Deeper Dive with Ian Forest-Jones: Recent Episodes

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With this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, continues the sermon series on The First Letter of John. This series reminds us God is light, life and love. Fellowship with God is not a vague, nebulous experience. It can be an objective daily reality. In this sermon is described the final two of five characteristics of fellowship with God: testing the spirits and to love as Christ loved.

This sermon is based on 1 John 4:1-21 and was delivered on Sunday, 28 April 2024.

Jean VanierJean Vanier was a Canadian Catholic philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian, best known for founding L’Arche in 1964, an international federation of communities spread over 37 countries for people with developmental disabilities and those who assist them. Vanier launched this initiative after becoming aware of the plight of thousands of people with developmental disabilities who were institutionalized. He sought to create a community where people with disabilities and those assisting them could live together in dignity and mutual respect.

Vanier’s philosophy emphasized the importance of being with the marginalised rather than doing for them, promoting an ethos of companionship and inclusivity. His work earned him numerous honours, including the Companion of the Order of Canada.

Vanier was a prolific writer. Over the years he wrote 30 books on religion, disability, normality, success, and tolerance. Through his writings, Vanier encouraged a deeper understanding of personhood and spirituality, exploring how communities can be formed and sustained by embracing inclusivity and caring for the most vulnerable members of society. His books continue to be influential in fields related to theology, philosophy, social work, and community building.

Becoming Human book coverI wholeheartedly agree with everything he did and stood for. The problem is, I can’t stand Vanier’s writing style. I’m pretty certain I couldn’t even finish the one book of his I own.

Not everyone will appreciate a writer’s style or a speaker’s delivery. I came to appreciate this fact personally when a young adult once complained that I do not speak with clear interpretations and direct instructions. “Just tell me what to believe and what to do about it!”

I cannot, in all good conscience, do that. It is not my style. It is not an approach to faith and lifestyle that I value. Because of that, my preaching did not connect with her.

With this sermon series exploring The First Letter of John, we are learning the theme of this ‘letter’ is fellowship with our Creator and with one another within one’s community of faith, a fellowship which protects against the struggles and opposition friends of Jesus face both from outside one’s community and even within one’s community.

John wrote about the conditions for fellowship, the cautions to fellowship, the characteristics and consequences of fellowship.

The conditions for fellowship include walking in the Light, the confession of sin, obedience to our Creator’s commandments, and love for one another. The cautions to fellowship include love of the world and avoiding the Spirit of the Antichrist.

The characteristics of fellowship include purity of life, the practice of righteousness, loving in action and truth, testing the spirits and loving as Christ loved. The consequences of fellowship include victory over the world, the assurance of salvation, guidance in prayer and freedom from habitual sin.

I am going to finish my part of this sermon series by expanding on the final two characteristics of fellowship and then Kym will ‘bring it home’ next week by expanding on the positive consequences of fellowship.

Evil SpiritsJohn’s preaching and writing did not connect with all of his audience in the way he hoped and intended. Verses 1-6 are a perfect example of where, quite possibly, he went wrong. We read,

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 4:1[1]

John’s succinct, yet unintentionally esoteric language is challenging even as it is compelling. We can easily get charged up by, “test the spirits”, even as it is hard to make sense of the criteria he provided for such testing. We need to look closely at what John has written.

Remember that John the apostle wrote to a specific church with a specific challenge they faced. We absolutely need to keep that context in mind when we interpret his instructions for our time and place.

As Kym and I have described, this church faced a group of Christians within its membership who claimed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and yet challenged John’s understanding of who Christ was and what he did, his personhood and work. John wrote of them, “what they say is from the world” and “anyone who is not from God does not listen to us” (1Jn 4:5-6); therefore, they are “false prophets”, who “have gone out into the world” (1Jn 4:1), and “[antichrists] who went out from us” (1Jn 2:19). They were unwilling to be accountable to the apostolic leadership of John and so left the church to become opponents of it.

Those who split from John’s church followed the heresies of Gnosticism and Docetism. Gnosticism is a category of beliefs that includes the notion people could only be saved through revealed or ‘secret’ knowledge. Docetism was an early doctrinal position that held that Jesus Christ’s physical body was an illusion and that he only appeared to be physical. John’s “test” for identifying these heresies was,

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

1 John 4:2b–3

While a perfectly good and reasonable test, here is where John’s language is, perhaps, not the most helpful.

A core teaching of the Church is that Christ is fully divine and fully human. Any belief contrary to this is not orthodox, it is not true. Such beliefs about Christ are false at best or deceptive at worse. However, holding such a false belief does not indicate a person is themselves THE Antichrist or possessed by an evil spirit. Holding such a belief DOES mean such a person is under the influence of the world’s fallenness and thus remains captive to their sin. There is a difference.

If you encounter a person who believes Jesus was not God-in-the-flesh, or something like this belief, they are wrong about Jesus, but please do not commit violence against them or have them arrested by the police. Sadly, the history of the Church is rife with such intolerance, which itself goes against the spirit of Christ.

Holding a false belief, and teaching that belief to others, is “the spirit of antichrist” (cf. Rom 1:28-32); it goes against the truth about God because it listens instead to the deception of the world.

Besides false beliefs, there are other ‘spirits’ we need to test for:[2]

An Indifferent Spirit is the state of being uninterested or unconcerned with the emotional or ethical implications of one’s actions or with the events in one’s environment. We find this ‘spirit’ described in the Bible,

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria

Amos 6:1a

Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.

Matthew 24:12

The friends of Jesus are to “have the mind of Christ”,[3] so yes, we must test ourselves and others for indifference and eradicate it as best we can!

An Unforgiving Spirit is likewise strongly advised against, for it is unacceptable to and in the friends of Jesus. As Jesus stated,

And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Luke 17:4

Then Paul wrote,

And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Ephesians 4:32

Since the friends of Jesus have been forgiven much, we are expected to show our gratitude by being forgiving ourselves. Unforgiveness too is a spirit of antichrist.

A Lying Spirit breaks one of the Ten Commandments. It goes without saying, therefore, the friends of Jesus are expected to be honest and truthful in all our words and conduct. As it is written,

Lying lips are detestable to the Lord, but faithful people are his delight.

Proverbs 12:22

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices

Colossians 3:9

The friends of Jesus allow the Holy Spirit to transform our inner being. There is no place for such unrighteousness as lying and deceipt.

A Gossiping Spirit is found in one who talks about the private affairs of someone to a third person, often with malicious intent —‘meddling in other people’s business’, to put it more coloquially. As it is written,

Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.

1 Peter 4:15

Gossiping is a ‘spirit’ that is anti-Christ. The friends of Jesus are to avoid such people and to avoid being such people.

A Selfish Spirit leads to a self-centred concern for oneself, without due regard for the needs of others. Scripture treats selfishness as sin and urges believers to care for others as well as themselves. As it is written,

He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15

It is very easy to develop an excessive desire for more of something, especially wealth or possessions. It is a value of our fallen world to find one’s identity and worth in what one possesses, what brands one promotes, to be more concerned with one’s wealth over one’s character.

Even the friends of Jesus can fall prey to the “spirit of the antichrist” when we do not take the time to recognise these beliefs, attitudes and actions for what they are. They are “from the world”; they are “anti-Christ”.

To protect ourselves, the friends of Jesus “test the spirits” in themselves and in others, so as to avoid false beliefs, indifference, unforgiveness, lying, gossiping and selfishness. We seek to be “transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom 12:2).

It is not hard to see why “testing the spirits” is a characteristic of fellowship with God and with one another, for fellowship easily breaks down when we have false beliefs, are indifferent, are unforgiving; when we lie, gossip and are selfish. Let us commit to avoiding such unrighteousness and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us identify these in ourselves and in each other.

Love As Christ LovedThe final characteristic of fellowship John identifies is to love as Christ loved,

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:7–8

These verses are the most profound analysis of Christian love, alongside 1 Corinthians 13.

Yet, as a characteristic of fellowship with God and with one another, this sounds very much like the third characteristic to love in action and truth. With both characteristics, John asserted the priority of God’s love for us, which makes possible our love for one another. That John repeats himself seems to me to be evidence this biblical book is more like a sermon than a letter.

A letter flows from idea to idea, news to views, generally one after the other in a loose, hopefully logical sequence. With a sermon, the ideas build upon each other, and a preacher may cycle back to repeat or reassert a point, each illustration providing new insight.

Whatever genre 1 John is, verses 7-21 tell us God is love; He is the very embodiment of pure love. Our Creator loves us with a universal, sacrificial, redeeming love. He loves the good and the bad, the rich and the poor, the educated and the ignorant. He loves not just in word but in action. Our Creator’s love is fully revealed in Christ Jesus and is made complete as the Holy Spirit resides with us.

Besides its description in 1 John, the Bible is full of God’s love.[4]

God’s Love Is a Saving LoveIn his gospel, John wrote,

But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name

John 1:12

When Jesus shed His blood at Calvary and walked out of the empty tomb, He paid for and conquered the sins of all the world. And when we accept Christ as our Saviour, God accepts that payment, washes our sin away, saves us, transforms us, and takes us into His family.

God’s love is a saving love.

God’s Love Is a Keeping LoveGod’s love is also a keeping love. As it is written,

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38–39

Paul the apostle wanted us to understand how God’s love rescues us from sin and the curse of death. His love will hold fast to us and keep us close. Let us hold fast to him!

God’s Love Is a Providing LoveIn Matthew 6, Jesus had been talking about material needs, about food and clothing. Then He told the disciples and the crowds how we can feel confident we have what we need:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Matthew 6:33

From this we discover God’s love is a providing love. We may not always get what we want, but we will always have what we need. Can you trust His love?

God’s Love Is a Demanding LoveYet, make no mistake, God’s love is a demanding love.

After his resurrection, appearing on the seashore, Jesus said to Peter the apostle three times: “Peter, do you love me?” Peter vowed that he did love Him. Then Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” (Jn 21:15–19). He was simply saying to Peter what He says to us today, “If you love me, do something about it”. Freely you have received; freely give (Mt 10:8).

God’s Love Is an Eternal LoveBesides being a saving, keeping, providing and demanding love, God’s love is an eternal love. It will last forever! It is written,

Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love —but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

All the popular songs, and even the unpopular ones, tell us how important is love. But what do they know?

Unless we know God we do not know love truly nor how to love purely; we do not give love unconditionally nor do we receive love gratefully.

In contrast to our own selfishness, John the apostle wrote,

Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.

1 John 4:10–11

Jesus’ life and death and life is the quintessential expression of love. Consider all he did, that all he did was done before we were aware he did it or that it needed doing.

Do we ever love like that? Can we love like that when our world is terribly confused about love. Someone observed this graffiti on a restroom wall: “Love is all I want.” Underneath someone else had scribbled, “Sex is all you get.”[5]

All of our attempts at pale in comparison to the perfect example of Christ’s love. Go and do likewise!

No one can fully describe the love of God, no one can fathom its depths. But when you open your heart to Christ, through the Holy Spirit, He will fill your heart with the love of God; you will spend your days overflowing with it into the lives of one another and you will spend eternity rejoicing in it. As it is written,

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

No Fear in LoveIf God’s love is a saving, keeping, providing demanding and an eternal love, how are we to love as Christ loved?

I covered last week how we can love as Christ loved in action and truth by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, serving others through our products and labours, helping fishermen, raising the dead and calming storms. In chapter 4, John expands on the characteristics of our fellowship by noting,

There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear … the one who fears is not complete in love. We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:18–19

Our Creator loved us even though we became wicked sinners. He demonstrated His love for humankind by sending us His most precious gift, Christ Jesus, to live, die and to live so that we might. The apostle’s point here is there is no need to fear God, or to live in fear, if one is loving God and living in love.

Love is an act of courage. We love others in action and truth by looking beyond the differences between us. The friends of Jesus know love because we have been loved by God and so
we express outwardly, in our words and speech and actions and in truth, what we have received personally from God. We therefore see others as God sees them, with the heart and hands of love.

Fear cannot generate love, sympathy, tenderness, or compassion. We cannot scare people into tolerance, or terrify them into kindliness. The fruit of fear ends up being distrust, suspicion, and resentment. A joyless religion is fruitless and loveless, and at best is beneath the Christian ideal.

Against the lovelessness of fear, John sets the fearlessness of love.[6]

ConclusionThe friends of Jesus enjoy fellowship with our Creator and with one another when we are fearless, fearless in ‘testing the spirits’ in ourselves and in others, so as to avoid false beliefs, indifference, unforgiveness, lying, gossiping and selfishness that diminishes our capacity to love. We are fearless to love as Christ loved in our words and our speaking, our actions and in truth.

Along with purity of life and the practice of righteousness, these are the characteristics of fellowship John the apostle wrote about. Let us be encouraged and equipped to follow John’s advice, as did the faithful of the Ephesian churches, avoiding the heresy and wickedness of those who became apostate.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]Maze Jackson, “Evil Spirits”, Golden Nuggets 5, Maze Jackson ed. (1969).

[3]See Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5.

[4]H. W. Ford, “No Greater Love”, Golden Nuggets 16, Maze Jackson ed. (1980).

[5]William L. Self, “Homiletical Perspective on 1 John 4:7–21”, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, vol. 2 (Louisville, KY, USA; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), pg 467.

[6]Ibid, pg 471.

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With this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, continues the sermon series on The First Letter of John. This series reminds us God is light, life and love. Fellowship with God is not a vague, nebulous experience. It can be an objective daily reality. In this sermon is described the third of five characteristics of fellowship with God: love in action and truth.

This sermon is based on 1 John 3:11-24 and was delivered on Sunday, 21 April 2024.

Kym launched our current sermon series on The First Letter of John two weeks ago. In five sermons, we want to take you on a deep dive into this biblical book. When you look very closely at it, you will ask yourself a number of questions about this book:

• What kind of book is this?
• Who wrote it?
• When did they write it?
• To whom did they write it?

You will ask these questions because unlike the letters of Paul the apostle, this book does not answer these questions, and ‘inquiring minds want to know’!

When you look closely at The First Letter of John, you will notice it does not really look much like a letter at all. There is no greeting and there is no closing. It gets ‘straight to the point’. The second and third are most definitely letters, but this one is less clear.

In this so-called ‘letter’, the author does not even identify himself! But rest assured all the early church fathers accepted this letter as coming from John the apostle.

Besides being one of Jesus’ closest disciples (Mk 9:2),[1] John is associated with “the apostles who were at Jerusalem” (Ac 8:14) and Paul called him one of the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church (Gal 2:9). He was the last of Jesus’ first disciples to pass away. Apart from, possibly, The Book of Revelation, the New Testament is silent about John’s later years, but early Christian tradition tells us he left Jerusalem (probably not long before its destruction in 70 a.d.) and that he ministered in and around Ephesus.

First John was probably written in Ephesus after The Gospel of John, but the date cannot be fixed with certainty, although between 70-90 a.d. seems likely because there is no mention of the persecution under Emperor Domitian and the heresies addressed in the ‘letter’ needed time to develop.

Since John ministered in and around Ephesus, it is acknowledged the letter was most likely written to the churches of Ephesus, which have their own fascinating story.

map showing EphesusWe know from the historical record Paul the apostle first visited Ephesus, a major city in modern-day Turkey, during his second missionary journey around 52-53 a.d., but he stayed only a short time. He returned while on his third missionary journey and stayed for about three years.

In Ephesus, Paul focussed on spreading the good news about Jesus, teaching in the synagogue, and later in the lecture hall of Tyrannus when opposition from some Jews grew. Acts 19 describes extraordinary miracles performed by Paul; that there were many conversions; a riot was instigated by artisans whose livelihoods were threatened by the spread of Christianity; and, that Paul ‘fought wild beasts’ at Ephesus! Ephesus was a lively city and the first Christians had a lively spirituality.

Celsus Library at EphesusThe Letter to the Ephesians is thought to have been written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome around 62 a.d. That letter emphasised unity in Christ and described the Church as the body of Christ.

Paul returned to Ephesus on his way to imprisonment at Rome (Ac 20:17–38), where the Elders prayed with him and many tears were shed.

After Paul, his protégé Timothy was an overseer of the church at Ephesus. The last living of Jesus’ first disciples, John played a role in leading the Ephesian church. His gospel, letters and possibly even The Book of Revelation were written to Ephesus. Today, two tombs exist in this ancient city, both claiming to be the burial place of John.

an artist’s impression of the south-gate of the Ephesian AgoraWe understand from John’s writings the Ephesian church was suffering from opposition from without, at first. His gospel refers to “the Jews” in such a way as to identify a group opposed to the church. Also, within the city were followers of John the Baptist who did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah (Ac 19:1-7).

remains of theatre at EphesusThe Gospel of John is an empowering gospel that shaped this Christian community to expect dynamic spiritual experiences. Jesus and the Father were dwelling inside these spiritually reborn believers (John 14:23)! No other gospel described the triune God like this!

This is a gospel that describes the Holy Spirit in detail, talking about conversion in terms like “rebirth”, “drinking living water” and “eating the bread of life”. This is a gospel that encourages a profound relationship with God and can inspire the fantasies of believers prone to mystical experiences of the faith.

ancient frescoes at EphesusIt just may be the case John’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit may have caused division within the community of faith at Ephesus. Some may have taken verses of the gospel out of context and their interpretation too far. John wrote of the conflict it was “the last hour” for the community (1Jn 2:18).

According to commentators, essentially, there was a select group of Christians who knew John’s gospel well, claimed to be inspired by the Spirit, and yet challenged John’s understanding of Christ’s personhood and work. And apparently they were succeeding. The community was splitting, harsh words were being exchanged, and the words once reserved in John’s gospel for those in “the world” was now aimed at fellow Christians within the church.

Evidence for this division is found in John’s response to the crisis in The First Letter of John. In its pages we have evidence of severe social conflict. Described there is the painful departure of the group (1Jn 2:19–26) and warnings about “deceivers” and “liars” who twist the truth of Christ (1Jn 2:22; 2Jn 7). In addition, severe theological debates (1Jn 5:5–8) were being fought among teachers claiming to be filled with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (1Jn 2:20–21; 4:1–6). The letter’s repeated emphasis on love hints at the severity and desperation of the situation.[2]

remains of small theatre at EphesusThe church at Ephesus did not to survive the conflict. The church split, following the death of the apostle, with strong leaders taking one side of the fellowship down the roads of Gnosticism and Docetism —described by Elder Kym two weeks ago— while disciples faithful to John remained in communion with the other New Testament churches.

The church at Ephesus hosted the Third Ecumenical Council in 431 A.D., but the church of Paul, Timothy and John faded into obscurity afterward.[3]

The writings of John are essential to the canon of Scripture; however, they have a unique style that distinguishes them from other biblical writings. They invite us to imagine the eternal and transcendent, yet immanent and vulnerable nature of Christ Jesus. Unfortunately, John’s way of expressing such challenging ideas leaves room for the careless to be bolstered in the deception of their sin and even to lead others away from the Truth.

This need not be the case for us, which is why Kym and I are devoting five weeks to better understanding this first ‘letter’ of John.

The theme of this ‘letter’ is fellowship, with our Creator and with one another within one’s community of faith:

what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:3

John went to great lengths to assure the faithful of the churches at Ephesus that they are in fellowship with God and with each other. He described how they can know this with confidence.

The friends of Jesus can know they enjoy this fellowship when they take seriously the characteristics of and requirements for this fellowship. There are five characterics of fellowship:

• purity of life
• practising righteousness
• loving in action and truth
• testing the spirits
• loving as Christ loved

I covered the first two characteristics last week. I am going to explore “loving in action and truth” today.

