounters, of face to face ministry was not lost on John. So, even though he poured his heart into the letters he wrote to the Church (1 John), to a particular church (2 John), and to a beloved personal friend (3 John), John’s greatest desire was to meet face to face with those he called his little children. Te meet, to touch, to hold, to cry and to laugh together, was nothing less than complete joy to John.
John held such high regard for meeting and ministering face to face because 1) he had been a face to face disciple and friend of Jesus, and 2) he had witnessed the Lord meeting and ministering face to face (Mark 10:21, 27; Luke 19:5; John 1:42; along with many miracles when the Lord looked into the face of, spoke directly to, and/or touched those he helped.). We do not have a distant Savior who loves us from afar, who forgives us via a remote, who transforms our lives without benefit of touch. I believe one of the biggest challenges facing the Church in our day is that of supplanting the cyber-relationships so many are willing to settle for, with face to face relationships. Yes, it takes more effort, more time, to seek and meet others face to face. But consider the genuine, complete joy that is possible in so meeting, something simply not possible through emails, instant messages, or even up to the second Twitter tweets or Facebook statuses.
John refused to permit a letter replace meeting face to face with those whom Jesus loved. And Jesus never said, “You email” or “You i-m” or “You tweet” or “You Facebook” to his disciples, he said “You go…” Jesus calls and commissions all of us to go and minister face to face. So, here’s our challenge today, and every day—get off Facebook and go to a friend, and bring some real joy to someone (and enjoy some ourselves) by meeting face to face. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
I hope to come to you and talk face to face,
so that our joy may be complete
2 John 12
I know young people will find this shocking, even hard to believe (Perhaps it’s a good thing that it is likely that very few young people ever see these WDJDs?), but there was a time when there was no email, no instant messaging, no Twitter, no Facebook. “Gasp! NO Facebook? How awful. It must have been terribly lonely for people back in the day.” Actually, people are more lonely now. You see, with all the modern electronic ways to keep in touch, there is a lot less actual touching, that is, truly coming into contact with others in a way that creates real relationships, happening these days. People are more isolated and lonely than ever, even though they may have dozens, even hundreds, of cyber-friends. The trouble with cyber-friends is that they can’t actually lend us a hand when we need it. They can’t hold us and hug us. They can’t pat us on the back, or offer a shoulder to cry on. Thankfully, Jesus was not that kind of friend to us, Jesus came and met us face to face.
The importance of real contact, of genuine encounters, of face to face ministry was not lost on John. So, even though he poured his heart into the letters he wrote to the Church (1 John), to a particular church (2 John), and to a beloved personal friend (3 John), John’s greatest desire was to meet face to face with those he called his little children. Te meet, to touch, to hold, to cry and to laugh together, was nothing less than complete joy to John.
John held such high regard for meeting and ministering face to face because 1) he had been a face to face disciple and friend of Jesus, and 2) he had witnessed the Lord meeting and ministering face to face (Mark 10:21, 27; Luke 19:5; John 1:42; along with many miracles when the Lord looked into the face of, spoke directly to, and/or touched those he helped.). We do not have a distant Savior who loves us from afar, who forgives us via a remote, who transforms our lives without benefit of touch. I believe one of the biggest challenges facing the Church in our day is that of supplanting the cyber-relationships so many are willing to settle for, with face to face relationships. Yes, it takes more effort, more time, to seek and meet others face to face. But consider the genuine, complete joy that is possible in so meeting, something simply not possible through emails, instant messages, or even up to the second Twitter tweets or Facebook statuses.
John refused to permit a letter replace meeting face to face with those whom Jesus loved. And Jesus never said, “You email” or “You i-m” or “You tweet” or “You Facebook” to his disciples, he said “You go…” Jesus calls and commissions all of us to go and minister face to face. So, here’s our challenge today, and every day—get off Facebook and go to a friend, and bring some real joy to someone (and enjoy some ourselves) by meeting face to face. That’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Jesus Taught Intolerance
What Did Jesus Do?
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching,
do not receive him.
2 John 10
I can picture them, the loose-leaf Bible crowd. You know, the folks who have abrogated and corrupted the Gospel to accommodate culture. They would stop in mid-chorus of Kum Ba Yah and challenge me, “What? He did no such thing, how dare you say that! Jesus taught nothing but love and tolerance.” Well, I, didn’t say it, Jesus did, to the church in Thyatira, “But I have this against you, that you TOLERATE that woman Jezebel…” (Revelation 2:20) You see, with Jesus, it has never been “anything goes.” In particular, Jesus will not tolerate those who would seduce his bride, the Church, and lead her into heresy and, inevitably, to destruction. The apostle John knew that Jesus taught intolerance of lies and wickedness, so John taught it too.
