Reading: 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 4-10.
Ill:
• The greatest wall ever built by human hands;
• Stretches 1500 miles along the northern boundary of China.
• It was begun in the third century B.C. by the emperor Shih Huang Ti,
• It was built in defence against the Huns, who threatened to invade.
Ill:
• The largest wall ever built by living creatures is the Great Barrier Reef
• Off the north-eastern coast of Australia.
• Extending 1250 miles, the reef has been built up through the centuries with “bricks”
• Made from the skeletons and remains of marine animals and organisms.
Ill:
• The deepest gap ever carved out of nature is the Grand Canyon,
• Which ranges from 4 to 18 miles wide and 5300 feet deep.
• It has been gouged out over time primarily by the Colorado River,
• Which erodes more than half a million tons of sediment a day.
Walls. Barriers. Gaps. They all do the same thing—divide.
• But the most imposing divisions mankind will ever know are the invisible ones;
• And you and I are their architects.
• Brick by brick, with each sharp word or wrong attitude or action,
• We erect a barrier, we build a wall.
• And left un-dealt with,
• Our relationships erode and a gap is formed, separating us from each other.
Relational barriers exist not only between individuals, but also between groups of people:
• For many centuries in this country;
• An ecclesiastical wall separated the clergy from the laity.
One example:
• In the 15,00’s Only the priests were allowed to have a Bible;
• And then only in Latin.
The religious institution called the ‘Church’ had become corrupt;
• Ill: Tyndale: “I will build my Church”.
• This corrupt system held the power over the very people they were supposed to help.
• It is thanks to men like John Wycliffe, William Tyndale And the many men & women;
• That we will never know about but who gave their lives spreading this book.
• That this particular barrier was eventually broken down,
• Most of us don’t think twice about having a Bible in English that we can read.
In the 1800s there was another major barrier:
• A barrier between the Clergy-Laity.
• Between the two there was a dividing wall.
• This gap led to people leaving the established Church,
• And forming independent Churches.
Once again we take Churches like this one for granted:
• We fail to appreciate the persecution and stigma and the criticism,
• That our founding-fathers experienced!
In the 1800’s (and it is still true today):
• The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church were and are made up of;
• Bishops, priests, deacons and lay people,
• But only the clergy i.e. bishops, priests and deacons are ordained,
• That means ONLY they are;
• Recognised and given authority to do certain tasks,
• e.g. baptise or give communion etc.
• Christian’s who were not ordained as ministers (‘the laity’ i.e. the average person),
• Have always been restricted, limited in their Church activities.
Ill:
• No matter how well a person might know their Bible,
• No matter how godly their life may be,
• No matter how gifted that individual was,
• It all countered for little unless they had been ordained.
Question: What is ordination?
Answer:
• Ordination involves a period of training and exams,
• You need to gain certain qualifications and pass certain tests and interviews.
• If you achieve that,
• Then you may be recognised or ordained as a minister, or a priest or a vicar etc.
• And then and only then you are allowed to practices certain tasks;
• E.g. baptism, communion etc.
Now I am not on a knock others platform tonight:
Ill:
• I regularly work with other denominations:
• Perhaps more so than anyone else here.
• SO I am not out to knock them,
• Just to remind you of why we do what we do.
NOW I BELIEVE:
• That there is no Biblical basis for ordination,
• It is not taught in the Bible, it is an artificial distinction:
• I agree that we all benefit from training and studying & gaining insights from others,
• I spent several years of my life, training for Christian ministry myself.
• But I cannot find any teaching about clerical ‘ordination’ in my New Testament!
• It is built entirely on church tradition and ecclesiastical customs.
Churches like this one:
• Especially my background i.e. Christian Brethren Church,
• We very much owe our origin to the years of 1825 to 1830.
• Although any good book on Church history will inform you,
• That groups of Christians had met this way long, long before that (always!)
• But it was during the years 1825 to 1830;
• That independent Churches in our country came into their own.
Godly men and women:
• Had a burden that Churches would return back to the Bible and be primarily concerned;
• With the teachings of the Bible above the teachings of tradition.
Quote The author Peter Cousins writes:
“As you study and read the New Testament, you will note that the first followers of Jesus were organised into independent local Churches,
They were united simply by faith in Jesus Christ.