Love in Action and TruthJohn began describing this characteristic by reminding his community of the new command of Jesus:

For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another

1 John 3:11

This command was a core element of Jesus’ teaching:

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.

John 13:34

How should we love one another? John explained,

Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

1 John 3:18

Notice this command starts with a negative, to not love. However, the rhetorical force of this grammatical construction does not mean to imply that we should, in fact, not love in word or speech. The Greek word translated here as “speech” is literally “tongue”, thereby distinguishing in this negative command between what we say to one another (“word”) and how we say it (“tongue”). Both do, in fact, matter.

According to Paul the apostle, speaking truth in love (Eph 4:15) is one tool we have for building each other up to maturity in our faith and lifestyle; so, John’s intention with this negative command was to encourage us to avoid loving each other in the wrong way. I do not have to describe for you the plethora of ways we do not love each other with what we say and how we say it.

John finished explaining this command with the positive encouragement that the friends of Jesus are to love in the right way, which, in this case, means “in action and in truth”.

“Action” and “truth” are complementary; they qualify each other. What we do to assist and serve others matters. It matters that we perform such actions with real and pure and godly intention, not merely for the sake of appearance.

The church John the apostle pastored at Ephesus was beset by opposition from their neighbours and from those who broke away due to heresy. In the midst of this struggle, John wanted them to be confident in their fellowship with our Creator and confident in their fellowship with each other by demonstrating love toward each other in action and truth at least as much as, if no more so, than their words and speech.

HospitalityWhat does love in action and truth look like? We find one description in The Letter to the Hebrews:

Let brotherly love continue. Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.

Hebrews 13:1–3

This writer of Hebrews taught similarly to John the apostle and provided examples for how to love in action and truth: to show hospitality, remembering those in prison and those mistreated.

Christian hospitalityHospitality is the generous and gracious treatment of guests, and was a significant feature of biblical times.[4] People travelled and did so without the infrastructure and support for travel we enjoy today. Offering hospitality to travellers became a primary ministry of the first churches.

In the Old Testament, a wide variety of stories provide a glimpse into hospitality practices, by way of both positive and negative examples.[5] The Law of Moses provided significant guidance in the treatment of neighbors and strangers living among the tribes of Israel.[6]

In the New Testament, Jesus urged hospitality to be extended beyond the confines of home and tribe, as illustrated in the parables of the Midnight Visitor (Lk 11:5–8) and the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25–37; Jn 4:9ff). Ministering to the needy is clearly expected by God, a point made evident in Jesus’ instruction regarding the judgment on the nations: feeding the hungry, quenching the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned (Mt 25:31–46). Failure to offer hospitality incurs judgment (Lk 16:19–24). Jesus scolded Simon the Pharisee for being a poor host: no water for washing his feet, no greeting of Jesus with a kiss, and no oil for anointing his head (Lk 7:44–46).

The Bible testifies to the importance of showing love in action and truth through hospitality, and I can describe in similar detail the abundant commands and examples of remembering and caring for those who are mistreated. We need only consider how, in the early Christian communities, women, orphans, widows and slaves fellowshipped alongside the rich and powerful and elite. There were ample opportunities for the one another, to love in action and in truth, yet the friends of Jesus in John’s church needed reminding of this requirement just as much as we do here today.

The Example of Jesus

This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 3:16

Of course, Jesus taught his friends how to love in action and truth, as well as what we say and how we say —most notably, in The Sermon on the Mount— but we pay far more attention to Jesus’ words than we do his actions. John challenged his readers: do you want to know what love is? Look at how Jesus laid down his life for his friends, then go and do likewise.

But Jesus did not just lay down his life at the cross. He laid down his life every day and in a multitude of ways. How did Jesus love in action and in truth?

Healing the Sick – Jesus performed numerous healings, restoring health to those suffering from various diseases and disabilities.

Feeding the Hungry – Notably, Jesus fed thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread and fish on two separate occasions (the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000).

Carpentry – Before beginning his ministry, Jesus worked as a carpenter, a trade he likely learned from his father, Joseph.

Helping Fishermen – On several occasions, Jesus assisted fishermen. He instructed them where to cast their nets, resulting in miraculous catches.

Raising the Dead – Jesus brought several individuals back to life, demonstrating his power over death.

Calming Storms – He calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee, showcasing his control over nature.

These actions reflect Jesus’ concern for both the physical and spiritual welfare of people. From him, we learn what it means and what it looks like to love people in action and truth and to do so in the right way.

How might the friends of Jesus love in action and in truth today, following his example?

Healing the Sick – If we learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic it was that we should not go out in public when we are sick! It goes without saying you will recover better and more quickly if you rest. Alongside this truth, please do not spread your germs and viruses to your workmates and schoolmates. Just stay home! Healing the sick as Jesus did starts with not making anyone else sick, if it can be avoided.

Feeding the Hungry – I am not a fan of giving out money to people on the street, but we can easily feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, etc, by giving to charitable organisations that support such people in need or, better yet, why not volunteer your time and effort to assist these organisations? My wife and I really enjoyed serving on a Salvation Army Soup Van ministry in my hometown. Many of our ‘clients’ were a blessing to us as we tried to be a blessing to them.

Carpentry – Do not downplay the importance of doing your work well! Any work or occupation can be incarnational if you do it well and serve others through your products and labours.

Helping Fishermen – Giving advice to random strangers is likely to get you injured, but adopting a posture of helpfulness toward others will always be appreciated. We are all in life and society together! How can you help others, in action and in truth, in their products and labours?

Raising the Dead – Not many of us will have the spiritual gift of raising the dead, but a modern parallel is learning first aid. Defibrillators are now available for emergency situations. This technology can prevent death by restarting the heart in certain conditions, metaphorically “bringing people back to life” from near-death states. Learn first aid because you never know when someone will need you to intervene.

Calming Storms – Learning conflict resolution principles is one way to ‘calm storms’ of interpersonal conflict. Protecting the environment by adopting recycling, purchasing an electric vehicle, or even the gardening technique of companion planting. This method involves strategically placing different plants near each other to naturally deter pests, enhance growth, and improve soil health without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. For example, planting marigolds near tomatoes can repel harmful nematodes and other pests, while growing basil next to peppers can help improve their flavour and growth. This approach promotes biodiversity and leads to a healthier garden ecosystem.

ConclusionOur Creator wants to be in fellowship with a people who pursue purity of life, who practise righteousness and who love in action and truth, and who do so with one another in a community faith, a local church.

You and I and we can have confidence in our fellowship with him and with each other if we are seeking to satisfy these requirements, these characteristics of fellowship with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Will you join with me and with each other and with the Holy Spirit in this pursuit?

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]Gary M. Burge, Letters of John, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), pg 24–25.

[3]“By modern standards, if this above historical reconstruction is accurate, John failed to build the kind of church we esteem today. His congregation did not thrive, grow, and prosper.

“The Johannine community disappears into history. No heritage. No records. No fame. Controversy swirled around his writings as they were being twisted by his opponents … John was a faithful pastor … because he knew how to stand firm in what was essential.” ~Gary M. Burge, Letters of John, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI. USA: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), pg 26–27.

[4]John D. Barry, et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA, USA: Lexham Press, 2016).

[5]See Genesis 14:18–24; 18; 19; 23:1–20; 24:10–49; 43:32; Joshua 2:1–21; 6:22–25; Judges 4:19; 1 Samuel 25:2–38; Nehemiah 5:14–17.

[6]“The Israelites were commanded to treat foreigners well because of their own background as foreigners in Egypt (Exod 22:21; Lev 19:33–34); they were to welcome their poor fellow Israelites into their homes (Lev 23:35); they were to celebrate festivals along with aliens who were living among them (Deut 16:11, 14); lack of hospitality in other nations was condemned (Num 20:14–21; Deut 23:3–4); Mosaic plans for cities of refuge (Num 35; Deut 4:41–43; 19:1–10) add to the evidence that hospitality included the provision of sanctuary throughout Old Testament history.”

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With this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, continues the sermon series on The First Letter of John. This series reminds us God is light, life and love. Fellowship with God is not a vague, nebulous experience. It can be an objective daily reality. In this sermon is described the first of five characteristics of fellowship with God: purity of life and the practice of righteousness.

This sermon is based on 1 John 2:28-3:12 and was delivered on Sunday, 14 April 2024.

Last Sunday, one of our Elders, Kym, began a sermon series on The First Letter of John. He and I are bringing this sermon series to you for two reasons: first, this biblical book has been assigned for after the first Sunday of Easter; and, second, because reading the Bible in larger chunks is much more “profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2Tim 3:16–17)[1] than is reading single verses out of context, and this book is a particularly good example.

The writings of John are essential to the canon of Scripture; however, they have a unique style that distinguishes them from other biblical writings. They invite us to imagine the eternal and transcendant, yet immanent and vulnerable nature of Christ Jesus. John’s way of expressing such challenging ideas leaves room for the careless to be bolstered in the deception of their sin and even to lead others away from the Truth.

This need not be the case for us, which is why Kym and I are devoting five weeks to better understanding this first ‘letter’ of John.

The major theme of The First Letter of John is fellowship with God. God is light, life and love, and fellowship with God is not a vague, nebulous experience. It can be an objective daily reality for you and for me. John wrote with conviction:

what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:3; 5:11–13

In this ‘letter’, John first described the basis of fellowship with God then the behaviour of fellowship. That fellowship has conditions, cautions, characteristics and consequences —while these 4 Cs provide a helpful alliteration for our series, they do carry with them slightly negative connotations —there’s another C for you; that one’s for free.

Last week, Kym described for us the conditions for fellowship with God: 1) that we walk in the light; 2) that we confess our sin; 3) we obey the commandments of God; and, 4) demonstrate love for our brothers and sisters-in-faith.

It will be my pleasure, over the next three weeks, to describe for you the characteristics of fellowship with God, which includes purity of life, the practice of righteousness, love in deed and truth, testing the spirits, and that we love as Christ loved. I will begin today to expand on the first two characteristics.

Purity of LifeWe read in John’s letter,

Everyone who has this hope in [Christ Jesus] purifies himself just as he is pure.

1 John 3:3

What is the hope of which John wrote? That “we may have confidence and not be ashamed before [Christ] at his [second] coming” (1Jn 2:28). The friends of Jesus know “what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children” (1Jn 3:1). We know “that when he appears, we will be like him” (1 Jn 3:2a), and Jesus is a far better role model than anyone else. He embodies characteristics, achievements, and behaviors worth aspiring to emulate and achieve.

So, a characteristic of fellowship with God —a requirement for, in other words— is purify of life, in preparation for when he comes because Jesus is himself pure.

Fellowship With God Demands PurityTo understand better what John means by this purity of life, let us consider other places in the Bible where we are taught that fellowship with God demands purity. A psalmist asked,

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.

Psalm 24:3–4[2]

Purity of life means having clean hands and a pure heart, avoiding falsehood and lying.

Then Paul the apostle posed this challenge,

Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5[3]

Purity of life means avoiding sexual immorality, lust, evil and disordered desires, and greed.

These two groups of characteristics confirm our walk with God is not merely a matter of believing the right things then acting in whatever way we wish. No! Our lives must reflect what our Creator requires of us and must follow Jesus’ example, so that we might be pure as he is pure.

Scottish philosopher, historian and mathematician, Thomas Carlyle, known for his influential works and thoughts on morality and society, has been quoted as saying, “The greatest security against sin is to be shocked at its presence.”

The greatest security against sin is to be shocked at its presence.

Thomas Carlyle

Sin makes us impure, and if we are not sorrowful at its presence in our life, then we are certainly not pure nor seeking to be so.

Speaking of the wisdom of the Scots, V. Raymond Edman, an influential American author and educator, told the anecdote of a Scotchman who had a dress shirt which he wore on special occasions. After he had used it several times, he would question its cleanness and take it to the window for better light. His wife’s words were very wise: “If it’s doubtful, it’s dirty!”[4]

If it’s doubtful, it’s dirty!

V. Raymond Edman

If you are not certain whether you are pure, then you are not, plain and simple. What is hard to understand about that?

Purity Is Unobtainable by Human EffortFellowship with God requires purity of life; yet, a painful dilemma arises for the friends of Jesus when we realise this purity is unobtainable by human effort because of the sinfulness of human nature. Job answered correctly his own question,

Who can produce something pure from what is impure? No one!

Job 14:4[5]

That sinfulness, which makes purity unobtainable, is evident in our tendency toward idolatry and self-deception. There is a proverb that notes,

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth.

Proverbs 30:12; 20:9

And that generation is ours!

Making matters worse, we have an unwillingness to be cleansed. Through the prophet Ezekiel, our Creator declared,

Because of the depravity of your uncleanness— since I tried to purify you, but you would not be purified from your uncleanness— you will not be pure again until I have satisfied my wrath on you.

Ezekiel 24:13

Purity is unobtainable by human effort, but can we pretend we have really been trying at all?

God Promises to Purify His PeopleWhile the friends of Jesus might not be able to obtain purity of life through our own effort, we are encouraged when God promised to purify his people:

I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

Ezekiel 36:25[6]

Purification Through Jesus ChristHow will our Creator purify his people, according to his promise? Our purification comes through Christ Jesus, through pardon offered in his death. The writer of The Letter to the Hebrews asked,

how much more will the blood of Christ … cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?

Hebrews 9:14[7]

The death of Christ purifies us according to God’s promise. We also obtain purification through Jesus’ word —that is, his teaching:

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

John 15:3; 13:10

The friends of Jesus also obtain purification through God’s presence in resisting temptation. The brother of Jesus encouraged us to

submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:7–8; 1 Peter 5:9

Our Creator promises to draw near to Jesus’ friends, so that his presence, in the person of the Holy Spirit, will purify us and assist us in resisting temptation.

Finally, the friends of Jesus know we are becoming pure through hope built on his promises. Paul wrote the grace of God has appeared,

instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:12–13

John similarly wrote,

everyone who has this hope in [Christ] purifies himself just as he is pure.

1 John 3:3

The statue of Christ by Johann Heinrich von DanneckerAn example of this hope can be seen in Johann Heinrich von Dannecker, the German sculptor, who, in his earlier life, gained a wonderful reputation for himself for his statues of Ariadne and the Greek goddesses. Approaching the prime of his life, Dannecker felt he ought to devote all his strength and time to the creation of a masterpiece, so he set about to carve a figure of the Christ.

Twice he failed in his purpose, but finally he carved an image of Christ so perfect, so exquisitely beautiful that when people gazed upon it, they could only love and adore [and were brought to tears]. Later Napoleon sent for him. “Come to Paris,” he said, “and make for me a statue of Venus for the Louvre.” But no such offer could tempt the heart of Dannecker. His reply was simple. “Sir, the hands that carved the Christ can never again carve a heathen goddess.”[8]

How do the friends of Jesus pursue purity of life? Paul the apostle described it well when he wrote,

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

If you fill your heart, soul, mind and strength with these things, then you will be inclined toward and find purity in your life.

John wrote that fellowship with God demands purity of life, a purity which cannot be obtained by our own effort, yet which our Creator promises and accomplishes in us through Christ Jesus, in his death, when we follow his teaching and when we rely on his Holy Spirit to resist temptation. In the course of seeking purity of life, the hope of the friends of Jesus is built on the Father’s promises.

The Practice of RighteousnessIf you train your heart, soul, mind and strength for purity of life, then you will practice righteousness, which is the next characteristic of, and requirement for, fellowship with God, John wrote,

Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as [Christ Jesus] is righteous.

1 John 3:7

To practice righteousness is simply to do what is right. If your conscience has been awakened by the Holy Spirit, through your spiritual disciplines, then you will increasingly become sensitive to and inclined toward doing right things. On this, John wrote further,

This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

1 John 3:10

Those who do right things are obvious; those who do not do right things are also obvious. While we may live in a world many claim is gray, the difference between right and wrong is clear. If you think something you are doing may not be the right thing to do, then it should be avoided. Period.

Hanging out one’s dirty laundryIn 2006, two performing artists named Laura Barnett and Sandra Spannan created an exhibit in a storefront in Manhattan that allowed passersby to alleviate their guilt.

The two women dressed as nineteenth-century washerwomen and sat in the storefront. One underlined the words on the glass: “Air your dirty laundry. 100 percent confidential. Anonymous. Free.” Onlookers were encouraged to write their deepest secrets on pieces of paper. The washerwomen then collected the confessions and displayed them in the window for all to see.

The sins and secrets ranged from slightly humorous to sordid.[9] Barnett said the onlookers were often overwhelmed by the weight of others’ sins: “We go there, and the window is empty, and we’re wearing all white. At the end, the window is full. It’s exhausting. Some of those things are really, really sad. And afterward I need to take a bath.”[10]

Sin is not always a grand affair; it can be found in the simplest of acts done for the wrong reasons. Confessing sin anonymously to a stream of passersby did nothing to alleviate the guilt and only transferred pain to others.

If you are still not sure about the practice of righteousness, then simply consider whether Jesus would himself do that thing you are considering. He is righteous; so, follow his example. We too are God’s children, after all! (1Jn 3:1)

By placing one’s faith in Jesus and committing to a Christian lifestyle, we show we are born of God (1Jn 3:9). We do not have to sin; no one is forcing us to rebel against our Creator. Rather, the friends of Jesus avoid lawlessness, choosing instead to follow God’s commands, knowing Christ alone gives us the inner power to be victorious over sin.

The Christian Life Is a Constant Struggle Against SinLet me be honest with you and admit the Christian life is a constant struggle against sin. This is why we follow the wisdom of Hebrews:

But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.

Hebrews 3:13[11]

Sin deceives; it is a constant struggle to not let this happen. We rely on the love of one another when we cannot trust ourselves.

God Helps His People to Resist SinWe need not be discouraged by our struggle against sin because God helps his people to resist sin. He provided release from sin through Christ’s death, as noted by Peter the apostle:

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:24[12]

The friends of Jesus are able to avoid sin through the new life provided in Christ Jesus. John wrote,

Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:9[13]

Further, we co-operate with the Holy Spirit to avoid sin. On this Paul wrote,

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12b–13

Being released from sin’s hold on us, provided new life and the Holy Spirit co-operating with us, the friends of Jesus then resolve to put to death what is sinful in us. On this Paul wrote,

Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5[14]

The friends of Jesus exchange sinful for righteous behaviour, as Paul encouraged:

The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

Romans 13:12–14[15]

Discarding our past, sinful behaviours, then, is a deliberate act of our part.

Further, the friends of Jesus allow the Spirit to inform and direct our conduct, for we have been instructed,

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2[16]

We do all this to practice righteousness because the weight of sin is unbearable.

Human skeleton swinging on hammockA flippant youth once asked a preacher, “You say that unsaved people carry a weight of sin. I feel nothing. How heavy is sin? Is it ten pounds? Eighty pounds?” The preacher replied by asking the youth, “If you laid a four-hundred-pound weight on a corpse, would it feel the load?” The youth replied, “It would feel nothing, because it is dead.” The preacher concluded, “That spirit, too, is indeed dead which feels no load of sin or is indifferent to its burden and flippant about its presence.” The youth was silenced![17]

Practical Steps for Overcoming Sin and TemptationHow do we do this? What are some practical steps for overcoming sin and temptation?

The first is step is meditation on Scripture. A psalmist wrote,

I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11[18]

The next step is to develop prayerful dependence upon God. Jesus encouraged his disciples to pray,

And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:13[19]

Another step is to actively seek the good. On this, Paul wrote,

For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.

