Dan Chambers is a Christian whose parents attend Mountain Creek Church of Christ. Dan has written a book entitled Churches in the shape of Scripture. In it, he explains several of the distinctive practices of the churches of Christ and why these practices matter. He has made it easy to read with a conversational style that is enjoyably interesting. He is convincing and clever but always biblical.
The title alone captures something that I think is vital to our faith. Imagine it, a church that looks and acts like God’s ideal as we read it in the scriptures. Is that not the heart of seeking first the kingdom of heaven? Is not the purpose of God’s people to know and faithfully, obediently follow God’s Son and ultimately spend eternity together in His presence?
This is a high, holy and demanding call. It is not for the cowardly or dishonest. It is not for the rebellious or proud. God’s calling will not welcome self-centeredness and love of sin. To answer God’s call is to be stripped of all things that stand in the way of His holiness and to be born again into a living hope that leaves behind that which is temporary for that which is eternal. It is tempting to take a broader path and follow what we would consider an easier way of life, is it not? There will always be false teachers who will water down the milk of the word and tickle our ears with words that lead us in paths of less than righteousness, paths that fall short of God’s call. Let’s ask the question: Can we be a church in the shape of Scripture? Is it possible? Where do we start?
There are so many shaping influences all around us and even inside us. Think of it: What has shaped your life, your character, your way of thinking most? What is shaping you now? What do you allow to have influence and shaping control of your life? Can you say that God and His word have shaped your life more than any other influence? Can you honestly say that? If not, you need to repent! God’s call on your life is serious business. A church that is not allowing God’s word to be THE shaping influence is a church that needs to repent. And it is so tempting to fall short. It is so tempting to become worldly and cool. The world calls us too! In the book of Proverbs both Wisdom and Folly call out to those who will hear them. We must choose who we will follow, who will we allow to shape us.
We’ve just completed our first group ministry campaign. Eleven weeks of meetings together with the purpose of drawing closer to God and closer to one another. I know that some of you would say that this was a smashing success! You not only enjoyed the fellowship, you put forth effort to grow. Others of you might not think it was so successful. I would guess that those of you who grew closer to God and one another put a good deal of time, prayer, study and energy into growing in those ways. Did you put forth a lot of effort to grow closer to those in your group? It takes work, you know. Not everyone is willing to give it the effort, but those that do are those that reap the reward.
God’s call is like that. Some reject it outright as if it did not matter. Their hearts are too hard to hear the word, much less enjoy its benefits. Some answer God’s call rather casually adding it to the list of things on the agenda of life. They give God time when it is convenient for them and when it fits their tastes. Those who do not love God above all else lose life’s greatest reward. Finally, some hear the call of God and answer in obedient faith. They are the children of Abraham who find friendship with God and after they have endured the struggle to follow Him receive a rich welcome into eternal glory with Him. To enjoy God’s blessings we must humbly, faithfully, obediently, and persistently look to, listen to, learn from, and live by God’s will and God’s words. When we draw near to God, He draws near to us. When we draw near to God we also discover that we draw near to one another in godly, spiritually loving ways.
Growing closer to God and closer to one another are the greatest of all human quests. These two, Jesus said, are the greatest commandments. They are the lenses through which we see and understand God’s word and will for us. Imagine a church shaped by these! Are they not the very shape of scripture!
Let’s reflect on the journey in Genesis that we have covered thus far.
We began in Genesis 1 looking at how our relationship with God began. God created all things and then made man and woman in His own image and likeness. God created us for His pleasure. He designed us for His divine purposes. We are spiritual creatures, put here on this planet by God and for God. It’s not about you. It’s about Him. We begin our relationship with God by divine design to fill the earth with God’s image and care for it as He would. Our first love, our very source of life, is not another human being, but God Himself. If we lived life fully as it was intended, we would walk with God as beloved children and enjoy His presence and do His will and share this with every other human being.
In Genesis 2 we discussed the beginning of our relationship with one another. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Then God caused Adam to sleep and took a piece of his side and fashioned a woman and brought her to Adam. When he saw her he said, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman for she was taken from man.” God designed us to enjoy relationships with one another, and he blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. This is the original marriage and family. We are all children of Adam and Eve. Eve is the mother of all the living. Adam is the fountain head of the human race. No, we are not from monkeys. We did not come from an ameba. Our ancestry has an original pair. When we are led by God our relationships are constructive and bring God glory. When our relationships are NOT led by God, they quickly become corrupted and destructive.
This is what we saw with the origin of sin in our relationships and how it spread as we read in Genesis 3-6. Right at the beginning of the Bible, we fall. The tempter comes and man listens to the voice of the snake over the commands of God. We trusted words of the tempter more than the words of the Maker. That’s still happening, isn’t it? God’s response to sin and the spread of evil is first patience but finally wrath.
God saw that evil had filled our hearts continually and the Bible tells us God was sorry that He had made man on the earth and decided to wipe us from the face of the earth in a flood that would destroy everything that breathes. Sin brings devastating consequences. It destroys our relationship with God and our relationships with one another. Sin is the ultimate destroyer. Its power to kill and ruin are seen all around us. And yet, God is not dead, nor is He sleeping. God is not weaker than sin. God is able to destroy sin and death and set to right all that is wrong. God is able to deal out justice and judgment in perfect measure. God ordained that sin could exist and God will finally bring an end to sin and its curse. Where O death is thy sting? Where O grave is thy victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ!
Genesis 6:8 God started all over with Noah. God did not put an end to the human race. His plan of redemption is sure. His purposes can NOT fail. His promises ARE sure. God will bring a deliverer, a Savior, a redeemer. The seed of woman will crush the head of Satan. He will come, in quietness and meekness, unexpected and without great fanfare. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world will be born. He will walk in righteousness and do justice. He will come.
After Noah his descendants remained gathered and decided to build a tower to make a name for themselves. God scattered them and later called a man out of the city into a life of wandering and pilgrimage. There God shaped Abram with difficult to believe promises and difficult to perform testings. Abram heard and answered God’s call. Through the years he sought God’s presence, obeyed God’s instructions, followed God’s lead. He saw God, ate with Him, plead with Him for Sodom… Abraham became so close to God that God remembered Him and saved Lot. Abraham grew so close to God that when God tested him and told him to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son, his only heir as a burnt offering, Abraham obeyed.
Closer to God, closer to one another! We need to strive ever more to this end. May this church be shaped by God into a scripture shaped church that draws nearer to God, nearer to one another.