Each Church had several Elders (leaders), and worshipped simply; without prayer books or elaborate ceremonies, always ready to be guided by the Bible and the Holy Spirit.”
Quote: It has been well pointed out that in the early days of Christianity there were:
• Congregations of believers, but no "Congregationalists!"
• There were baptized believers, but no "Baptists!"
• There were presbyters in the assembly, but no "Presbyterians!"
• They had method in their meeting, but there were no "Methodists!"
• They had bishops in the church, but there were no "Episcopalians!"
• They trembled at the word, but there were no "Quakers!"
• They all shared in the blessings of Pentecost, but there were no "Pentecostals!"
• The brethren had all been united to Christ, but there were no "United Brethren!"
• They met simply as Christians, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
• And were obedient to His revealed word, the Bible!
Churches like this one started:
• When Christians started leaving the state Church,
• And linked themselves to independent groups of Christians:
• Using the Bible alone as their guidebook;
• They followed the leadership pattern (& meeting pattern) as taught in the New Testament.
• They believed that the Holy Spirit himself, the author of the book;
• Would give the understanding needed as men & women studied the scriptures.
These new churches emphasised certain key NT truths.
(a). Personal Salvation.
• An very strong emphasis was placed on personal salvation, i.e. Conversion.
• They believed being baptised as a child, or attending Church & taking communion,
• Did not make you a Christian,
• Conversion was a personal and individual response to the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Ill:
George Whitfield: “You must be born again”.
(b). Christian Conduct:
• They also emphasised Christian conduct,
• That is, we live daily for Jesus Christ a life that is pleasing to him.
• Christianity is more than something you did on a Sunday or when it pleased you,
• The Christian life was a daily walk with Jesus.
Quote: John Wesley's Rule for Christian Living:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can!”
(C). They also emphasised simplicity of worship.
• Perhaps this is the most radical change of all;
• The one that most sets us apart from the traditional clerical understanding.
Quote Anthony Norris Groves:
“Our aim is that men should come together in all simplicity as disciples, not waiting on any pulpit or ministry (that did not mean teaching, but one person doing everything) but trusting that the Lord will edify us together by ministering to us, as he sees good from ourselves”.
• From the very outset the emphasis of independent churches;
• Has been placed emphatically upon the ‘priesthood of all believers’.
• A modern way of phrasing that might be;
• ‘An every member ministry’ (i.e. each of us has a part to play in the local Church).
Question: Where do we get these ideas from?
Answer: The New Testament!
Ill:
• Just as the New Testament calls EVERY Christian a ‘saint’.
• Not a special group of people.
• If you are a Christian then you are a ‘saint’, according to the New Testament
• In the same way every Christian is also called a ‘priest’.
LET ME GIVE YOU A FEW REFERENCES:
(1). 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 5:
“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.
• The Apostle Peter encourages ALL Christians,
• "To offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God
• Old Testament sacrifices are no more, they were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ,
• In the New Testament the sacrifices are spiritual or acts of devotion done by ALL xians!
(2). 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9:
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
• Peter again emphasis the only qualification necessary for priesthood,
• Conversion: “out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
• Everybody who is converted,
• At that same moment became a priest, someone set apart for God’s service.
(3). Revelation chapter 1 verses 5-6:
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
• Once again all God's people are described in this verse,
• As making up a kingdom of priests unto God.
Note:
• (As we noted this morning) The elaborate ritual of Judaism:
• With its special priesthood, was done away with in Christ!
• The old order of priests and sacrifices has been perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ,
• To go back to special people with a special dress, type of clothing,
• Is not only old fashioned but un-biblical,
• Because the New Testament does not teach those things for Christians.
• I stress the point again;
• That every regenerated person has been constituted a priest unto God.
Question: If I am a priest, what should I be doing?
• Pause to say;
• That Many other Christian denominations:
• Have also rediscovered the simple truths of the New Testament,
• E.g. Open times of worship can be found today in many ‘Churches’ today (including C.O.E),
• Many other denominations today stress many of the other truths;
• That at one time seemed to be limited to our type of Churches.
Now as a Christian:
• You are a priest, not a passenger,
• You are expected to serve, as well as be served!
Question: If I am a priest, what should I be doing?