Romans 6:19b[20]

The friends of Jesus are not in this alone. We practice righteousness firstly among our brothers and sisters-in-faith because we can expect brothers and sisters-in-faith to support one another. On this, James wrote,

My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:19–20[21]

Those who practice righteousness, those who do what is right, are children of God. While this is a constant struggle in this fallen world, our Creator helps us to resist sin by providing release through Christ’s death, new life and his Holy Spirit to help us avoid of sin. The friends of Jesus, therefore, put to death what is sinful and exchange it for righteous behaviour, allowing the Spirit to inform and direct our conduct.

ConclusionNow that we have accepted the testimony of John the apostle —that what he saw with his eyes and touched with his hand the word of life revealed in Christ Jesus— we know we have fellowship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and with the friends of Jesus because we walk in the Light, confess our sin, obey his commands and love one another. Those are the conditions for fellowship.

We are now seeking to understand better the characteristics of and requirements for that fellowship. Firstly, we seek purity of life, which is to avoid sin with the help of the Holy Spirit. Next, we practice righteousness, which is to do what is right, and we know what is right because we allow the Holy Spirit to inform and direct our conduct.

Over the next two weeks, with the help of John’s first letter, we will seek to better understand what it means to love in deed and truth, to test the spirits and to love as Christ loved.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]See also Matthew 5:8; Psalm 51:6; 73:1.

[3]See also Leviticus 18:30; Job 31:1; Psalm 51:10; 1Cor 5:7–8.

[4]Paul Lee Tan, “Epigram On Purity of Life”, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX, USA: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), pg 1106.

[5]See also Job 15:14; 25:4; Ecclesiastes 7:20.

[6]See also Zephaniah 3:9; Zechariah 13:1.

[7]See also Hebrews 12:24; 1 John 1:7.

[8]“Dannecker’s New Desire”, The Wind Blows; quoted by Tan, pg 1101. For more information on the statue, see “The statue of Christ by Johann Heinrich von Dannecker has been added to the permanent display at the Hermitage”, The State Hermitage Museum, 24-Apr-2023, https://replug.link/1751ebb0 (accessed 9-Apr-2024).

[9]Examples included:

• “The hermit crab was still alive when I threw it down the trash shoot [sic].”
• “I want to see SUVs explode. Those people are so selfish.”
• “My girlfriend and I both think Osama Bin Laden has a sweet-looking face.”
• “I make fun of this one friend behind her back all the time. She just enrages me! But I get freaked out when I think of what she might say about me. I worry this means we’re not really friends. Human relationships are infinitely confusing!”
• “I haven’t slept with my husband in a year, and I am about to start an affair with _____ _____.”
• “I haven’t yet visited my dead parents’ grave.”
• “I am dating a married man and getting financial compensation in exchange for the guilt. I’m twenty-five, and he’s a millionaire. It pays to be young.”
• “New York makes me feel lonely.”

[10]Kathryn Shattuck, “Artists Display Confessions of Passersby on a 44th Street Storefront”, The New York Times, 6-May-2006; as quoted by Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, “Illustration 610: Going Public with Sin”, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), pg 339.

[11]See also Acts 20:28; Romans 7:14–25; Ephesians 6:10–18; 1 Peter 5:8–9.

[12]See also Romans 6:1–7; Galatians 2:20; 5:24; Colossians 2:11–12.

[13]See also 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:6; 5:18.

[14]See also Romans 6:11–14; 8:13.

[15]See also Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:7–10; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22.

[16]See also Romans 8:5–8; Galatians 5:16–25.

[17]Paul Lee Tan, “How Heavy Is Sin?”, pg 1284.

[18]See also Psalm 18:22–23; Matthew 4:1–11; 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

[19]See also Psalm 19:13; Matthew 26:41; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 4:15–16.

[20]See also Psalm 34:14; Amos 5:14–15; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 3 John 11.

[21]See also Matthew 18:15–17; Galatians 6:1–2; 1 Timothy 5:20; Hebrews 3:12.

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In this sermon, an Elder of our church, Kym Steele, begins a new sermon series on The First Letter of John. This series reminds us God is light, life and love. Fellowship with God is not a vague, nebulous experience. It can be an objective daily reality. In this sermon, Kym describes how the conditions for fellowship with God are to walk in the Light, the confession of sin, obedience to his commandments, and love for one another.

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 7 April 2024.

Over the next five weeks, Pastor Ian and myself will be focussing on a series out of the epistle of 1st John.

The five topics will all revolve around one of the primary purposes of the letter being fellowship with God and each other.

This series follows on from the passion of Christ as we celebrate it through Easter – the death and resurrection of Jesus to save us from sin and to have fellowship with God.

• Other than in the heading there is no mention in the whole of the letter that identifies John as the writer.
• However the fathers of the faith all agree that it was John the apostle.
• Based on style, content and the use of phrases that we see in John’s gospel.
• John was by the time of writing the only apostle left so it wasn’t necessary for him to announce himself as we see in other letters eg Paul.
• It is believed that the letter were written around 80 – 90 AD.
• It is also believed that John was in Ephesus at the time of writing and directed these writings to the church there but also to other parts of Asia minor.

The letters were written towards the end of the first century so by this stage there were 2nd and 3rd generation Christians worshipping in various locations.

So why the letters?

There was an emerging problem in the church involving a belief called Gnosticism which was gaining more and more of a foot hold in the church and society and certainly so for the next couple of hundred years that had the potential to decimate the church.

Gnosticism is the belief that when we are saved it is our spirit that is saved and that our physical bodies are evil. Therefore it didn’t matter what we did in our bodies because they would die and only our spirit had any value and would take on a new celestial body when we died. So that led to all sorts of debauchery and sin in the felsh as we would call it. But that didn’t matter. They believed that knowledge was the way to God.

Now why is this important?

Because Gnostics did not believe that Jesus was incarnate, in other words He didn’t appear on earth in any fleshly form – he was a phantom spirit according to them.

So with this bit of information we begin to understand why John wrote what he did.

From verse 1 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life….”

The “beginning” that John wrote about is widely held to be Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God..” and the gospel of John 1:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it…”

John puts an immediate stamp on the incarnate, bodily form of Jesus and His relationship to God. He says to his listeners and readers “what these dissenters and false teachers (antichrists) are telling you is rubbish – we have witnessed the events of Jesus ourselves.

Illustration: Air Crash Investigations – what they see, handle, hear and observe.

Illustration: My job as an auditor.

When we want to establish a truth we do it by providing supporting categorical evidence.
So now that John has established the authenticity of who Jesus is he begins to relate it to those he is writing to:

Verse 3 – what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

So John not only puts his stamp on the authenticity of who Jesus is through His relationship with His Father but he says in effect “hey don’t forget that we declared this to you as well, why? To ensure that fellowship exists between us but more importantly there is fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus.

John is communicating what he and the other apostles and believers witnessed concerning Jesus – he wasn’t hiding anything or keeping it a secret because he wants not only his joy to be complete v4 but also those to whom he is writing.

Communication is really important. I don’t know about you but at my place we all understand communication really well – I communicate with the cat, Mil communicates with her plants and our son Michael when he visits he not only talks our ears off but talks to himself if no-one else is listening!

Communication of these truths that John writes about is paramount in his mind and he wants his readers to come to the same conclusion about who Jesus is and that He did indeed come in the flesh.

But now from v5 he extends this truth to expand on light and dark. John says “this is the message we have heard and declare to you”

This expression he uses several times to reinforce with the church the fact that he was true to the word of the Lord in sharing the gospel.

It’s like John follows a simple process of putting together unfolding events:

Genesis 1 In the beginning God

John 1 The Word was with God and was God and became flesh and dwelt among us as light and the darkness didn’t overcome Him (my paraphrase)

! John1 We testify to who Jesus is: “And now I want to teach you further about light and dark when it comes to fellowship with God” and this John does without apology.

It is true to say that John doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the conditions around fellowship with God.

V5 God is light and there is ABSOLUTELY no darkness in Him.

One of the things that troubles me about our world and it’s inhabitants is that they are ever willing to blame God for all the disasters and death that take place – if God is real or exists why didn’t He do something about it? God caused this to happen!

I don’t buy it – do I believe the Word or the world?

“To suggest that God has a hand in causing bad things to happen would mean that there is some form of darkness in Him – not true

“There is absolutely no darkness in Him”

John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it,[a] so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by[b] the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

V6 says that “if we say we have fellowship with Him and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth”

That’s pretty heavy going isn’t it? We probably need to think more about what it is to walk in the light vs walking in the dark.

Light is good, pure, true, right, unashamed, clean. It’s a beacon in an otherwise dark world to which we can rely on and see.

Matthew 5:16 says “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

When we come into the light do we fear that there will be shame and guilt? No we get cleansed and purified by the blood of Jesus. He knows everything about us – do you think He will gasp as if He didn’t know when we confess our sin? No, all He wants is to have fellowship with us but that can only happen if we choose to get into and remain in the light of His glory.

V7 in our text “If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

This verse is one that is referred to a “if/then” statement. It’s a Conditional statement or a condition with a promise

V9 is another “If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us”

V10 is another “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Let me share a few more

II Chronicles 7: 14; “IF My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; THEN will I hear from Heaven and heal their Land.”

Romans 10:9 – That if (condition) you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and (if you) believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, (then – result or promise) you will be saved.

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

And there are many more.

Now why am I sharing these with you? – because the bible makes it clear that there are conditions to our salvation and life in Christ and that’s what John is describing her in the first chapter – there are conditions to having fellowship with God.

“If we say, we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

“If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

This is what darkness is about – a decision to not follow the truth or the life. Darkness is sinister, evil, fearful even wicked. It’s when most crime is committed, it’s often when those who would prey upon others hide in the shadows.

Paul talks about the sinful, dark nature in Galatians

5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But in Romans he declares:

8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

In other words our physical life must match our spiritual life. One commentator put it like this,
“Anybody can say “this is what I believe” but your behaviour needs to match your belief – if it doesn’t you’re a hypocrite”

Strong words but no stronger than those of John in this letter.

Our flesh wants to dominate our spirit life and it will if we fail to, as John put it
“confess our sins, knowing Jesus is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I think that forms of Gnosticism are still alive within many churches. To many it’s about what they know and believe that they think will get them to heaven and don’t recognise that as Paul wrote to Timothy, “ they are holding to a form of godliness but denying its power”

John said in his gospel 4:23:

But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him.

If we want to have fellowship with God we need to heed the clear warnings of John when he says it can only happen when

We recognise that sin separates us from God

We are sinners in need of forgiveness

We need to walk in the light of Jesus and His salvation.

Is it fair that there should be conditions around having fellowship with God? Absolutely otherwise people will want to do it their way and demean the whole value of Jesus death and resurrection.

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father but by me.”

What about you – are you confident that you are in the light of Christ the redeemer?

Have you given your whole life to Him?

Is your main priority having true fellowship with Him and those around you in this fellowship?

My prayer is that we as a fellowship would be united in thought and deed and not allow the enemy to influence and cause dissention and falsehood that would seek to destroy the body of Christ here at Narellan. After all it is Christ’s body, not ours. We need to shift our attention away from the pointless arguments about this and that

I like this song – I don’t

I like the order of service – I don’t

I like responsive readings – I don’t

I like…… and on it goes all the time we are looking downward to serve our carnal appetites and not looking to the light and truth to see what Jesus says about all of this – it is His church, not ours.
Does He need our help in running it? No, what He needs is our unwavering decision to not walk in darkness but in His light and allow Him to guide us by His word and Spirit.

It is up to us to be a light in and to the world and not be known for anything less than demonstrating the love and life of our saviour to a hurting world so they too can walk in fellowship with us and with God.

James 4:7 says, “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

John closes off this portion of his letter this way

“My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.”

There are conditions to having fellowship with God and we must ensure that we do all we can by the power of the Holy Spirit and the confession of our mouths to not allow anything that would break that relationship, not only with Him but with each other.

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In this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, reminded us our Creator has shown us a better way of life than the way of fallenness and sin our world is falling for and blindly following. Jesus the Christ, an innocent, willing accepted the most disastrous consequences of our sin and did so he would conquer sin and death and thus provide us a rescue. Are you listening?

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 31 March 2024.

We were reminded last week that Holy Week begins with Jesus’ so-called ‘Triumphal Entry’. By entering Jerusalem on that day, to the waving of palm branches and shouts of praise, Jesus entered the city not to overthrow the oppressor but to suffer and die, so as to overthrow sin and death. Not surprisingly the city was thrown into an uproar because of Jesus’ arrival.

We are currently in a similar time and state. The disruption caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic created ongoing political, economic and social upheaval. We thought the pandemic would pass with the introduction of a vaccine, yet we are far from ‘getting back to normal’.

Nevertheless, let us continue to proclaim together, “Jesus is Lord!”, as we challenge and correct any complacency we find in ourselves, as well as the status quo in our neighbourhood and state.

There is no better reason to proclaim together, “Jesus is Lord!”, than the remembrance of his resurrection.

David Koch on SunriseThis fact was affirmed on Channel 7’s Sunrise morning show, when former host David Koch —or “Kochie”, as he is affectionately known— once said on live television, “The resurrection was not a party trick. It was a real thing. It is Easter.” (Apr-2020)

But in the midst of political, economic and social upheaval, are we listening? Do we have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand that we might turn back to our Creator and be healed? (Mt 13:14-15)[1]

Preparing for DisasterJesus once asked a question using the metaphor of a king preparing for war:

What king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?

Luke 14:31

If you know a war or disaster is coming, then you will prepare for it, won’t you?

Gates delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, January 2008Yet, during a TED talk in 2015, Bill Gates predicted the disastrous results of a new viral epidemic. He outlined then what governments should begin doing to minimise the risk.[2] He argued the world should prepare for an outbreak in the same manner as if we were preparing for war. Did anyone listen?

Singapore and COVIDAsian countries that learnt from two previous outbreaks, and took extreme measures quickly, kept the disaster to a minimum.[3] The city-state of Singapore, a country of 5.8 million people, three months after the outbreak began, had more than 1,400 cases of coronavirus and yet only six deaths. The key to its response was how well it executed the strategies of quarantining and tracing people who had come into contact with the virus.

Seoul and COVIDSouth Korea’s response was informed by its shortcomings in fighting a previous disease, which claimed 36 lives in 2015. Even before the country had any confirmed cases, quarantine and screening measures were put in place for arrivals from Wuhan, China. South Korea had a model response despite early setbacks.

All of the countries doing well utilised three strategies that worked —acting early, extensive testing and contact tracing, and physical distancing.

Australia did not heed Gates’ warning. We were not prepared but our governments did tack action quickly. While Australia’s infection rate was higher than countries like Singapore, there is evidence that early decisions made, like restricting arrivals from China, helped to delay the spread of the virus across the country.

Emergency vehicles have their sirens and lights checked near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 20, 2020 amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Over the weekend, Congressional negotiations continued on an additional economic stimulus bill in response to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak, as President Trump encouraged protesters nationwide who demonstrated to reopen the economy and end social distancing measures. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)No Use UK. No Use Germany.The US did not prepare and did not take action quickly. If our Asian neighbours were examples of taking proactive measures, the United States offered insight into what happens when pandemics are handled poorly. The United States tracked the highest rate of infection at a time when countries like South Korea and China slashed the number of new infections. The US quickly eclipsed China as the country with the highest number of infections.

The saddest statistic: An intelligence agency that provides reports to the military, uncovered the coronavirus outbreak and briefed multiple government agencies well in advance. The Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, and the White House were all made aware of the outbreak in November 2019. The Chinese government didn’t disclose the outbreak until 27 December, meaning the US had an extra month to try and prepare for the onslaught, yet did not act.[4]

A COVID-worldThere have always been doomsayers like Bill Gates throughout history. Yet, the global experience of fighting the 1918 flu pandemic, the SARS outbreak in 2002 and MERS in 2015 should have made governments concerned and prepared. It appears, few were listening and, in Australia, we were not prepared for the disaster we should have been anticipating.

The Tragic ConsequencesDestruction in Lismore from Cyclone DebbieWhat makes natural disasters so terrible and tragic is the death of innocent people.

We can almost understand when criminals shoot each other. But the public is outraged when an innocent bystander is killed in the crossfire.

We could almost accept capital punishment if we were assured, without a doubt, no innocent person would ever be sentenced to death.

It is sad when soldiers die in war but when civilians are used as shields, and become unintended casualties of war, something must be done!

The most heinous crime of all is when an unsuspecting woman is assaulted and raped while walking home.

Crimes against innocent people are unquestionably terrible and tragic.

But none of us are really innocent, are we?[5] We are born into a fallen world and quickly succumb to sinfulness ourselves. We chase vice instead of virtue. We want to go our own way, make our own mistakes, and we sadly suffer the unintended consequences we could have avoided, but then complain about it all anyway.

[child tantrum gif]

The current state of our so-called new world order is a disaster of our own making.

Children are confused as to what gender they are. Young adults involve themselves with random sexual partners at the swipe of a finger. The sanctity of marriage has been completely undermined and rendered irrelevant.

Corporate and banking CEOs make far more money than they could ever need while their frontline workers live homeless in their cars and cannot afford healthcare (e.g. Disney).

Some world leaders behave so outrageously (e.g. recent US presidents and a NSW minister photographed living at holiday home during the pandemic) and others persecute their citizens without mercy (e.g. China closing churches and preventing online worship).

Social media amplifies narcissistic tendencies and ordinary people are becoming increasingly incapable of allowing others to hold alternative opinions to their own.

Our Creator warned sin would result in these kinds of consequences for humankind.[6] He has been intervening in human history ever since the earliest records to show us a better way. Did anyone listen?

Throughout the ancient records, God warned, through the prophets, the most disastrous consequence would be the death of an innocent man.[7] Willingly choosing to be that man, Jesus predicted his own death three times.[8] Did anyone listen?

Jesus was falsely accused, wrongfully convicted, tortured, and executed in the most humiliating and agonising way possible. Does anyone care Jesus accepted all this on our behalf, the punishment we deserve?

ConclusionYet the story did not end there.

He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28:6

The stone has been rolled away and the tomb is empty. Jesus appeared to, had meals with, and spoke with his disciples for 40 days following his resurrection. The evidence is compelling.

Now that Jesus has died and come back to life, are you listening?

The proof of the disaster of sin has been revealed and continues unabated all around us and within us.

The solution of our Creator has been applied. The just penalty of our sin has been satisfied. Are you listening?

Jesus led an exemplary life —on that point no one disagrees. By his Spirit, Jesus continues to make himself known to people, convicting us of sin, judgement and righteousness (Jn 16:7–11). He continues to empower his friends to resist sin and follow the commandments of God (Ez 36:26-27).

If you know a disaster is coming, you will prepare for it, correct? You will avoid it, won’t you?

Unfortunately, the disaster of sin cannot be avoided, the consequences continue to swirl all around us.

When the rescue is offered, you would accept it gratefully and adjust your life accordingly, wouldn’t you?

Christ Jesus has shown us a better way of life than the way of fallenness and sin our world is falling for and blindly following.

An innocent man, yet God-in-the-flesh, Jesus voluntarily accepted the disastrous consequences of our sin and did so that he would conquer sin and death, and thus provide a rescue for you and for me and for all. Are you listening?

Place your faith, hope and trust in Jesus, the resurrected one, and return to your Creator. Follow Jesus’ example; the whole of your life depends on it.