It might strike us as contradictory, for John to instruct the elect lady (the Church), whom he has just been exhorting to walk in truth and love (see WDJD for 2/8/12), to be inhospitable, even rude, to someone. But, when that someone would presumed to proclaim a different gospel, to teach that Jesus did not come in the flesh (As several itinerant Gnostic preachers were doing at the time John wrote his Second Letter), they could not be permitted to spew their seductive lies before the lady’s children, that is, members of the Church, particularly those new to the faith. The doors into the houses where the Church met had to be barred against such false teachers, they were not even to be extended a greeting.
We’re not talking about a simple “Hi, how ya’ doin’!” here. When Christians greeted one another, it was something quite formal, deeply personal, and, expressed the very truth and love John wrote about, the truth and love of Jesus Christ, and him come in the flesh. Consider the greeting John employed in this letter:
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.” 2 John 3
To extend such a greeting to one who not only believed the heresy that Christ had not come in the flesh, but who taught and encouraged the Church to accept this as truth, carried the weight of an endorsement of a pernicious lie. It amounted to participating in their wicked works (2 John 11). Certainly, to expose new believers to such false and deadly teaching was not at all a loving thing to do. And encouraging those who believed such damnable lies to persist in their fatal error, with its terrible eternal consequences, well, how could that be understood to be a loving thing to do. One might as well invite someone to jump off a cliff, play in traffic, swim with sharks. No, for the good of everyone, there could and can be no tolerance of, nor welcome for, heretics and false teachers in the Church.
Here’s the challenge we face as believers today: do we, do the churches where we worship, tolerate heresy? Do we welcome and receive false teaching? Do we tacitly endorse wicked works in the name of love? We had better learn what the Bible tells us is intolerable, because, the truth is, Jesus taught intolerance. In the end, it is the loving thing to do.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching,
do not receive him.
2 John 10
I can picture them, the loose-leaf Bible crowd. You know, the folks who have abrogated and corrupted the Gospel to accommodate culture. They would stop in mid-chorus of Kum Ba Yah and challenge me, “What? He did no such thing, how dare you say that! Jesus taught nothing but love and tolerance.” Well, I, didn’t say it, Jesus did, to the church in Thyatira, “But I have this against you, that you TOLERATE that woman Jezebel…” (Revelation 2:20) You see, with Jesus, it has never been “anything goes.” In particular, Jesus will not tolerate those who would seduce his bride, the Church, and lead her into heresy and, inevitably, to destruction. The apostle John knew that Jesus taught intolerance of lies and wickedness, so John taught it too.
It might strike us as contradictory, for John to instruct the elect lady (the Church), whom he has just been exhorting to walk in truth and love (see WDJD for 2/8/12), to be inhospitable, even rude, to someone. But, when that someone would presumed to proclaim a different gospel, to teach that Jesus did not come in the flesh (As several itinerant Gnostic preachers were doing at the time John wrote his Second Letter), they could not be permitted to spew their seductive lies before the lady’s children, that is, members of the Church, particularly those new to the faith. The doors into the houses where the Church met had to be barred against such false teachers, they were not even to be extended a greeting.
We’re not talking about a simple “Hi, how ya’ doin’!” here. When Christians greeted one another, it was something quite formal, deeply personal, and, expressed the very truth and love John wrote about, the truth and love of Jesus Christ, and him come in the flesh. Consider the greeting John employed in this letter:
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.” 2 John 3
To extend such a greeting to one who not only believed the heresy that Christ had not come in the flesh, but who taught and encouraged the Church to accept this as truth, carried the weight of an endorsement of a pernicious lie. It amounted to participating in their wicked works (2 John 11). Certainly, to expose new believers to such false and deadly teaching was not at all a loving thing to do. And encouraging those who believed such damnable lies to persist in their fatal error, with its terrible eternal consequences, well, how could that be understood to be a loving thing to do. One might as well invite someone to jump off a cliff, play in traffic, swim with sharks. No, for the good of everyone, there could and can be no tolerance of, nor welcome for, heretics and false teachers in the Church.
Here’s the challenge we face as believers today: do we, do the churches where we worship, tolerate heresy? Do we welcome and receive false teaching? Do we tacitly endorse wicked works in the name of love? We had better learn what the Bible tells us is intolerable, because, the truth is, Jesus taught intolerance. In the end, it is the loving thing to do.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