Answer: Is found in the New Testament
Ill:
• Romans chapter 12 is a good example:
• In this chapter the Apostle Paul is talking about service in the local Church:
Note: when Paul talks about the Church:
• "The body" - "The church".
• He does not mean what happens within a building.
• The Church is more bricks & mortar, more than activities and meetings,
• It is people, a family, a community.
Ill:
• I may exercise my gifts publicly from a platform,
• Another person may visit someone in their home and exercise their gift.
• In one sense neither gift is more important than the other,
• They should be complimenting each other not competing!
Paul explains how the Church works:
• Verses 4-5: Give us the theory.
• Verses 6-8: Give us the practice.
The Theory (verses 4-5):
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
In theory two things are true.
(1). There are many members.
• The emphasis here is variety.
• Our on bodies are a great illustration of that.
• Our bodies are full of variety i.e. eyes, hands, ears, toes, legs, fingers etc
• Many parts, performing many functions.
(2). All the members are interrelated.
ill:
But the parts of the body must work together.
ill:
Hands decided to go on strike.
• I could still function, but it would take much more effort,
• Much harder and the end result would not be as good.
• We need each part! We need each other!
• No one is to be a lone ranger but to work with others:
ill:
Moses had Aaron.
ill:
Davis had Jonathan.
ill:
Paul had Timothy.
ill:
Barnabus had John Mark.
ill:
Even Jesus, himself chose 12 men to
work with!
Verse 4-5 is the theory,
Verses 6-8 is the start of the practice.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us”.
God has given to his church different gifts,
• Many gifts,
• There might have been given, hundreds of gifts,
• Some have their definition revealed to us in the Bible,
• But I believe there are many more not mentioned.
Note:
• A spiritual gift is different;
• To a natural talent.
Some people are born with natural talents:
• Ill: Beethoven when it comes to music.
• (told he could play the piano by ear, why he couldn’t use his fingers like the rest of us!)
• Ill: David Beckham when it comes to football.
• Ill: Pavarotti when it comes to singing.
• Ill: Van Gogh when it comes to painting.
There folks in this room who were born with natural talents:
• Artistic, musical,
• Athletic, some have mental abilities.
• These talents were given us at birth,
• Genetically inherited from our parents etc
Now spiritual gifts are different to natural talents:
• They are given at our conversion by God,
• Given us independent of our parents, (you do not inherit spiritual gifts)
• Ill: I may be a preacher, but that does not mean my son will be!
• He may have a totally different spiritual gifting to me.
Quote:
“Spiritual gifts are a skill or ability that enables each Christian to perform a function in the body of Christ with ease and effectiveness”.
You have at least one:
• May be two, who knows, may be 7 or 8.
• But every Christian has at least one.
• Listen! Nobody got missed out!
• They are given by God and he does not make mistakes!
Now when you discover that gift:
• That is your contribution to the body of Christ, the local Church.
• Verse 6: "Let him use it"
• Notice: It is your responsibility to exercise your gift.
• Not to exercise gifts you have not got.
ill:
• Organist was moaning at another Christian
• "That he's been their 20 years and he's never been asked to preach".
• The man said in reply to him,
• "I know how you feel, I've been here 5 years and I've never been asked to play the organ",
• The organist replied, "But you can't play the organ".
• "Exactly" came the reply.
Not every one has one of the seven mentioned here in verses 6-8.
• Gift of Prophecy.
• Gift of Serving.
• Gift of Teaching.
• Gift of Encouraging.
• Gift of Giving.
• Gift of Leadership.
• Gift of Showing mercy.
Note: There are actually six passages in the Bible that discuss spiritual gifts:
• This is not an exhaustive list but a representative list.
• Other gifts mentioned in those six main passages and also else where in the N.T.
Quote Clive Calver in his book ‘The Holy Spirit’ lists 28 gifts:
Discerning of spirits,
Word of knowledge,
Word of wisdom,
Tongues,
Prophecy,
Interpretation of tongues,
Healing,
Faith,
Miracles,
Service,
Teaching,
Motivation,
Encouragement,
Giving,
Leadership,
Mercy,
Apostle,
Hospitality,
Celibacy,
Administration,
Exorcisms,
Evangelism,
Pastoral guidance,
Missionary service,
Gift of martyrdom,
Helping,
Intercession.