Whether in this place or online, feel free to listen prayerfully affirming our faith with the following statement:

This is the good news we have received,
in which we stand,
and by which we are saved:

Christ died for our sins, was buried,
was raised on the third day,
and appeared first to the women,
then to Peter and the Twelve,
and then to many faithful witnesses.
We believe Jesus is the Christ,
the Anointed One of God,
the firstborn of all creation,
the firstborn from the dead,
in whom all things hold together,
in whom the fullness of God
was pleased to dwell
by the power of the Spirit.

Christ is the head of the body, the Church,
and by the blood of the cross
reconciles all things to God. Amen.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]Kara Harris, “Fact check: Did Bill Gates predict the coronavirus in 2015?”, USA Today, 26-Mar-2020, https://bit.ly/39YgMHC (accessed 10-Apr-2020.

[3]The information that follows is taken from “What we can learn from the countries winning the coronavirus fight”, ABC News, updated 8-Apr-2020, https://ab.co/2Xqj14c (accessed 10-Apr-2020).

[4]Dan Robitzski, “US Intelligence Warned Of “Cataclysmic” Coronavirus In November”, Futurism, 9-Apr-2020, https://bit.ly/3b0RIBh (accessed 10-Apr-2020).

[5]See Romans 1:18–20; 3:10–12.

[6]See Genesis 3:8–19; cf. 6:5–8.

[7]See Isaiah 53:1–11.

[8]See Matthew 16:21–23; 17:22–23; 20:17–19.

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In this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, asks the question, “If Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father, what does Good Friday say about God?”

This sermon was delivered on Friday, 29 March 2024.

A Pain in the ButExactly what was happening on the Cross, and why, is a mix of complicated factors and beautiful aspects. There is no one, perfectly comprehensive, theology of the Cross, but I can describe at least four that have their own perspectives. Therefore, what I am about to say is not going to go far enough for everybody.

Someone will inevitably come up to me afterward and say, “But what about this verse?” and “But what about that?” To which I will inevitably say, “But have you thought about this?” and “But don’t forget to consider that”.

This conversation will be helpful but will reveal little more than we are both pains in the buts!

Fathers4JusticeFathers4JusticeSome time ago, I met a gentleman named Pete Nicholls. He told me his story of what he had to do to be with his children following his divorce from his wife.

Living in the UK, Pete Nicholls and his wife divorced in the early 2000s. About this Pete’s daughter Aimee wrote,

It doesn’t matter why right now, that’s history. But it is important that you know that it wasn’t down to my dad. It wasn’t something that he wanted, and he couldn’t do anything about it. It’s certainly not something that I wanted, but I also had no say. My dad is definitely the more natural parent out of my mum and dad, and I’ve always been closer to him. I do love my mom and dad both the same. But, if I could only live with one of them, it would be my dad, and it’s been that way for 11 years. There was no reason for that not to happen. He hadn’t harmed me in any way, and he didn’t pose any risk, or threaten me. My dad shared my care before my parents split.[2]

The breakdown in the relationship had the negative consequence that Peter was restricted from seeing his children. Sadly, no one in the social services, justice, and political systems of the UK would support Pete’s access to his children. He therefore had to take drastic measures.

In July 2011, Fathers 4 Justice founder Matt O’Connor and Pete Nicholls staged a hunger strike just outside Prime Minister David Cameron’s home, demanding that he honour his pledges about grandparents’ rights to see their grandchildren and about shared parenting.[3] With this exposure, Pete was able to get custody of his daughter Aimee, yet was forced to leave the country.

A father did what needed to be done to be with his children, even to the point of going on a hunger strike and losing his home. Any loving parent would do the same.

If it is true we should think of our creator-God as like a father (Mt 6:9; Jn 1:12-13),[1] then it is also true God, our Father, would do anything to save his children, those who have placed their faith in Jesus and live a Christian lifestyle. Good Friday, the day on which we commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion, is a painful reminder of that truth.

So What?

Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:9

“The one who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9) Jesus is the perfect revelation of God, our Creator. Therefore, everything Jesus said and did reveals something of the personality, behaviour, and purposes of God. And that means everything —Jesus’ birth, life, teaching, miracles, resurrection, and ascension— reveals God to us, not just his crucifixion!

Nevertheless, we are considering today Jesus’ crucifixion. This begs the question: What does a perfectly innocent man, falsely accused, humiliated, tortured, and hanging on a cross until dead, reveal to us about God?

Identification

Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days.

Mark 8:31

Throughout the Scriptures is revealed God set in motion a plan to save humankind from the curse of sin and death. Therefore, Jesus resolved to be the agent of our salvation. Toward accomplishing this, he prophesied three times that he would be arrested in Jerusalem, die, and be resurrected.[4] Knowing this would happen to him, he did it anyway. He did for us what had to be done, what we could not do for ourselves.

And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Mark 15:34

On the cross, Jesus cried out a curious thing, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mk 15:34; Ps 22:1)

It seems to be consistent that when humans are at their lowest point in life, suffering real physical discomfort or existential angst, we cry out to God. Psalm 22 describes such physical discomfort and existential angt in vivid and gory detail!

Yet in all the times I have felt overwhelmed in life —and there have been many, too numerous to count— in all those times I have never had the presence of mind to quote scripture! Why then did Jesus deliberately quote from the Bible in the midst of such an experience?

Jesus did not quote just any Bible verse; he quoted from a psalm. Like contemporary pop songs, the psalms express the emotions and experiences of both the composers and the intended audience. The psalms are meant to be used in individual and corporate worship. They arise out of the shared human condition and guide us toward worshipping our Creator.

In quoting from a psalm, therefore, Jesus was not crying out in pain but crying out in despair. In so doing, he identified with humanity, he felt our deepest despair, against which our physical pain pales in comparison. Jesus took on the human condition at its worst.

Why?Why would Jesus do such a thing when he did not have to?

God is Just

[The righteous will] declare, “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

Psalm 92:15

Of the many things that can be said about God, that he is just is one of the most important.

Just as when we are taught as a child to apologise for wrongdoing, when we are fined for speeding, or are jailed for murder, when we break any rule or law, there are consequences. We might not like the consequences but we accept they are necessary and follow naturally.

If it is true, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro 3:23), what are the consequences?

He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities.

Psalm 103:10

Even though, “the wages of sin is death” (Ro 6:23), the fact is we do not suffer the consequences of our sin against God our creator. He does not treat us as our sins deserve, yet justice must be satisfied. Rather than punish humankind, our Creator chose to satisfy justice by allowing Jesus to voluntarily take upon himself the full penalty of our sin.

Jesus identified with humankind at its worst so that we would not have to suffer the just consequences of our sin.

God is LoveThe next most important thing that can be said about God is he is love. It is written,

When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.

Genesis 6:5–6

In my opinion, the most troubling consequence of our sin is the deep grief of the Father. We break his heart every time we turn our back on him. He looks at the state we have gotten ourselves into and weeps.

Yet our Creator does not in pity; rather he has declared:

Tell them, ‘As I live —this is the declaration of the Lord God— I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’

Ezekiel 33:11

Rather than have us suffer the consequences of our sin, our Creator wants everyone to be rescued, redeemed, and reconciled. He implores us to repent of our wicked ways, calls us to turn back to him. The Father sees the disaster looming for us and encourages us to choose life.

This means,

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

We will all have to account for our life choices one day. Until then our Creator will do everything he can to call us back to him. Jesus’ passion, his suffering and death, means we do not have to suffer the consequences of sin. As it is written,

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

We do not have to suffer the consequences of our sin. We can turn back to our Creator and be saved.

Jesus identified with humankind at its worst, suffered the consequences we deserve for our sin, because God loves us.

Now What?What did those consequences look like for Jesus?

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe. And they kept coming up to him and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and were slapping his face. Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I’m bringing him out to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging him.” Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” (John 19:1–5)

Here is the man and what a gruesome picture it is.

So, what does a perfectly innocent man, falsely accused, humiliated, tortured, and hanging on a cross until dead reveal to us about God? That God is just and we are not; that God is love and we are not.

Jesus did for us what needed to be done, what we could not do for ourselves. Perfect love hung on a cross so that you and I would not have to.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]Aimee Nicholls, “Aimee Nicholls Versus the Star Chamber”, A Voice For Men, 4-Jul-2013, https://bit.ly/3sF1d1M (accessed 3-May-2021).

[3]Matt O’Connor, “Hunger4Justice: A Letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron”, Hunger 4 Justice, 26-Jun-2011, https://bit.ly/3rC6Qg6 (accessed 31-May-2021).

[4]See Mark 8:31–33; 10:32–34; 9:30–32.

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In this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, described how in the midst of the story of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry is a moment easy to miss, where some Greeks desire to see Jesus. This story implores us to take seriously two questions: would you see Jesus and would souls seeking Jesus come to you?

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 24 March 2024.

There is a story told of a new pastor entering the sanctuary on his first Sunday.[1] There on the pulpit was a sign quoting from the Scriptures: “Sir, we would see Jesus” (Jn 12:21).[2]

The next week, as the pastor approached the pulpit, the sign had been changed to quote another scripture: “Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord” (Jn 20:20).

Clearly, it seems, this congregation was pleased with their new pastor’s preaching!

The Setting of This TextOur reading from The Gospel of John describes another story in which the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. It describes what we now commemorate each year as Palm Sunday. This is an important story. We know this is so because the story is recounted in all four of the gospels.

Our reading then has us focussing on the first in a week of important stories from Jesus’ life.

Jesus Had Returned to Jerusalem to DieThat week began with Jesus returning to Jerusalem. To return to Jerusalem was dangerous for Jesus. He knew this and his disciples knew this (cf. Jn 11:16). According to the gospels,[3] Jesus predicted three times what would happen to him at Jerusalem. Therefore, Jesus returned to Jerusalem knowing he was going to die there.

The Triumphal EntryEven though Jesus had predicted his death and explained the reasons for such to his disciples, they could still only see his return to Jerusalem as a triumph —which it was, just not in the way they understood. This is why we refer to this story as The Triumphal Entry.

The Triumphal EntryThe disciples celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem by placing their cloaks on the road in front of the donkey on which he travelled, waved palm branches, and shouted their praise for Jesus. At such a display, the crowds travelling the same road into Jerusalem joined in their jubilation.

Thousands of Jews Gathered for PassoverAnd there were thousands travelling that same road into Jerusalem. Jews from the surrounding regions were making their way to that great city for the annual Passover feast, a holy day commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, specifically the passing over of their firstborn males when the Egyptians were struck with the last of ten plagues.

Additionally, the stories about Jesus’ teaching and miracles, especially his raising of Lazarus, were circulating (Jn 12:17). With Jesus on that road, the air would certainly have been electric with anticipation and celebration. Though Passover was a week away at the moment of Jesus’ triumphal entry, the eruption of the disciples’ praise would easily have started a chorus of joy.

The Greeks and Their DesireIn the midst of the story of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry is an aside, a moment easy to miss if one is not paying attention. In the midst of Jesus’ symbolic actions and prediction of his crucifixion is the mention of the desire of some Greeks to see Jesus.

Often preachers have us ask ourselves: which of the characters in this story do you most identify with? No one is likely to think “the Greeks”, yet all of us gathered here today are the beneficiaries more of these Greeks than of the disciples or the Jewish crowd. Let us turn our attention to their story and what we can learn from them.

The Heart Cry of All People“Now some Greeks were among them”

Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival.

John 12:20

Of all the thousands of residents of and visitors to Jerusalem at the start of that week, we are provided this seemingly insignificant detail: some Greeks were among them. Most readers overlook this detail or care very little for it but John thought this was important enough to include.

We would do well to pay attention and ask: what can we learn about and from these Greeks? We learn from them the heart cry of all people, races and nations is to know the only true God and the One he has sent —Christ Jesus (Jn 17:3). “The lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 10:6; 15:24) were the primary target audience but even those from a country far away felt their “hearts strangely warmed” by the person, teaching and ministry of Jesus.[4]

A Few Gentiles at the PassoverBeing Greek, this puts these characters in the category of “Gentiles”, basically meaning they were not Jewish. Being not Jewish is important for the biblical story but it is not a criticism in any way.

We are also informed by John these Greeks were among those who went up to worship. So they were in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They knew enough about the Jewish religion that they joined in the celebration, even though the event it commemorated was not part of their history, at least not directly.

That they were in Jerusalem to worship tells us they were converts to the Jewish religion, at least in part. They were classified as “God-fearers”, they longed to know God.

This is surprising because even then Greek history was filled with a rich tradition of philosophy and religion. When Paul the apostle travelled through Athens, a major Greek city, he found statues honouring philosophers and temples dedicated to a wide range of gods (Ac 17:16ff). The only conclusion we can come to is that their historical philosophies and religions had failed them.

John’s description tells us these Greeks now sought God through the Jewish religion, through its Scriptures and its worship. They either knew the Jewish religion to be true and more satisfying or they had been told so and were now checking it out for themselves.

Either way, these Greeks longed to know God and travelled all this way seeking him (cf. Heb 11:6). They were acting on their heart’s cry.

Along the way to the Passover, they would have heard the stories about Jesus.

Perhaps these Greeks were intrigued by the descriptions of his miracles:

• Healing Miracles: Jesus healed people with a wide range of ailments, including leprosy, blindness, paralysis, and fever (e.g., Jn 9:1-12; Mk 2:1-12).
• Exorcisms: Jesus cast out demons from individuals, thereby demonstrating authority over evil spirits (e.g., Mk 5:1-20; 9:17-29).
• Nature Miracles: Jesus demonstrated control over nature, such as calming a storm (Mk 4:35-41), walking on water (Mt 14:22-33), and turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-11).
• Resurrections: Jesus brought people back to life, including the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:1-44), the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:35-43), and the widow’s son at Nain (Lk 7:11-17).
• Multiplication of Resources: Jesus miraculously multiplied small quantities of food to feed large crowds, as in the feeding of the 5,000 (Mt 14:13-21) and the feeding of the 4,000 (Mt 15:32-39).
• Other Miracles: Jesus’ life and ministry included other unique events such as his transfiguration (Mt 17:1-9) and causing a fig tree to wither (Mt 21:18-22).

These miracles are signs of Jesus’ divine authority and his compassion for humanity, and therefore both affirm his teachings and demonstrate his power over physical and spiritual realms. Is it any wonder these Greeks were intrigued by the descriptions of his miracles?

Perhaps they were curious about how Jesus could speak with authority:

• Sermon on the Mount: In his Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7), Jesus taught on various aspects of life and faith with authority, offering a new interpretation of the Law that surprised his audience. In his recounting, Matthew commented on the crowd’s reaction, noting Jesus taught as one having authority, unlike their teachers of the law (Mt 7:28-29).
• Teaching in the Synagogue: In Mark 1:21-22, Jesus taught in the synagogue at Capernaum and the people are astonished at his teaching because he taught as one who has authority, not as the religious leaders.
• Casting out an Unclean Spirit: In the same event, Jesus commanded an unclean spirit to come out of a man. Those who witness it were amazed and questioned what new doctrine this was, for he commanded even the unclean spirits obeyed him (Mk 1:23-27).
• Forgiving Sins: In Mark 2:5-12, Jesus forgave the sin of a paralysed man before healing him. This act caused controversy among some religious leaders present, who questioned inwardly how Jesus can forgive sin, which only God can do. Jesus asserted his authority to forgive sins by performing the visible miracle of healing as evidence.
• The Great Commission: In Matthew 28:18-20, after his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He then commissioned them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them and teaching them to obey everything he has commanded.
• Teaching about His Own Authority: In John 10:18, speaking about his life, Jesus said, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

These examples demonstrate Jesus’ authority was recognised in his teachings, his control over evil spirits, his power to heal and forgive sins, and his command over life and death. His authority was seen as coming directly from God, setting him apart from other teachers and leaders of his time. Is it any wonder these Greeks were curious about how Jesus spoke with authority?

Intrigued and curious, these Greeks wanted to see Jesus, thinking he might enlighten them. They reveal the heart cry of all people is to know the only true God and the One he has sent. All people need Christ because all have sinned (Rom 3:23) —this is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance because all can be saved by faith in Him (Rom 10:9-10, 13).

The Heart Cry of All Who Seek Relief Through Religious CeremonyDespite their rich and varied history of philosophy and religion, the heart cry of these Greeks remained unsatisfied. As Passover approached, they were still seeking. They were seeking for Truth and for God in the worship of their Jewish neighbours.

There Are Millions in Churches Like ThemYoido Full Gospel Church, the largest mega church in the world, South KoreaThe sad fact is that even today there are millions in churches who are just like these Greeks. There are people who have been baptised but remain lost. There are people who have taken Communion but remain lost. There are people who have joined churches but remain lost.

They are seeking relief to their heart cry through religious ceremony.

Eternal Life Is Not Given Through Religious RitualBut eternal life is not given through religious ritual. The rituals and liturgy are merely forms of worship, and we do not worship the forms; we worship God. The forms of our ritual and liturgy are means to an end.

Yet it is so very easy to turn our attention to the forms of ritual and liturgy as if they are the ends because that is so much easier. It is easy to feel our heart stirred by a song. It is easy to find rest in a prayer. It is easy to find insight in a sermon. It is fun to clap and dance and sing. These are fleeting moments, but eternal life is not given through religious ritual.

Not by the Will of the Flesh or of ManNeither is eternal life given by the will of the flesh:

But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:12–13

Drawing on the imagery of childbirth, Jesus declared one is not born a “child of God” through the decision nor any other action of one’s parents. Therefore, eternal life is not secured by anyone on anyone else’s behalf.

Similarly, eternal life is not taken nor claimed by one’s own will. There is nothing we can do to earn eternal life for ourselves.

Only Jesus SavesEternal life is not given by religious ritual, nor secured for others, nor claimed by oneself. Only Jesus saves! Eternal life is a free gift of grace:

But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name

John 1:12

Yes, eternal life requires our belief in who Jesus is and our acceptance of what he has done for us. It is a gift offered and we receive it by believing it has been offered and believing in the one who makes the offer. We cannot have eternal life any other way.

It is the heart cry of all people to know the only true God and the One he has sent, yet how pitiful are we if do not receive him because we rested easy in the momentary pleasures of religious ritual, or relied on the efforts of others, or simply took eternal life for granted, as if we naturally deserve it and therefore claim it.

The Greeks John described in his recounting of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry knew this to be true:

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

These Greeks began their faith journey seeking God in their historical philosophies and religions, then in the ritual worship of the Jews, but their heart cry was only satisfied when they found Jesus.

The Heart Cry of All Who Seek Reality in the Lives of ChristiansHow did these Greeks find Jesus, if not through their philosophies and the Jewish religion? They sought the satisfaction of their heart cry in the reality they witnessed in the lives of Christians.

These Greeks Came to Philip With Their Request

So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

John 12:21

We do not know the status of those from whom these Greeks heard the stories about Jesus, but we do know they went to Philip with their request to see Jesus.

It was certainly a reasonable request. If Jesus is who he said he is and that what is written about him is true, then we should all want to see Jesus.

Of course, Jesus was an important person, surrounded by his disciples and the crowd. It would have likely been hard for these Greeks to get close enough to Jesus to ask him for some of his time. They needed an intermediary, a go-between.

In our day, people want to see Jesus but, of course, this is impossible, except in very rare and extraordinary circumstances. If we cannot see Jesus directly, in-person, then it is natural and reasonable to rely on the next best thing: to go to those close to him, those who are the friends of Jesus.