The gifts mentioned actually divide up into 3 groups:
• Support gifts (e.g. Evangelist, pastor, teacher)
• Service gifts (e.g. Administration, giving, helping).
• Sign gifts (e.g. Healings, tongues, miracles).
• These are the one’s that Christians have different opinions about!
Note:
• Spiritual gifts are not limiting,
• They are not exclusive to a particular ministry:
• Ill: You may not be an evangelist, but you can still do evangelism.
• Ill: I am not a pastor, but I can still do pastoral work,
• Point: We can all do various tasks,
• But I will do those jobs better if I am gifted!!!
Now when you discover that gift, it is your contribution to the body of Christ:
• Verse 6: "Let him use it"
• It is your responsibility to exercise your gift,
• But remember that spiritual gifts, like natural talents often need working at:
• They need to develop, to expand.
• Ill: Preaching (learn, experience, hard work, develops that gift).
• Ill: Visit the sick (mistakes & experience will again teach you in that situation).
Question: How do I discover my gift(s)?
Answer: That is a sermon all of its own! But I will say 4 things:
(1). Be informed.
• Make sure you know what the Bible calls gifts from God.
• Danger of a Supermarket mentality “I’ll have that one & that one)
• Information helps you to look at the list and your life and ministry and tie them up.
(2). Be open.
• Your gift may be different from what you think or prefer.
• Ill: Les Hardwick (fainted when he preached his first sermon).
• Ill: I have the gift of???? Obvious that they do not!
(3). Be available.
• Get on and serve in many different ways, see what you like and enjoy.
• This is the best way to discover your gift.
• Be involved in the local Church,
• If you do not notice other people will see in you the gifts that God has given you.
(4). Be sensitive.
• To the feedback you receive from others,
• Pay attention to their responses, talk it through with one or two trusted friends.
Now Every Church:
• Needs its members to discover, develop and use their spiritual gifts,
• If it is going to function properly.
• We need those people God has gifted as evangelist, pastor, and teachers,
• To exercise their gifts.
• We need people with the gifts of administration, giving, helping,
• To contribute to the ongoing work of this fellowship.
• We need those with the gifts of helping, encouraging, serving,
• Perhaps most of all!
BUT AS CHURCH LEADERS AND AS MEMBERS THIS OR ANY OTHER CHURCH:
• We can only really help you in your ministry,
• If three things happen.
(1). Conversation.
• The spiritual gifts of God are only for believers.
• At conversion you receive the Holy Spirit and you also receive a gift or gifts.
• If you are not a Christian, you may have natural talents,
• But you do not have a spiritual gift from God.
• Your biggest need is not Church involvement, but conversion!
• You need to get right with God.
(2). Baptism.
2 reasons why baptism is important:
(1).
• It shows to the world that you are committed to Jesus Christ.
• You are not ashamed to confess him publicly.
(2).
• It shows to the Church that you are submitted to his authority,
• And that you recognise his family.
• The New Testament teaches that we live and serve Christ best,
• In a local Church situation.
(3). Church membership (or Fellowship).
Coming into fellowship:
• Shows the other members of the Church that you want to be part of the team,
• That your desire is not just to take but also to give!
• Only in a local Church context will you effectively discover your spiritual gift,
• Because you need other Christians and they need you.
Quote:
“Spiritual gifts are not toys to play with, they are not weapons to fight with,
but they are tools to build with”.
The teaching of the New Testament is that spiritual gifts are for the good of the local Church:
• That is where you discover them,
• That is where you develop them,
• That is where you should practice them!
Summary:
• The New Testament does not teach a ‘clergy – laity’ mentality,
• That is based entirely on church tradition and ecclesiastical customs.
• As Christians we meet on New Testament principles,
• Under the leadership of the Elders, again as taught in the New Testament.
• We do not have vicars, Reverends or Pastors in an official sense,
• Because we do not believe clerical ordination is a New Testament teaching.
We believe in the ‘priesthood of all believers’:
• That is an every member ministry,
• Where each born-again Christian has something ‘a ministry’ to offer the Church.
• The local Church is made up of participants not passengers,
• I believe it is wrong to let one person or a couple of people do all the work.
• God has gifted his people;
• And it is a sign of maturity that we get on and use those gifts!