These Greeks then approached those who were obviously close to Jesus but why did they approach Philip and not any of the other disciples?

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us nothing about Philip but they always mention him fifth in the list of disciples[5] —does this reflect a hierarchy among the disciples?[6] Perhaps. Notwithstanding, it is only John’s gospel that describes Philip as a disciple of any significance.

Following his own call, Philip played a role in the calling of Nathaniel (Jn 1:43-51). Perhaps as a test, Jesus later asked Philip where they might find food to feed a multitude when they were near his hometown of Bethsaida (Jn 6:5-7). On the night of Jesus’ arrest, Philip asked Jesus to reveal the Father to them (Jn 14:8-9).

These few stories in The Gospel of John do not really tell us much about Philip except that he was not very ‘high on the pecking order’. So why did these Greeks approach him specifically.

The obvious answer is that along with Andrew, Philip was one of only two disciples who had Greek names. That would certainly have made him easier to approach, providing a natural talking point, something that was common between these Greeks and Philip.

The same might be asked of every Christian: why would anyone approach us to find out more about Jesus?

You will only approach someone who looks like you, talks like you, shares a common interest or vocation with you, someone who looks friendly and approachable. This is natural and reasonable.

Are people approaching you to find out more about Jesus. If so, why? If not, why not?

The world wants to see Jesus through his friends. The friends of Jesus should be easy to spot and should be approachable, which we will be if the fruit of the Spirit is observable in us (Gal 5:22-23a).

We must face up to this responsibility, which, in the first place, means seeking and developing the fruit of the Spirit —being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control— and developing these for the sake of others as much as for our own sake. These characteristics will make us naturally approachable.

The next point in meeting this responsibility is to be available where people can approach you. After all, Jesus said,

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

If you are a friend of Jesus, then you need to be not only approachable but available. So, are you spending time with those who are not yet believers? Are you sharing your interests, your time, your resources in the service of the lost, the last, the least and the lonely? You cannot be approached if you are not available and people will not see Jesus in you if they cannot see you at all.

The heart cry of all people is to know the only true God and the One he has sent —Christ Jesus. That heart cry will not be satisfied in religious ritual, although our rituals and liturgy help us to worship God. That heart cry will only be satisfied as we see the truth of God and the goodness of Jesus in the reality of the lives of those who claim to be Jesus’ friends.

ConclusionThe story of these Greeks is easy to miss and to ignore but, clearly, John the apostle thought it was important to record. This story implores us to take seriously two questions:

Would you see Jesus?

He is revealed in the Bible. The whole of the Christian scriptures are a unified story leading to Jesus. Those writings carry the imprimatur of the Holy Spirit. They declare Jesus is who he said he is and what is written about him is true.

Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus invites you to trust him and to receive eternal life.

The second question is: Would souls seeking Jesus come to you?

Which is to say that your life reflects what is true and good about the news of Christ Jesus, and that your life reflects what is beautiful about following a Christian lifestyle. The fruit of the Spirit blossoms in your life and your faith steps of reading the Bible, praying, and sharing your journey are leading to new and deeper insights and virtuous life choices.

If all this is true of you then let your light shine where there are souls seeking Jesus. Be approachable and available because your family, friends, and neighbours are not likely to find Jesus any other way.

If you can answer either of these questions in the affirmative, then let this affirmation of faith be your prayer:

Let us think on Jesus the Lord:
instead of the joy meant for him,
he endured the cross,
ignoring its disgrace.

We worship you, Lord,
on the way to the cross.

O Jesus Christ, the King of glory,
born in humility to confound the proud
and to raise the humble,
you became the poor workman of Nazareth
to teach us true wealth:

We worship you, Lord,
on the way to the cross.

You went among us, doing good,
proclaiming the good news to the poor
and freedom to the prisoners:

We worship you, Lord,
on the way to the cross.

You came to loose the chains
of every slavery,
friend of the humble,
bread of hungry souls,
healer of the sick:

We worship you, Lord,
on the way to the cross.

Jesus, pattern of patience and goodness,
prophet of the kingdom of God;
gentle and humble of heart,
forgiving all who loved much,
and calling the weary and the burdened:

We worship you, Lord,
on the way to the cross.

Jesus, you came into the world
to serve and to lay down your life;
you had nowhere to lay your head;
you were betrayed for money,
dragged before Pilate,
and nailed to the cross:

We worship you, Lord.

Jesus, Lord of all the worlds
by your resurrection from the dead,
alive forever to intercede
with your God and ours:

We worship you.[7]

[1]This sermon is adapted from an outline provided by Roger F. Campbell, Preach for a Year (Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Kregel Publications, 1988–), pg 93.

[2]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[3]See Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19.

[4]John Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley.

[5]See Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:14-19; Luke 6:13-15; Ac 1:13.

[6]The fact that when the Greeks approached Philip and he then took their request to Andrew also suggests a hierarchy, an informal one if not formal (John 12:22).

[7]Adapted from Terry Falla, “Jesus Our Lord”, Be Our Freedom Lord, second edition (Adelaide, SA, AUS: Open Book Publishers, 1994), pg 318-319.

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In this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, concluded the sermon series, The Balanced Christian Life, by describing how the Incarnational Tradition focuses on the relationship between the invisible spirit and physical reality, helping us to see God’s divine presence in the material world in which we live. God manifests himself in his creation, even in the midst of mundane activities, whenever and wherever we acknowledge God.

This sermon was delivered on 17 March 2024.

In this sermon series, The Balanced Christian Life, we have learned the Contemplative Tradition is a life of loving attention to God and through it we experience the divine rest that overcomes our alienation; the Holiness Tradition is a life that functions as it should because through it we are enabled to live whole, functional lives in a dysfunctional world; the Charismatic Tradition is a life immersed in, empowered by, and under the direction of the Spirit of God and through it we are empowered by God to do his work and evince his life upon the earth; and, the Evangelical Tradition is a life founded upon the living Word of God, the written Word of God, and the proclaimed Word of God, and through it we experience the knowledge of God that grounds our lives and enables us to give a reason for the whole that is in us.

The one element remaining is to understand how the streams of all of these traditions function in ordinary life, which is the task of the Incarnational Tradition.

The incarnational stream of Christian life and faith focuses upon making present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit. This sacramental way of living addresses the crying need to experience God as truly manifest and notoriously active in daily life.

The Example of BezalelHow then do the friends of Jesus train for living a sacramental life? A good place to start is by following the example of Jesus. Nothing can ever approach the perfect and unrepeatable reality of Jesus’ incarnation. Jesus, the Christ, is incarnation itself. We bow under the mystery of it.

Nor should we neglect to mention the role of Mary, mother of the Messiah, who was given astonishing news:

The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35[1]

God made manifest to the world, through a simple Jewish girl from an obscure village ‘out back o’ Bourke’, that he is with us, Emmanuel, in the person of Jesus. Mary’s word of obedience must ever be our word, we who seek to live sacramentally:

“See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:38

Both Jesus and Mary made present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit, and thereby expressed the Incarnational Tradition in its fullness and utter beauty. Unfortunately, these were extraordinary events in human history. We shall never come close to their example of the Incarnational Tradition.

For a more realistic example we can follow, we need to look back to when Moses led the Israelites through the Sea of Reeds to Sinai, the mountain of God.

Up to this point the people had seen the manifest presence of God in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Through giving the Ten Commandments and instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, God ordered human activity. In divine cooperation with this human effort, God allowed his glory to be “housed” in the Tabernacle.

The Lord also spoke to Moses: “Look, I have appointed by name Bezalel … I have filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every craft to design artistic works…

Exodus 31:1–5

The instructions for the Tabernacle were given to Moses and included a crucial point: God chose a skilled artisan and had him use his artistry to show forth God’s manifest presence to the people. Bezalel worked as an artisan and it was through his vocation that he was to demonstrate the presence of God. He was described not only as a skilled artisan but also as one “filled with the Spirit of God”. Bezalel was the first person in the Bible described in this way.

With him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, a gem cutter, a designer, and an embroiderer with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

Exodus 38:23

God inspired Bezalel to teach other skilled workers so that a large team was involved in the building of the Tabernacle. In addition the people were urged to help:

Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn [etc]…

Exodus 35:5b–9

This the people did,

Both men and women came; all who had willing hearts brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewellery…

Exodus 35:22a

Bezalel was a wonderful model of the Incarnational Tradition. He was a person of skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft. He was able to work artistically with gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. Most of all, Bezalel was a person filled with the Spirit of God. And what he produced gave the people a continual vision of God throughout their wanderings in the wilderness.

Accomplishing the construction of the Tabernacle took not only special skills in craftsmanship, but personality qualities as well. First, Bezalel was imaginative. He caught the vision of what this project could be.

Second, Bezalel was articulate. He had to communicate this vision to his subcontractors. They had to see what he saw so that they could work at the project with the same kind of imagination and skill.

Third, Bezalel was an effective administrator. He had to choose the right workers and organise them. He had to set priorities and make sure the work was done in the right order. Bezalel had to delegate well because any worker who did poorly reflected on the entire project.

All of Bezalel’s qualities and skills gave him the ability to not just oversee the construction of the Tabernacle but to make sure the project made present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit.

Consider these three examples together: because of Bezalel’s skill and faith the Tabernacle “housed” the glory of God; Mary’s womb became the dwelling place, the “tabernacle” of God; and, ultimately, in Christ Jesus God has truly “tabernacle” among us.

Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?

1 Corinthians 6:19a

It is now the call of the Church and all its members to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, making the glory of God visible and manifest everywhere we go and in everything we do.

Historical Examplesbook coversSeeking to follow a sacramental life has created within the Church an Incarnational Tradition—the sixth and final historical movement I am describing for you in this sermon series. For this series, I have been relying on the writings of Richard Foster, most especially his book Streams of Living Water.[2]

From its very earliest days, there have been many individuals and movements within the Church that have experienced God as truly manifest and notoriously active in their daily lives. In the pages of history we find many examples following the Incarnational Tradition:

• James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) indicated an interest in being a missionary to China at age 5 and, though frail, he studied medicine, theology, Latin, and Greek as a young man. Upon arrival in China he adopted local customs and dress and worked tirelessly to enculturate the Gospel into Chinese life. When he discovered his sponsoring mission organisation was operating on borrowed money, he founded the interdenominational China Inland Mission.
• Stephen of Hungary (ca. 970-1038) was the son of Geza, Duke of the Magyars. He was baptised with the rest of his family and became governor when his father died. As Hungary’s first king, he consolidated his rule and gradually established sees with churches and monasteries at their centres. He exercised his kingly rights, commending that people pay tithes to support a church and priest in every 10th town, repressing public crimes such as blasphemy and murder, abolishing tribal divisions, dividing the land into “counties”, and limiting the accumulation of wealth by nobility. The architect of an independent Hungary, Stephen’s example of virtue inspired the people under his rule.
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was a novelist whose writings played a significant role in undermining Communism’s moral authority in Soviet Russia. While serving in the Soviet army, Solzhenitsyn was falsely accused of a political crime and imprisoned. His first novel describes that prison life and another takes place in a hospital. The stories contrast revolutionary ideals with harsh political reality and describe heroes whose human dignity triumphs over tyranny and suffering. His most famous work, The Gulag Archipelago, exposed the Soviet prison-camp system. In response, the Soviet union revoked Solzhenitsyns citizenship and deported him. After the collapse of Communism he returned to his beloved Russia.[3]
• Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) was The Netherlands’ greatest artist and is known worldwide for dramatic pieces that use light and shadow to heighten the drama of his subject. Rembrandt’s range included portraits, landscapes, nudes, stories from the Old and New Testaments, and more. The biblical pictures created during the last years of his life seem to glow from within, the shadows intense and vibrant. Christians are especially familiar with his painting Christ at Emmaus.
• Aurelius Prudentius Clemens (348-ca. 410) was trained in law and served in the Spanish civil service until he quit at age 57. Devoting the rest of his life to Christ, he published his Latin writings, which greatly influenced Christian poetry and hymnology. His work Psychomachia, the story of a soul’s spiritual warfare, was the first Christian allegorical epic, and his hymns are still sung today.
• Professional Christian Societies (20th century to the present). Since World War II, Christians in the marketplace have felt a special burden to bring the life of God into their life at work. To help each other in this task, philosophers, writers, dentists, doctors, lawyers, and more have joined together and formed professional organisations that meet regularly for encouragement, worship, and training. The Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship of Australia and Christians in Science and Technology are two such Australian groups.

And there are many more examples of spiritual giants and ordinary saints who discovered, in many and varied ways, a life that makes present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit. The overflow of their sacramental lives was loving action for their neighbours and changing the systems around them.

What Is the Incarnational Tradition?The Incarnational Tradition concerns itself with the relationship between spirit and matter. In short, God is manifest to us through material means.

The spiritual and the material are not in opposition to one another, but are complementary. Far from being evil, the physical is meant to be inhabited by the spiritual. We are created so as to receive life from God, who is Spirit, and to express that life through our bodies and in the physical world in which we live. The material world is created, in part, so as to make visible and manifest the realm of the invisible spirit.

God loves matter. In his original creative acts God affirmed matter again and again, declaring it “good” at every point along the way (Gen 1-2:3). The material world is intended to enhance human life. We have been giving all things to enjoy, yet instructed to avoid the things that will harm us (Gen 2:15–17; 1 Cor 10:23; 6:12–20).

One of the main functions of matter is to mediate the presence of an infinite God to finite minds. The Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle were divinely appointed arrangements so that God could be with human beings without destroying them. The same is true of the coming of the Messiah as a baby in a manger. These realities allow God to come to us and we, in turn, can go to God.

There are fundamentally two arenas or dimensions of sacramental life.

The Religious DimensionThe specifically religious dimension is most fully expressed in our corporate worship. Here we utilise the physical and the material to express and manifest the spiritual. We have a choice of liturgy, but we do not have a choice of whether to use liturgy. As long as we are finite human beings, we must use liturgy; we must express ourselves through forms of worship.

Liturgy simply means “the people’s work”. Our task in liturgy is to glorify God in the various aspects of our worship life. This is true whether we are singing hymns or burning candles, dancing in ecstatic praise or bowing in speechless adoration.

For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:6–7

The imagery of Paul the apostle describing “treasure in clay jars” is useful here. The treasure is “God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ”. The “clay jar” is the human body, along with the various cultural forms we use to manifest the treasure. We must always remember that the form itself is not the treasure; we worship God, never the form.

Understanding this imagery helps us appreciate others who do not worship in our way. We can recognise the treasure they are showing forth even though they worship in a different “clay jar” from us.

All worship becomes a magnificent, all-encompassing aesthetic experience. We see, we smell, we touch, we taste, we hear. We absorb the faith by reliving the Gospel and the Passion in the liturgy. God is manifest to us through material means.

The Sacraments of the Church most completely demonstrate God’s use of matter to make present and visible the invisible realm of the Spirit. They are often called, “visible means of an invisible grace”.

Sacraments are concrete actions by which we are marked and fed in such a way that the reality of God becomes embedded in our body, mind, our spirit. The Holy Spirit grafts us into the community of faith by burying and then raising us up in Baptism and the Holy Spirit continually feeds us when we enact the death and resurrection of Christ in The Lord’s Supper.

The Arena of Everyday LifeThe religious dimension is the beginning, not the end. We are to take this life and incorporate it into all we are and all we do. We bring the religious dimension into daily life: into our homes, into our work, into our relationships with children and spouse and friends and neighbours and, yes, even enemies. This then is the most fundamental arena for the Incarnational Tradition: the arena of everyday life.

The most basic place of our sacramental living is in our marriages and homes and families. Here we live together in well-reasoned love for everyone around us. Here we experience “the sacrament of the present moment” (Jean Pierre de Caussade).

Work is another everyday place for sacramental living. “Work” does not refer merely to our job, but to what we do to we produce good in our world.

Sacramental living at work does not mean retreating during lunch for a quick Bible reading and prayer. The real issue is how we live and act and react in the midst of the dog-eat-dog world of power lunches and business dealings and board meetings. Or the dog-eat-dog world of restaurant managers and servers, of contractors and subcontractors, of middle management and office staff. Or the world of law and education and entrepreneurship. These are the places where people desperately need to see the reality of God made visible and manifest. This is where we learn to do our work as Jesus would do our work if he were in our place.

The third place we live sacramentally is in society at large. We are to bring the reality of God to bear upon cultural, political, and institutional life. We work to lift our culture, not just through the commonsense moral standards of decency and honesty, but through art and literature and drama, justice and beauty and shalom. We nurture the good, the true, and the beautiful throughout society — through the person-centred caring of the schools we run, through the beauty of the products we build, through the entrepreneurial empowerment we offer the poor, through the imaginative and redeeming literature we write, through the ecological sensitivity we bring to land use and development, and so much more.

Family, work, and society comprise the arena of everyday life. It is of utmost importance that we keep a constant and intimate link between the specifically religious dimension and the arena of everyday life. This is what it means to live sacramentally, to follow in the Incarnational Tradition.

Practices For TodayWe engage the Incarnational Tradition in many different ways and through many different venues. The first action in practising the Incarnational Tradition is the invocation of God’s manifest presence into this material world of ours. We invite God to enter every experience of life. We invite God to set our spirit free for worship and adoration. We invite God to animate our preaching and singing and praying. We invite God to transform the sacraments. We invite God to heal our bodies. We invite God to inform our minds with creative ideas for a business enterprises. We invite God to touch broken relationships and resolve conflicts at work or home. We invite God to make our homes holy places of worship and study and work and play and love-making. The grace of God will come in loving response to our invocation.

A second action comes as we recover a Christian spirituality of work. Special emphasis needs to be placed upon the sacredness of the work of our hands and of our mind. If ours is God’s world, any true work for the improvement of human life is a sacred undertaking.

So what does a Christian spirituality of work look like? We have a sense of calling, a God-given ability to do a job linked with a God-given enjoyment in doing it. We have a sense of responsibility to do something in our own time that has value. We have a sense of freedom from the burden of the workaholic, for we are not asked to do more than we can. We have a sense of creativity that enables us to place the autograph of our souls on the work of our hands. We have a sense of dignity, for we value people over efficiency. We have a sense of community, for we know our life together is more important than the end product. We have a sense of solidarity with the poor to empower them to do what they cannot do by themselves. And we have a sense of meaning and purpose, for we know we are working in cooperation with God to bring the world one step closer to completion.

A third action comes through the recovery of marriage and family life. Marriage is covenantal. It involves an uncalculating abandon, an utter and mutual outpouring of love and loyalty. And so a home is formed and children must normally follow.

Family life is the place where the specifically religious dimension and everyday life meet. The home is intrinsically a religious institution and the family table is the centre of the home.

Common labour too should be found in the home. Floors need cleaning and windows need washing. It is worth our best thinking and most creative efforts to make the home not just a rooming house, but the centre of family life, the place for work and worship and play and love-making.

In these and many other ways, the arena of everyday life and the religious dimension come together and make all-of-life a sacrament.

ConclusionThe Incarnational Tradition leads to a life that makes present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit. We explore it because through it we experience God as truly manifest and notoriously active in daily life.

All of us are called to sacramental living. Redeemed by God through Christ, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and experience a growing transformation of character as our bodies come into a working harmony with our spirit. Hence our embodied self becomes a habitation of the holy —a tabernacle— where we learn throughout our daily activities to function in cooperation with and dependence upon God. Through time and experience we discover that everywhere we go is “holy ground” and everything we do is “sanctified action”. The jagged line dividing the sacred and the secular becomes very dim indeed, for we know that nothing is outside the realm of God’s purview and loving care.

Let us, therefore, follow the example of Jesus, Mary, and Bezalel, and the example of ordinary saints that have gone before us in the Incarnational Tradition, that the Holy Spirit might make us more like Christ —to will and to act in accordance with God’s will for us (Php 2:12-13).

And may we always remember Jesus said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (Jn 7:38). The sacramental life of the Incarnational Tradition overflows.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices From the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith (Zondervan, 2001); other relevant resources include Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Harper San Francisco, 1998) and A.A. Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that transform us (InterVarsity Press, 2015).

[3]Of course, we cannot forget Solzhenitsyn’s 19th century predecessors in literature and Christian faith. Count Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky are among Russia’s greatest novelists. They wrote during the age of realism, focussing on the human condition. In War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Tolstoy explored such universal themes as birth, love, marriage, moral duty, and death. Dostoevsky’s characters in Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov experience violent spiritual struggles between their pride and self-centredness and their belief in God.

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In this sermon our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes how the Evangelical Tradition encompasses much more than simply converting people. The “good news” is God’s great message to humanity: that all can be rescued, redeemed and restored to our intended design. This is the message embodied in Jesus himself, rooted in the Bible, and ultimately expressed through the lives of those who follow Christ. It is a living tale of grace spoken in and through word and action.

The sermon begins with a Bible reading exercise called Lectio Divina.

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 10 March 2024.

Our current sermon series is called The Balanced Christian Life. Last week, we learned the Social Justice Tradition is a life committed to compassion and justice for all peoples.

The work of social justice is most complete when it is intricately connected to authentic evangelical witness. Therefore the Social Justice and the Evangelical Traditions are at their best when they function together.

The Evangelical Tradition of Christian life and faith focuses upon the proclamation of the Gospel, the good news of Christ Jesus. Through this tradition we are enabled by the power of God to take the word of the Gospel into our hearts in such a transforming way that others, seeing this, want it for themselves. This faith stream addresses the crying need for people to see the good news lived and hear the good news proclaimed.

The Evangelical Tradition encompasses much more than simply converting people. This “good news” is God’s great message to humanity: that all can be rescued, redeemed and restored to our intended design. This is the message embodied in Jesus himself, rooted in the Bible, and ultimately expressed through the lives of those who follow Christ. It is a living tale of grace spoken in and through word and action.

The Example of PeterHow then do the friends of Jesus train for living a Word-centred life? A good place to start is by following the example of Peter the apostle.

Above all else, Peter was a proclaimer of the Gospel. He understood his supreme task to be the winning and making of disciples for Christ Jesus. We read of Peter rising to this task on the day of Pentecost:

Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words.

Acts 2:14[1]

Peter did not always possess the spiritual resources to speak as he did at Pentecost.

For example, as Jesus prayed, he was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. Moses and Elijah appeared. To be present in that moment would have been overwhelming for anyone. Unable to contain himself, Peter blurted out,

As the two men were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying.

Luke 9:33

We can be certain Peter spoke out of a sense of devotion but ended up offering “the sacrifice of fools” (Ecc 5:1).

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:15–16

On other occasions Peter spoke both correctly and wrongly at the same time. When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter quickly spoke up: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. For this he was commended by Jesus (Mt 16:13–19).

As Jesus then began to explain how he must suffer at Jerusalem (Mt 16:21-23), Peter spoke brazenly: “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” Jesus had to correct him harshly:

Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Matthew 16:23

It is as James reminds us: “blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth” (Jam 3:10a).

At times Peter’s impulsive speech got him into serious trouble. When the disciples sighted Jesus walking on the water, they were terrified, but Peter jumped right into the situation: “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus welcomed Peter’s immature faith but, as it turns out, Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat but not enough to keep himself afloat. “Lord, save me!” He cried out and, as gracious as always, Jesus came to Peter’s aid (Mt 14:25-31).

After becoming a disciple of Jesus, Peter was on a steep learning curve. Every time he ran ahead of the Spirit he grew from the experience. Peter was training to become a leader in the early Church.

He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.”

John 13:6–7

In the Upper Room, as Jesus washed his disciples feet, with humility Peter declared, “you will never wash my feet”. After Jesus helped Peter see the arrogance in his declaration, Peter then went to the other extreme: “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head” (Jn 13:2–11). Again, the sacrifice of fools.

Peter could not watch and pray with Jesus in the Garden (Mt 26:41) and even denied Jesus three times in the courtyard of the High Priest, leaving him to make an hasty exit and weep bitterly (Mt 26:69–75).

Peter’s life and faith proved true Jesus’ diagnosis,

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41b

Some would think Peter was a failure as an apostle but the truly great work in him and through him was yet to come.

He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

John 21:17

The risen Christ appeared to Peter and some other disciples by the sea of Tiberias. Jesus prepared breakfast for them and, in a private conversation, restored Peter with the commission, “feed my sheep” (Jn 21:15-19).

From this point on a different Peter emerges in the Scriptures. He was not perfect; he still made mistakes, but the spiritual substance of his life had been established. He had a new conviction and we see this most clearly in Peter’s ability to proclaim the Gospel. Whether he was preaching in Solomon’s Colonnade (Ac 3:11ff) or before the Sanhedrin (Ac 4:5ff) or in the house of Cornelius (Ac 10:34ff), Peter was constantly and consistently “holding forth the Word of life” (Php 2:16). This is what commends Peter to us as a faithful representative of the Evangelical Tradition.

Historical ExamplesSeeking to follow a Word-centred life has created within the Church an Evangelical Tradition—the fifth historical movement I am describing for you in this sermon series.[2]

From its very earliest days, there have been many individuals and movements within the Church that have founded their lives upon the living Word of God, the written Word of God, and the proclaimed Word of God. In the pages of history we find many examples following the Evangelical Tradition:

• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is considered by many to be the greatest philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages, due to his authoritative, systematic, and intellectual statements of Christian faith. Aquinas’ distinctive natural theology and natural law ethic have influenced the development of theology, philosophy, ethics, and other issues in Western government and society.
• John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) studied logic, philosophy, and rhetoric, hoping to become a lawyer. Ordained by the Bishop of Antioch (today known as Syria) in 386, he became a popular and gifted preacher, combining sound biblical exposition with practical application. Chrysostom was opposed to the allegorical method of interpreting Scripture. He sought the exact, literal meaning of each verse after carefully examining the Greek text, a method the reformers revived eleven hundred years later.
• Columba (521-597) was a nobleman who served the cause of Christ his Irish homeland. Because of a controversy surrounding a manuscript of the Gospels he copied without permission, and an ensuing battle in which three thousand men were killed, Columba went into self-imposed exile on the small island of Iona, off the western coast of Scotland in 563. There he set up an outpost that became a beehive of missionary activity. When he secured the independence of the Scots from the Picts, it opened the door for monks from Iona to penetrate all of Scotland and northern England with the Gospel. In addition, Columba revived learning and introduced a written Gaelic language, which provided the base for Celtic literature.
• Clive Staples “C.S.” Lewis (1898-1963) was a “happy atheist” at age 14 who was “surprised by Joy” at 30. A literary professor at Oxford, Lewis wrote some of the most popular and creative books of the 20th century. In the midst of World War II, Lewis presented a series of radio talks explaining and defending “the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times”. Those talks were edited and formatted into the classic volume Mere Christianity, through which the Gospel shines and many have been led to place their faith in Jesus.
• Billy Graham (1918-2018) proclaimed the Gospel to monarchs and millions alike all over the world, travelling to more places and preaching to more persons than anyone in history. Many of his crusades became significant moments in the histories of the cities and countries in which they occurred. Graham was a pioneer in the use of new technologies and media, brought moral and fiscal integrity to itinerant evangelism, was a great advocate for working with a broad spectrum of the Christian community in evangelistic efforts, and quietly worked for racial reconciliation, desegregating his events and promoting “love toward all peoples”.

And there are many more examples of spiritual giants and ordinary saints who discovered, in many and varied ways, that the knowledge of God grounds our lives and enables us to give a reason for the hope that is in us. The overflow of their Word-centred lives was loving action for their neighbours and changing the systems around them.

What Is the Evangelical Tradition?The Evangelical Tradition is comprised of three great themes.

A Faithful ProclamationThe first is the faithful proclamation of the Gospel.

The Gospel is the good news of rescue, redemption, and reconciliation powerfully captured in the words of the apostle Paul:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation … Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:17–20

This is good news, that we are no longer prevented by our sin and rebellion from drawing near to God. He himself has provided a way.

Through the birth, life, ministry, teaching, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus we are now able to be reconciled to our Creator. We receive with joy his declaration,

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

The friends of Jesus re-evaluate our whole way of living in light of the great fact the Kingdom of Heaven is accessible to human beings. This means we can be reconciled to God. This means we can be made new. We can experience the forgiveness of sins through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross. We can enter a loving, living, eternal relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not just good news, it is great news!

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations … And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19–20

This great news is worthy of sharing, and Jesus’ friends are given the honour of sharing this good news of ongoing life in Christ with all people.

What we have received and are offering the world is life as it was meant to be. We are not calling people to merely accept a set of beliefs about Jesus. We are calling people to turn to Jesus as their life. We are inviting people to become his friend by enrolling in his school of living. We are training people in the Way, taking into themselves Jesus’ hopes, dreams, longings, habits, and abilities.

A Faithful RepositoryThe second theme of the Evangelical Tradition is the centrality of Scripture as a faithful repository of the Gospel.

Besides being good news of rescue, redemption, and reconciliation, it is important we understand the Gospel has been faithfully preserved and presented to us in the Scriptures. Evangelical faith is biblical faith.

Where Jesus is the Word of God living, we might say the Bible is the Word of God written (although with a lot of nuance). The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John stand as the heart the biblical witness, for they faithfully present us with the Christ-event. The letters are the record of interpreting the Christ-event by the early Church. And we accept the Scriptures of the Old Testament because Jesus did.

The friends of Jesus concur with the confessional statement of Paul the apostle:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16–17

This reminds us the Scriptures have primacy over other writings; primacy over church tradition; primacy over individual religious experience; primacy over individual conscience; primacy over individual revelations, dreams, and visions; primacy over culture.

A Faithful InterpretationThe final great theme of the Evangelical Tradition reminds us of the faithful interpretation contained in the confessional witness of the early Church.

As the Gospel spread to the known world of that day, to every culture and people group, competing views began to emerge, with some claiming to replace or even surpass the good news of the Gospel. In the New Testament letters, we see the beginnings of this clarification and interpretation of the Christ-event. For example, consider Paul the apostle’s great christological statement which begins:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible…

Colossians 1:15–20

The apostle here laid a foundation for a clear understanding of the person and ministry of Christ Jesus.

This clarifying and interpreting work continued on for roughly five centuries. Several great “ecumenical councils” were held during those years to ascertain as clear an understanding of the Christ-event as possible. The three most important councils were held at Nicaea in 325, which confessed Christ as fully divine; Constantinople in 381, which confessed Christ as fully human; and, and at Chalcedon in 451, which confessed the unity of Christ as two natures in one person.

These councils produced clarifying statements, the most famous of which being the Nicene Creed, a statement foundational to Christian conviction. This and other affirmations and creeds sought to interpret and clarify the Christ-event but never carry the same weight and authority as Scripture.

What we believe about the deity and humanity of Christ, his resurrection from the dead, and the doctrine of the Trinity are of prime interest to evangelical witness. Why? Because they, and other doctrinal beliefs like them, hold us to a faithful interpretation of the Christ-event. This in turn enables us to proclaim the good news of the Gospel with fidelity and integrity.

Practices For TodayWe engage the Evangelical Tradition in many different ways and through many different venues. For most of us the problem is not knowing what we are to do; it is doing what we know we are to do. May God give us the strength and courage to do what needs to be done.

Here are two suggestions and two cautions for fostering Word-centred living:

First, get to know your Bible. Make a really good friend of Scripture, reading it in substantial doses. It is far better to devote one hour once a week to reading the Bible than ten minutes every day. Reading a brief verse or two each morning is like trying to take a shower one drop at a time. We simply cannot become clean that way, nor can we become a biblically saturated person that way. So read entire sections or books of the Bible in one sitting. This is not nearly as difficult as you think once you develop the habit.

A word of caution: our souls will never grow in God if we read the Bible only to get ammunition to defend ourselves or to defeat others. No, we read the Bible to be fed. We read it to be converted, to be strengthened, to be taught, to be rebuked, to be counselled, to be comforted. As we sit with the Bible, we will be formed by the experience.

Second, get to know those around you. Those you live near and those you work with and those you meet at the grocery store or the petrol station. If we really pay attention to those around us —learning their interests, needs, hopes, hurts, dreams, fears— we will be given what we need to say to them by the Holy Spirit. Our lives will preach Christ, and our words will confirm and make specific the message of our lives.

A final caution: we must never confuse witnessing with “soul winning”. Jesus made it unmistakably clear it is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to “convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgement” (Jn 16:8). And we must never assume the work of the Holy Spirit for ourselves. God alone “wins the soul”. We are simply and only witnesses to how good God is and to what transformational things he has done in us. No more, no less.

ConclusionThe Evangelical Tradition leads to a life founded upon the living Word of God, the written Word of God, and the proclaimed Word of God. We explore a Word-centred life because through it we experience the knowledge of God that grounds our lives and enables us to give a reason for the hope that is in us.

The Evangelical Tradition encompasses much more than simply converting people. The “good news” is God’s great message to humanity: that all can be rescued, redeemed and restored to our intended design. This is the message embodied in Jesus himself, rooted in the Bible, and ultimately expressed through the lives of those who follow Christ. It is a living tale of grace spoken in and through word and action.

Let us, therefore, follow the example of Peter the apostle and the example of ordinary saints that have gone before us in the Evangelical Tradition, that the Holy Spirit might make us more like Christ —to will and to act in accordance with God’s will for us (Php 2:12-13).

And may we always remember Jesus said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (Jn 7:38). The Word-centred life of the Evangelical Tradition overflows.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]For this series I am relying on the writings of Richard Foster, most especially his book Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices from the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith, (Harper San Francisco, 1998).

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In this sermon our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, described how the Social Justice Tradition expresses the themes of justice, compassion, and peace. It emphasises wisdom and loving-kindness to bring relationships into harmony, unity, and balance, even within our relationship to nature. The compassion-direct life engages all arenas of life, from personal to social to institutional. As with the other traditions, the actions we take are not the end goal. True compassion is motivated by a genuine heart, is empowered by the love of God, and embraces the possibility of positive change.

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 25 February 2024.

The Social Justice Tradition expresses the themes of justice, compassion, and peace. It emphasises wisdom and loving-kindness to bring relationships into harmony, unity, and balance, even within our relationship to nature. The compassion-direct life engages all arenas of life, from personal to social to institutional. As with the other traditions, the actions we take are not the end goal. True compassion is motivated by a genuine heart, is empowered by the love of God, and embraces the possibility of positive change.

How then do the friends of Jesus train for living a compassion-directed life?

The Example of Amos

So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs.

Amos 7:14[1]

A good place to start is by following the example the prophet Amos.

A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?

Amos 3:8

Nothing qualified him for the prophetic ministry, yet the word of the Lord came to Amos and what else could he do but proclaim the message given to him.

What was the message the Lord gave to Amos?

The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Israel for three crimes, even four, because they sell a righteous person for silver and a needy person for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and obstruct the path of the needy. A man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, profaning my holy name. They stretch out beside every altar on garments taken as collateral, and in the house of their God they drink wine obtained through fines.

Amos 2:6–8

The Lord was scandalized by the blatant injustices that had become so commonplace among his people, yet no one seemed to notice: selling the poor into slavery, perverting the justice of the oppressed, engaging in illicit sexual intercourse, and taking financial advantage of the helpless. All of these acts of injustice exhibit a single common denominator: the abuse of power. Power was being used to manipulate, to control, and to destroy.

The Lord repudiated and condemned these abuses of power.

The Lord also identified the abuses of merchants and business leaders:

Hear this, you who trample on the needy and do away with the poor of the land, asking, “When will the New Moon be over so we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, so we may market wheat? We can reduce the measure while increasing the price and cheat with dishonest scales. We can buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and even sell the chaff!” The Lord has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: I will never forget all their deeds.

Amos 8:4–7

From this we learn the Lord cares about justice in the business area too.

Even further, political security and economic prosperity abounded, and the people believed all this abundance was a sign of God’s favour. But Amos proclaimed the Lord had a different perspective on all of this: all their wealth and affluence were the result of the sacrilegious oppression of the poor.

For I know your crimes are many and your sins innumerable. They oppress the righteous, take a bribe, and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates.

Amos 5:12

Through Amos, the Lord accused Israel’s elite, who were trying to corrupt the legal system and use it to their own advantage. The very system designed to provide justice for all equally was being perverted.

The Lord also condemned the worship life of Israel:

I hate, I despise, your feasts! I can’t stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. Even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; I will have no regard for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle. Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

Amos 5:21–23

All three elements of Israel’s worship came under review and all three were soundly rejected.

Why was Israel’s worship —it’s festivals, sacrifices, and music— soundly condemned? For one reason only: all of the festivals, all of the sacrifices, all of the instruments and music of worship failed because they were not accompanied by acts of justice and righteousness.

But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.

Amos 5:24

The Lord demands something more revolutionary than festivals and sacrifices and worship songs. That “something more” is impartiality in judicial decisions, equity in business dealings, justice for the poor and the oppressed.

We may know very little about Amos the prophet, which forces us to focus our attention on the message he proclaimed: the message of justice and social righteousness. It is a message we do well to heed even today.

Historical ExamplesSeeking to follow a compassion-directed life has created within the Church a Social Justice Tradition—the fourth historical movement I am describing for you in this sermon series.[2]

From its very earliest days, there have been many individuals and movements within the Church that are motivated by a genuine heart, empowered by the love of God, and embrace the possibility of positive change. In the pages of history we find many examples following the Social Justice Tradition:

• Jean Vanier (1928-2019) believed he was “just a catalyst” in the life of the L’Arche communities, intentional communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together, sharing life and building relationships of mutual care and support. Founded in 1964 in France, L’Arche has grown to include communities in over 35 countries around the world.
• Robert Raikes (1735-1811) was an English publisher who used his newspaper to publicise his benevolent causes. First, he focussed on prison reform; then, in 1780, he founded the Sunday School movement. He set up a school in his own parish and paid teachers to teach reading, writing, and the principles of the Christian faith to the children of the poor on the only day they were free. Though the movement spread rapidly, the work met some opposition from clergy who felt that Sunday was being “desecrated”. But Sunday school outlasted the critics, becoming a normal part of Protestant church life.
• Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury (1801-1885) was a vigorous social reformer who campaigned on such matters as the treatment of the mentally ill; the terms of employment for workers in factories, mills, and in mines; and the use of boys as chimney sweeps. As a member of the House of Lords, Lord Shaftesbury consistently called for improvement in the living conditions of industrial workers. As a landowner, he built a model village in Dorset. In addition he was president of numerous philanthropic and missionary societies, including the Ragged School Union, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the British and Foreign Bible Society.
• Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was born of English parents in Florence Italy and is recognised as the founder of modern nursing. “Homeschooled” by her father and called to nursing by God, she studied the methods of the Sisters of Charity and was trained at the Institute of Protestant Deaconesses in Germany. While the superintendent of the Women’s Hospital in London, Florence was recruited by the British Secretary of War to go to Constantinople to care for Crimean war wounded. There she initiated procedures that reformed hospital administration and nursing worldwide. She was the first woman to receive the British Order of Merit.
• Mother Teresa (1910-1997) knew she wanted to be a missionary early in life. Albanian by birth, she joined the Sisters of Loretto and initially taught children in Calcutta India. Soon, though, she felt drawn to found a new order and received permission to start the Missionaries of Charity. Joined by other dedicated workers, she added a fourth vow to poverty, chastity, and obedience: a vow of wholehearted, free service to the poor. Teresa set to work helping the “poorest of the poor”: lepers, abandoned infants, starving families, and disabled baggers. Her ministry has since spread throughout the world, and at her death she received a state funeral from the nation of India.
• Catherine Mumford (1829-1890) and William Booth (1829-1912) were co-founders of The Salvation Army. After marrying, the couple left the Methodist New Connection denomination, where William was a minister, and, five years later, started a philanthropic and evangelistic mission in the East End (Whitechapel district) of London in 1865. Basic to their ministry was meeting physical needs first, through a network of social relief and rehabilitation agencies, and then filling spiritual voids through gospel preaching and lively worship.

And there are many more examples of spiritual giants and ordinary saints who discovered, in many and varied ways, that true compassion is motivated by a genuine heart, is empowered by the love of God, and embraces the possibility of positive change. The overflow of their compassion-directed lives was loving action for their neighbours and changing the systems around them.

What Is the Social Justice Tradition?The Social Justice Tradition takes the central issue of the Holiness tradition —love— and puts it into practice. The supernatural resources to live appropriately —to live the virtuous life— now extend out into our relationships with people and with social structures and even with the Earth itself.

The Social Justice Tradition turns revolves around the greatest commandments found in Matthew 22:37-40:

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Matthew 22:37–40

In Jesus’ day there were 613 commandments of the Jewish law and Jesus gathered them together into two sweeping movements of the heart. Love of God is the vertical movement and love of neighbour is the horizontal. They are separate commandments but also inseparable.

Of course, we naturally join with the lawyer who asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29b).

The common view of that day was that “neighbour” meant “cultural equivalent”: the person who looks like me, dresses like me, thinks like me. To explode that view, Jesus told the now-famous story of a Samaritan who showed compassion on a beaten and broken Jew (Lk 10:30-35). Samaritans were definitely not the Jew’s cultural equivalent, even being considered avowed enemies, yet the Samaritan had compassion of the Jew near him, the person in need.

We learn from this story that no national heritage, no racial origin, no ethnic background, or barriers of class or culture should separate us from our neighbour.

Paul the apostle expressed this idea memorably when he wrote,

In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

Colossians 3:11

Paul included “the Scythian” in his description intentionally. The Scythians were the barbarian’s barbarian. The historian Josephus called them “wild beasts”. In Jesus, then, even the most reprehensible to us is our neighbour, whom we are to love as we love ourselves.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pushed the horizontal movement of love of neighbour to its most difficult conclusion:

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Matthew 5:44

This is a qualification of neighbour that few can handle, that even our enemy is our neighbour. Loving one’s enemies is simply not in us naturally. Most of us cannot view this as a good thing, much less carry it out. Even to want to love our enemies demands a power outside of us, which is precisely why the vertical movement of love is so essential to the horizontal. Love of God makes love of neighbour possible.

Three ThemesIn seeking to understand the Social Justice Tradition, we discover it embraces three great themes summed up in the Hebrew words: mishpat, hesed, and shalom.

Technically mishpat means “justice”, but it is an expansive word carrying social, ethical, and religious connotations. We are told that God

executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 10:18

The psalmist declared,

The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Psalm 103:6

This justice requires wisdom to bring equitable, harmonious relationships between people. When Solomon prayed for the wisdom to govern the people justly, God responded,

Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested … discernment for yourself to administer justice

1 Kings 3:10–11

Political leaders are expected to exercise this quality of ethical compassion, of justice, on behalf of all the people. Jeremiah the prophet was brokenhearted that justice could not be found anywhere in all Jerusalem, though a person could

Roam through the streets of Jerusalem. Investigate; search in her squares. If you find one person, any who acts justly, who pursues faithfulness, then I will forgive her.

Jeremiah 5:1

The Lord God had institutionalised a system of compassionate justice through such as the law of gleaning, the Year of Jubilee, but political leaders in Israel had institutionalised a system of hardened injustice.

Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws

Isaiah 10:1

God’s justice, God’s mishpat, is for the people

To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?

Isaiah 58:5–7

This is social justice.

The Hebrew word hesed holds before us the great theme of compassion. It is a word most frequently used in reference to God’s unwavering compassion for his people.

But from eternity to eternity the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren

Psalm 103:17

Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 106:1

The great challenge for us is that this covenant love, this durable mercy that is so central to the character of God, is to be reflected in us as well. Through Hosea the prophet, God declared

I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

The final theme of the Social Justice Tradition is shalom. Shalom means wholeness, unity, balance. It embodies the vision of a harmonious, all-inclusive community of loving persons. It is much broader than peace. The Bible begins and ends with a great vision of shalom.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Genesis 1:2–3

Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.”

(Revelation 21:5a

The promised Messiah was born as the “Prince of peace”; justice and righteousness and peace characterise his unending kingdom:

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6–7

Central to the dream of shalom is the magnificent vision of all nations streaming to the mountain of the temple of God to be taught his ways and walk in his paths:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it … For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war.

Isaiah 2:2–4

The vision of shalom is harmony with God, where faithfulness and loyalty prevail; harmony with our neighbour, where justice and mercy abound; and harmony with nature, where peace and unity reign.

Mishpat, hesed, and shalom are three biblical words that inform our vision of the Social Justice Tradition. May the day soon come when

Faithful love and truth will join together; righteousness and peace will embrace.

Psalm 85:10

Three ArenasInspired by these three themes, we work for social justice within three great arenas, and we are given weapons of the Spirit specifically designed for effective use in the context of each of these arenas.

The first arena in the struggle for social justice is the personal arena. We cannot work for justice and live injustice; we cannot work for peace and live war; we cannot work for racial reconciliation and live bigotry.

So we stand against all forms of pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust within ourselves, for these destroy the good we would do in the world. We pursue and embrace the cardinal virtues of temperance, prudence, fortitude, and justice, along with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

We commit ourselves to honesty in all business dealings, integrity in all words and deeds, purity in all matters of morality, generosity of spirit in all things, and divine love toward all peoples.

Many weapons of the Spirit are employed in this work, but the one most specifically useful in the personal arena is prayer. In prayer we wait in the power of God for evil to dissipate and good to rise up. By prayer we receive spiritual enabling to overpower the egoism that drives us so relentlessly. Through prayer we develop the longing, the yearning to sink down deep into the things of God. From prayer we discern the actions we are to take to overcome evil with good. All this we will need to sustain us in the struggle for social righteousness.

The second arena is the social arena. This begins on the level of interpersonal relationships: marriages and families and friends and neighbours and work associates, and all those who curse us and spitefully use us. As much as we are able, we live in peace with all people. This is the work of healing and reconciliation, of compassion and peace.

This work of social justice extends out to the larger social context of our culture: into school boards and community clubs and civic organizations and city commissions, and much more. Into all social networks we bring love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and generosity and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

We feed the hungry. We help the helpless. Reach out to the orphan, the widow, the weak, the shoved aside. We look for any relationships or networks that need to be established for the health and welfare of the neighbourhood. Whatever, wherever, whoever.

Our major weapon in this work is Christian community, an alternative way of living that demonstrates social life as it is meant to be lived. Communities of love and acceptance; fellowships of freedom and liberation; centres of hope and vision; societies of nurturing and accountability. Pockets of life and light and love so stunning that a watching world will declare, “See how they love one another!”

The third arena in our work for social justice is the arena of institutional structures. Demonic powers can be incarnated in the structures of any society, becoming part of the public policy and laws of the land. When Jesus cleansed the temple in Jerusalem, he was defeating an institutional structure that had become destructive.

Our task is to envision and work to realize a society where it is easier to do good and hard to do evil. A society with institutions and laws and public policies that provide justice for all and enhanced life for all. When structures perpetuate poverty, we work to change them. When structures dehumanise, we work to make them more responsive to human need.

We welcome and work for all institutions that enhance art and beauty. We seek out the ways most expressive of love of God and love of neighbour, the movements of the Social Justice Tradition.

Prophetic witness is the weapon most useful in the institutional arena. We are the conscience to institutional life, most particularly the state. We commend the state when it provides justice for all, and we bring prophetic critique when it fails. We act in a manner consistent with the commandments to love God and love neighbour. We conduct peaceful, nonviolent, prophetic protest. This too is the work of social justice.

Practices For TodayWe engage the Social Justice Tradition in many different ways and through many different venues. Here are a few suggestions to foster compassion-directed living:

First, we open ourselves to the possibility that God may want to use us in a significant way. History is full of ordinary people who, like Amos the prophet, were called to positions of influence beyond their own intentions.

Second, we get the facts. We become global citizens when we care enough to be informed about what happens to our neighbours in Ukraine and Israel, and other ‘hot spots’ of injustice around the world.

Third, we become advocates for the powerless and the exploited. It is easy to feel these issues are far beyond our small abilities, and most certainly they are, but even so there is much that we can do.

Fourth, we support relief and aid agencies in their good work, both financially and through volunteer efforts. Such agencies need our help.

Fifth, we go beyond relief and become involved politically. If we refuse to influence public policy, someone else will.

Sixth, we use our literary skills in the cause of the poor. Letters to the editor, blog posts, newsletters, magazine articles, books, good television and movie scripts are all needed. Our hymns and contemporary gospel music desperately need tough social content.

Seventh, we take the work of prayer into the social arena. This is necessary work if we are to defeat the demonic principalities and powers incarnated in so many institutional structures.

A word of caution: do not try to answer every cry of human need or respond to every instance of injustice. This will simply do you in. While it is important for us to take up some tasks of justice, we are not to take up every task. God knows we are finite human beings and does not ask us to do more than we can bear.

ConclusionThe compassion-directed life is a life committed to compassion and justice for all peoples. We explore the Social Justice Tradition because through it God develops in us the compassion to love our neighbour freely and develops in our world a place where justice and righteousness prevail.

The compassion-directed life embraces the personal, social, and the institutional. It is a life that receives all people: enemies and friends, poor and rich, illiterate and educated, whomever and wherever. It is a life that engages in outward conflict with all social, economic, and civil injustices of society, judging down wickedness and building up the good, the true, and the beautiful.

Let us, therefore, follow the example of Amos the prophet, and the example of ordinary saints that have gone before us in the Social Justice Tradition, that the Holy Spirit might make us more like Christ —to will and to act in accordance with God’s will for us (Php 2:12-13).

And may we always remember Jesus said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (Jn 7:38). The compassion-directed life of the Social Justice Tradition overflows.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]For this series I am relying on the writings of Richard Foster, most especially his book Streams of Living Water: Essential practices from the six great traditions of Christian faith (Zondervan, 2001).

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In this sermon our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes how the Charismatic Tradition focuses on the power of God’s Spirit moving in and through us. Just as a car requires fuel to run, and our bodies require food for survival, so our souls rely upon the Spirit of God for spiritual energy. Through the Spirit, we are able to do more than we could on our own steam, and these abilities not only remind us of God’s presence, but equip us to build up our communities in love.

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 25 February 2024.

My lounge room’s Apple TV device has recently had an unusual effect on me.

When the screensaver comes on, it usually plays video taken from aerial drones flying over cities and other landscapes. Lately, it has interspersed video taken from satellites orbitting the Earth. These high views from a low Earth orbit occasionally give me the sensation that I can just step out and fall to the Earth but my past experience jumping out of a plane reminds me this would not be a pleasant at all.

The iconic ‘Earthrise’ photo from 1968’s Apollo 8 missionEdgar Mitchell, an Apollo 14 astronaut and the sixth person to walk on the Moon in 1971, is often credited with bringing widespread attention to the Overview Effect. One of the most iconic photos often associated with capturing the essence of the Overview Effect is “Earthrise”. This famous photograph was taken by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission, humanity’s first manned mission to orbit the Moon. The photo shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the spacecraft orbited the Moon, highlighting the planet’s fragility and isolation in the vast expanse of space.

The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface. It refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately perceived as a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From this perspective, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a society with the united will to protect this “pale blue dot” becomes both obvious and imperative.

In short, seeing the Earth from a high orbit creates the Overview Effect, which gives astronauts the sensation life is more beautiful and more meaningful than they once assumed.

Jesus’ Resurrection Evinces Our World is SpiritualAstronauts begin life as scientists, doctors, and engineers, the types of professions one might expect to be filled with materialists. I wager the Overview Effect just might make them wonder if life is more than merely material, always explanable by natural causes. Perhaps there is meaning and purpose after all, in this seemingly chaotic and random universe?

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.”

John 20:27[1]

Thomas the apostle had a similar worldview shattering moment when he encountered the risen Christ. After his resurrection, Jesus was, for all intents and purposes, the same God-made-flesh he was before but his body had been renewed. Jesus transcended the merely physical to present as fully human, both material and spiritual at the same time.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:44b

Quantum Mechanics too teaches us there is far more going on than we could ever have imagined —and we are far from making sense of new discoveries in that field. What we are learning is the material world is not all there is. There is a spiritual dimension alongside. In fact, if the Scriptures tell us anything it is that the material world is upheld by the spiritual world.

RecapIn this sermon series, The Balanced Christian Life, so far we have learned the Contemplative Tradition is a steady gaze with the soul upon the God who loves us, thus developing a prayer-filled life. The Holiness Tradition focuses upon the inward re-formation of the heart through the development of virtues, being “holy habits”.

What & Why?The Charismatic Tradition focuses on the power of God’s Spirit moving in and through us. Where the Holiness Tradition centres upon the power to be, the Charismatic Tradition centres upon the power to do. It focuses the attention of the friend of Jesus toward a Spirit-empowered life through the gifts of the Spirit in the nurturing fruit of the Spirit. The Charismatic Tradition addresses the deep yearning for the immediacy of God’s presence among his people.

Just as a car requires fuel to run, and our bodies require food for survival, so our souls rely upon the Spirit of God for spiritual energy. Through the Spirit, we are able to do more than we could on our own, by our own power, and these abilities not only remind us of God’s presence, but equip us to build up our community of faith in love.

How then do the friends of Jesus train for living a Spirit-empowered life?

Paul’s ExampleA good place to start is by following the example of Paul the apostle, who wrote,

Be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord

Ephesians 5:18b–19

Paul the apostle was one of the first evangelists, making converts and establishing churches around the Mediterranean. He ably balanced the rational and the spiritual sides of Christian faith and practice.

Piecing the biblical testimony together, we know Paul was raised in Tarsus, a city that combined the influences of Athens and Rome. He was a citizen of Rome, which is why he had the Roman name Paul. But Paul was very much a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Php 3:5), which is why he had the Jewish name Saul.

Paul was an exceptional student. He was sent to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel, a leading teacher of his time (Ac 22:3). Paul quickly rose the ranks, which is why when we first meet him at the execution of Stephen, he not only approved the murder but guarded the coats of the killers (Ac 7:58).

Perhaps to impress Israel’s ruling leaders come Paul went so far as to take a leadership role in the persecution that followed Stephen’s execution (Ac 8:1-3). This led to his conversion on the road to Damascus (Ac 9:1ff.).

Commissioned as the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Ac 9:15), Paul began declaring the good news about Jesus in the synagogues, “proving that Jesus was the Messiah” (Ac 9:20-22).

We do not know for how long Paul’s initial preaching lasted but we do know he went into the deserts of Arabia for three years (Gal 1:17). This was a period of solitude and meditation for Paul, during which he insisted he received his gospel message (Gal 1:12). He then spent some time in Damascus (Gal 1:17), then in Jerusalem with Peter and James (Gal 1:18-19), before returning to his home town of Tarsus (Ac 9:26-30). Paul spent about a decade there until he was called to Antioch (Ac 11:25–26).

When persecution scattered the early friends of Jesus from Jerusalem, evangelistic fervour broke out in Antioch and spilled over into the Gentile population. Barnabas, “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”, was sent to oversee the new faith community (Ac 11:24). Calling Paul to join him, the two worked together on this mission for a full year (Ac 11:25–26).

We can see the work of the Spirit in Paul’s conversion, in his powerful preaching, and solitude in the Arabian desert. Paul’s story as a representation of the Charismatic Tradition comes out more fully in the acts of the Spirit surrounding his missionary journeys. I will highlight just a few.

While the leaders of the church at Antioch were “worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I’ve called them’” (Ac 13:2). Clearly it was the Holy Spirit in charge of this effort: “so, being sent out by the Holy Spirit…” (Ac 13:4).

Paul and his team travelled to the island of Cyprus and had extraordinary results. They were invited to speak to the governor but a local magician by the name of Elymas tried to stop them. It is written, “but Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit … ‘the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun’” (Acts 13:9, 11).

The apostle learned, through time and experience, that when he spoke, God spoke. He learned how to discern the movements of the Spirit and how to work in cooperation with those movements. His was a Spirit-empowered life.

Paul and his team ended up in Philippi but this journey was directed by the Spirit along the way.

When the apostle tried to go north, he was hindered on two separate occasions: first the team was “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia”, and then, when they try to go into Bithynia, “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”. Instead of going north, therefore, they travelled west until Troas, where they awaited further guidance (Ac 16:6-8).

In that place, Paul had a vision: “there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘come over to Macedonia and help us’” (Ac 16:9). Notice they were given a region but not a specific city, so they used their common sense to choose Philippi (Ac 16:11-12).

Paul and his team eventually spent extensive time in Ephesus. He began his work there by laying hands on some converts, at which “the Holy Spirit came upon them, they spoke in tongues and prophesied” (Ac 19:6). Throughout this ministry, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, the evil spirits came out of them” (Acts 19:11-12).

Such “power encounters” were frequent occurrences throughout the apostle’s ministry.[2] Paul knew how to exercise spiritual authority. He knew the work of God was a work of the Spirit. This is the Charismatic Tradition at its finest.

Historical ExamplesSeeking to follow a Spirit-empowered life has created within the Church a Charismatic Tradition —the third historical movement I am describing for you in this sermon series, The Balanced Christian Life.

book coversFor this series I am relying on the writings of Richard Foster, most especially his book Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices from the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith.[3]

From its very earliest days, there have been many individuals and movements within the Church that have sought the power of God’s Spirit moving in and through them. Just as a car requires fuel to run, and our bodies require food for survival, so our souls rely upon the Spirit of God for spiritual energy.

In the pages of history we find many examples following the Charismatic Tradition:

• John Wimber (1934-1997) was a professional musician and founding member of the Righteous Brothers, an American rock group. His “baptism” by the Holy Spirit about a year after his conversion propelled him into the worldwide Christian community, where he became known as an evangelist, pastor, Bible teacher, composer, founder of the Vineyard movement, and a conduit for the power of the Holy Spirit. When this “gentle giant” prayed, things happened and observers caught a glimpse of what could happen when someone wholeheartedly became, as John put it, “a fool for Christ”.
• Sundar Singh (ca. 1889-1929) was born into a wealthy Sikh family. He was expected to become a sadhu, an Indian holy man. After a dramatic vision he became a Christian. He adopted the dress of the sadhu and travelled throughout India and beyond, preaching the gospel to huge audiences, trying to live as Christ did, and experiencing many visions and miracles. At the Feet of the Master is his best known written work in the West.
• Demos Shakarian (1913-1993) is descended from Armenian Christians and was filled with the Holy Spirit at age 13 in his home church in Los Angeles. He worked as a dairyman for twenty-five years before he started The Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International. From a group of twenty-one people meeting during lunch in a room over a cafeteria in 1951, the organization grew to over 1700 chapters worldwide and reaching 1 billion people yearly with the gospel.
• Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833) was an ascetic monk from Kursk, south of Moscow, Russia, who loved solitude, yet seemed to live with one foot in the natural world and one foot in the supernatural. Seraphim radiated joy, made friends with God’s creatures, detached himself from the world, eased souls into serenity, devotedly gave to charity, and periodically saw visions. He was possibly the most luminous and winsome figure of recent Russian Orthodoxy.
• Evan John Roberts (1878-1951) had six years of formal education, twelve years of working in mines, and two years as a blacksmith’s apprentice before becoming the unlikely leader of the 1904-1908 revival in Wales. At age 26, Roberts felt called to the ministry, and between his acceptance and his entry into the Minister’s Training College, he was visited by God nightly. While on retreat, he was anointed by the Holy Spirit and commissioned to preach Jesus Christ. People spontaneously responded to his first efforts, and a revival spread through all of Wales and into northern England.

And there are many more examples of spiritual giants and ordinary saints who discovered, in many and varied ways, that through the Holy Spirit we are able to do more than we can on our own, and these abilities not only remind us of God’s presence, but equip us to build up our communities in love. The overflow of their empowered lives was loving action for their neighbours and changing the systems around them.

What Is the Spirit-Empowered Life?The testimony of Scripture and personal experience confirms we were never created to live our lives “under our own steam”. We were created to live in cooperation with another reality. We were created for life in and through the Spirit of God.

Every friend of Jesus is endowed by the Spirit with specific gifts for specific purposes. These are not the same as natural talents, though they sometimes fit together with them.

The sign of the presence of the gifts of the Spirit in a person’s life is that the effect of his or her actions greatly exceeds their input. It is a work of the Spirit when the outcome of our efforts far exceeds expectations.

Paul the apostle wrote most on the subject of spiritual gifts in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and especially 1 Corinthians 12-14. He described gifts of leadership, ecstatic gifts, and gifts that build community life. We must always remember this threefold function of the spiritual gifts. Any efforts to restrict the work of the Spirit to one of the three only simply misses the point.

The ecstatic gifts —such as speaking in tongues, the discernment of spirits, and prophecy— are most often given to show us that God is present where we assume that he is not.

1 Corinthians 13 describes how central divine love is to any effective functioning of spiritual gifts. Chapter 12 summarises essential principles we need for the exercising of spiritual gifts so that they build rather than destroy community life.

Taking responsibility is the first principle. The apostle wrote,

Indeed, the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:14–16

From this passage we see that every gift is needed, no matter how insignificant it may seem to us.

Accepting limitation is the second principle.

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

1 Corinthians 12:17–20

This passage describes how we are limited in the good we can accomplish by ourselves. This is a divinely imposed limitation in order to defeat our egoism, our self-centredness.

Esteeming others is the third principle.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honour, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect

1 Corinthians 12:21–24a

This passage describes how any proper exercise of the gifts of the Spirit is a joint effort. God has arranged the functioning of the gifts so that we will always be dependent upon one another and always esteem each other.

Maintaining unity within diversity is the fourth principle.

so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

1 Corinthians 12:24b–26

While we are all different personalities and exercise different gifts, we still function as a whole. We are inseparably linked together, suffering together and rejoicing together.

Spiritual gifts are given to build us up as a community of faith, which is why Paul sets divine love at the centre of his teaching on the gifts of the Spirit:

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

1 Corinthians 13:7–8a

Practices for TodayHow much better is it to move day by day in joyful surrender to the leading of the Spirit, in which “the soul, light as a feather, fluid as water, innocent as a child, responds to every movement of grace like a floating balloon”?[4]

We experience the Charismatic Tradition in many different ways and through many different venues. Here are a few suggestions to foster Spirit-empowered living:

Draw near to those who have some history and experience in this area of life and learn from them. In Quaker churches no one speaks in a gathering for worship until they feel led by the Spirit. You might perhaps invite someone to lay hands upon you and pray for you to enter more of the life and joy of the Spirit. You can deepen your experience of charismatic worship by attending services known for their strength in this area.

Rest easy with your fears that some aspect of what you are doing is ‘in the flesh’. God can still use us in our fumbling ways. We should not be afraid to step out and exercise the gifts we feel God has given us and to do so even though we know we will not be totally free from our fallenness. God will receive us, fallenness and all, and teach us how to walk more and more in the power of the Spirit.

Follow your leadings without fear of being misled. If your spirit is teachable, God will show you the way. Press in where you feel the need for more, especially in the area of spiritual gifts. More love. More power. More grace. More gifting. Paul himself urges us to

Desire the greater gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:31a

Regularly test your leadings and experiences in the Spirit with those you trust. Allow their spiritual discernment to encourage, correct, and refine you. And do the same for others. In this way you will fulfil the apostle of the Spirit’s encouragement:

So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:12

ConclusionThe Spirit-empowered life is a life immersed in, empowered by, and under the direction of the Spirit of God. We should explore it because through it we are empowered by God to do his work and evince his life upon the earth.

Through the Spirit, we are able to do more than we can on our own, and these abilities not only remind us of God’s presence, but equip us to build up our community in love.

Let us, therefore, follow the example of Paul the apostle, and the example of saints that have gone before us in the Charismatic Tradition, that the Holy Spirit might make us more like Christ —to will and to act in accordance with God’s will for us (Php 2:12-13).

And may we always remember Jesus said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (Jn 7:38). The Spirit-empowered life of the Charismatic Tradition overflows. May we know such movements of the spirit upon our lives that we are enabled to say, “my soul was then satisfied”.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]See Acts 14:1-4; 14:8-18; 18:7-11; 20:7-12; 27:21-26; 28:1-6.

[3]Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Harper San Francisco, 1998).

[4]Jean-Pierre de Caussade, The Sacrament of the Present Moment, trans. Kitty Muggeridge (San Francisco, CA, USA: Harper and Row, 1982), pg 22.

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In this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones describes how the Holiness Tradition emphasises the re-formation of our hearts so that we are able to respond appropriately to the challenges of life. The word “holiness” has some negative connotations today, but the original Greek meaning of the word virtue is simply “to function well.” Virtuous Life is not about rules or judgement, perfectionism, or some kind of merit gained by good deeds. It encourages us to the ultimate goal: not to “get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us.” It is attentiveness to the source of our actions, to the condition and motives of the heart, and taking on new patterns of life that flow naturally from within.

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 18 February 2024

The Value of TrainingI realise I have not used a running metaphor yet this year so, not to disappoint you, I have to admit that I am NOT running these days. I have, sadly, contracted plantar fasciitis, which is an excruciating pain in my heel. Every time I run I aggravate the condition and, if I want to recover and heal, I have to stop making it worse.

Ian having completed the Canberra MarathonMy plantar fasciitis is also mentally excruciating because I am registered to run the Canberra Marathon in April. Since I am not able to train by running, due to my heel pain, then I will not be ready to run a marathon. Thankfully, the organisers are allowing me to apply my registration fee to next year’s marathon.

I set for myself a goal to run a marathon this year. I cannot achieve this goal with only a good intention. Because I cannot train, I will not be able to achieve my goal for this year of running the Canberra Marathon for the third time.

Whether running, fat loss, continuing education, or any other kind, we must train appropriately and well if we want to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.

The same is very much true for achieving a balanced Christian life. We must train for contemplation, integrity, power, compassion, living-the-message, and for incarnation.

RecapLast week, in our exploration of the balanced Christian life, I described for you The Contemplative Tradition, which is the prayer-filled life. We were reminded of how, from the earliest days of the Church, both spiritual giants and ordinary saints have discovered it is through an ever-deepening connection with God, which the prayer-filled life provides, that we are encouraged to respond with integrity and equipped to enter into an ever-deepening re-formation of our heart, from which all action flows.

What & Why?This brings us to The Holiness Tradition, individuals and movements within the history of the Church which have focussed on the inward re-formation of the heart and the development of spiritual habits —in other words, virtues. The more deeply ingrained habits of virtue become, they make our lives function well and bring about the lasting resilience and integrity of a godly character in the face of the challenges of life.

The Holiness Tradition appreciates how the virtuous life requires effort. It is as Paul the apostle wrote,

Train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:7b–8[1]

As the friends of Jesus “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Php 2:12-13), we know “streams of living water flow from deep within” (Jn 7:38), as Jesus promised. Those blessings and rewards are experienced now, even if only partially. They are not reserved for the future.

How then do the friends of Jesus train for living a virtuous life? A good place to start is by following the example of James, the brother of Jesus.

James’ Example

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

Matthew 13:55

I am going to assume you are all comfortable with the fact that Jesus did, in fact, have brothers and sisters (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3). And James was, apparently, the eldest of Jesus’ brothers.

For not even his brothers believed in him.

John 7:5

Interestingly, neither James nor his family believed Jesus is who he said he is, at least not during his public ministry. On at least two occasions they tried to interfere with his ministry, once attempting to “restrain him” and another time trying to call him away from teaching a crowd.[2] Because of this, James, the brother of Jesus, was not among Jesus’ disciples nor among those amazed at Jesus’ teaching or healing. He may even have been antagonistic towards his brother and his ministry.

They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 1:14

Yet, when the disciples gathered in Jerusalem waiting for the Holy Spirit to descend, as promised by Jesus —which occurred on the Day of Pentecost— Mary, his mother, and James and the rest of Jesus’ brothers were there with them! (Ac 1:14). Even more, within a few short years James had been elevated to the status of a “pillar” of the church, even authoring the letter that bears his name.[3]

This was a complete change, a radical conversion. What changed James’ mind? What encounter with the living God did he have?

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

1 Corinthians 15:7

If we are paying attention when we read the Bible, and put separated pieces together, then we will notice from The First Letter to the Corinthians that, according to Paul the apostle, Jesus appeared to his brother James during the forty days after his resurrection (1 Cor 15:7).

Can you imagine that conversation between brother and brother, one antagonistic and the other resurrected? James had played with his older brother Jesus, eaten with him, worked with him, and then had a conversation with him face-to-face after his death. That single encounter —that we all want with our loved ones who have passed away— it completely erased all the embarrassments of the past, all the objections, and all James’ doubts. Jesus, his own brother, was and is the Messiah he himself hoped for.

Placing his faith in Jesus and living a Christian lifestyle, James eventually became the leader of the church at Jerusalem, recognised as an apostle (Gal 1:19).[4] James presided over the great “Jerusalem Council” described in Acts 15 (Ac 15:19, 28), which decided on the inclusion of Gentile believers in the Church. He would eventually come to be called James the Just because of his integrity and righteousness.[5]

The greatest legacy of the brother of Jesus is The Letter of James. It closely parallels Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5-7), since both writings focus on the formation of moral character.

Despite what many think, James’ letter is not about action, it is about the source of action, the heart of virtue. For James, a person of faith can face trials of all kinds with “great joy” (Jam 1:2). A person of faith can see with divine wisdom that “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” are destructive (Jam 3:16). A person of faith can relate to all people on the basis of the “royal law” of love (Jam 2:8), can “tame the tongue” (Jam 3:8) out of the divine resources available, and can avoid “fighting and wars” (Jam 4:1) because the inner wellspring of life is so pure that from it naturally flows blessing and not cursing (Jam 3:10).

James understood that what is on the inside of a person will come out. If we yield to the “wisdom from above”, then “by our good conduct we show that our works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom” (Jam 3:13-18).

James offered a summary of the virtuous life: “to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (Jam 1:27). What is the kind of action a pure heart will do? Care for the most helpless . What is the kind of action a pure heart will not do? Accept the pollution of the world system that is bent on rebellion against divine love.

Purity of heart is the source of all right action, according to James. This is why he is such a valuable example of The Holiness Tradition, the virtuous life, encouraging us to respond to God’s grace with integrity.

Historical ExamplesSeeking to follow a virtuous life has created within the Church a Holiness Tradition —the second historical movement I want to describe for you in this sermon series The Balanced Christian Life.

book coversFor this series, I am relying on the writings of Richard Foster, most especially his book Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices from the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith.[6]

From its very earliest days, there have been many individuals and movements within the Church that have sought to develop Christian virtue for a fuller and more satisfying spiritual experience. They sought a re-formation of their hearts and lives through an encounter with God.

In the pages of history we find many examples following The Holiness Tradition:

• Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was ordained by the Church of England but allied himself with the Puritan cause two years later. Though self-educated, he was eloquent and his preaching drew large crowds. His moderate stance led him to seek reconciliation between political and theological enemies, even though that stance led him being imprisoned.
• Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a key figure in the Cistercian movement, which sought to bring reform to the monastic system of his day. His motto, “to know Jesus and Jesus crucified”, has been adopted by Christians throughout the ages, and his outstanding life, hymns, and practical mystical piety have been appreciated by Christians worldwide.
• Caesarius of Arles (died 543) was twenty years old when he entered the monastery of Lérins (off the coast of Cannes, on the French Riviera). Caesarius devoted himself to bringing “holy habits” into his own life and the lives of those he served. When ordained as a deacon, he was transferred to a nearby monastery that had a very relaxed discipline. After putting in place a Rule that made the monastery a model of piety in order, he drew up a comparable Rule for women.
• Gregory of Nazianzus (circa 330-389) worked tirelessly for the doctrinal purity of the Church by defending the Nicene Council’s view of the Trinity at the Council of Constantinople in 381. Twice others tried to get him to accept a public office and twice he refused, in favour of leading a contemplative life, though that life was interrupted from time to time by church ministry.
• John and Charles Wesley (1703-1791; 1707-1788) became involved in the Evangelical Revival in England in the First Great Awakening in America. Out of their itinerant ministries and emphasis on “holy living” came a “method” of societies, class meetings, and bands that emphasised mutual accountability for discipleship. Thus Methodism was born.
• E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973) became a Methodist missionary in India following a four day experience of being “flooded by the Spirit”. A ruptured appendix and tetanus cut short his appointment. He changed direction to focus instead on serving as an evangelist to Indian intellectuals. For the rest of his life he combined “holy living” with moving comfortably among world leaders and working for peace and harmony. Twice he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He also developed Christian centres for meditation and group worship (called “ashrams” in India).

And there are many more examples of spiritual giants and normal saints who responded to God’s grace with integrity and devoted themselves to virtuous lives in many and varied ways. The overflow of their re-formed hearts was loving action for their neighbours and changing the systems around them.

What Is the Virtuous Life?When we respond to the grace of God with integrity, holiness, the virtuous life, is the ability to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. It means being able to respond appropriately to the demands of life because of the spiritual resources available to oneself.

Virtue then is good habits we can rely upon to make our life work, whereas vice is bad habits we can rely upon to make our life not work, to make it dysfunctional. Good, virtuous habits arise from a life devoted to God.

William Law, author of the classic book A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, wrote,

Devotion signifies a life given or devoted to God… The devout [person] … lives … to the sole will of God … considers God in everything … serves God in everything … makes all the parts of common life parts of piety by doing everything in the name of God and under such rules as are conformable to his glory.

William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, 1728

Holiness is not rules and regulations for these missed the point about life hidden with God in Christ.

Holiness is sustained attention to the heart, the source of all action.

Holiness is not otherworldliness. It does not distinguish between sacred and secular, nor avoid contact with our evil and broken world.

Holiness is world-affirming, it is found in the middle of everyday life. We discover it while being freely and joyfully in the world without ever being of the world.

Holiness is not a consuming asceticism. It neither despises nor depreciates the human body. It does not locate virtue or merit in ascetical or bodily-appetites-denying exercises themselves.

Holiness is a bodily spirituality. It affirms the goodness of the human body and seeks to bring it into working harmony with the spirit/Spirit. It uses spiritual disciplines for training the body and mind for right living.

Holiness is not “works-righteousness”. We cannot muster our willpower to do good deeds and thereby become righteous. Sanctifying grace is utterly and completely a work of grace. It is unearned and ungovernable.

Holiness is “making every effort to enter”, as Jesus tells us (Lk 13:24). Spiritual disciplines place us before God in such a way that he can begin re-forming our hearts and lives.

Holiness is not perfectionism. We do not become sinless creatures incapable of any wrong action. We can still make mistakes and experience a sorrowful regret when we do so.

Holiness is a progress in purity and sanctity. We set ourselves apart for divine purposes. Holy habits then deepen into fixed patterns of life. We are ever always in the process of becoming holy.

Holiness is not absorption into God. It does not mean the loss of our identity or our personhood. We do not become less real, less whole, and less human but quite the opposite. We become more fully alive.

Holiness is loving unity with God. It is a growing, maturing, freely-given conformity to the will and ways of God. Holiness gives us our truest, fullest humanity. When we respond to the grace of God with integrity, seeking to live a virtuous life, in holiness we become the persons we were created to be.

Practices for TodayHoliness never involves works but it most assuredly involves effort. So the question then before us is how do we go about moving forward in holiness, making progress in the virtuous life?

First, we train. We undertake activities of body, mind, and spirit that will build spiritual resources within us to act appropriately when the situation demands it. If we are struggling with pride, we practise service. If we are needing hope, we practise prayer and meditation. If compulsions of one kind or another obsess us, we practise fasting, which teaches us to control all our senses and appetites by the grace of God. If we want faith, we practise worship.

We are training for holiness, planning and practising for perfection.

Second, we invite others to travel the journey with us. Companions and mentors provide us with discernment, counsel, and encouragement. Others often can detect our growth and development better than we can, and their reassuring words help us see the footprints of God in our lives.

Such spiritual companionship also provides a loving accountability and advocacy.

Third, when we stumble and fall, we get up and start again. Where we are not yet perfect, we know we have a perfect Friend who will never leave us nor forsake us. We are looking ahead to the perfection that is coming and is to come. We keep pressing on because, by the Spirit, Jesus is with us always.

Our mistakes and failures teach us the right way to live and that the right way is the good way. Yet, it is only by being in tune with the Holy Spirit, through prayer, that we recognise when we have made mistakes and have failed. As Paul the apostle wrote,

We know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:3b–5

When we come before God in the practise of spiritual disciplines, following The Holiness Tradition, his gracious acceptance is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Thus re-formed, our hearts will produce pure, virtuous actions like:

• Faith, which is trusting in and believing the truths of God
• Hope, which is looking forward with confidence to eternal salvation
• Charity (aka Love), which is unconditional love and willingness to give selflessly to others
• Prudence, which is wise and careful decision-making
• Justice, which is fairness and giving others their due
• Fortitude (aka Courage), which is strength and resolve to face challenges and difficulties
• Temperance, which is self-control and moderation in all things

ConclusionThe Holiness Tradition emphasises the re-formation of our hearts so we are able to respond appropriately to the challenges of life with integrity. The virtuous life is not about rules or judgement, perfectionism, or some kind of merit gained by good deeds. It encourages us to the ultimate goal, which is not to “get us into heaven” but to “get heaven into us”. The virtuous life is attentiveness to the source of our actions, to the condition and motives of the heart, and taking on new patterns of life that flow naturally from within.

Let us, therefore, follow the example of James the Just, the brother of Jesus, and the example of saints that have gone before us in the Holiness Tradition, that the Holy Spirit might make us more like Christ —to will and to act in accordance with God’s will for us (Php 2:12-13).

And may we always remember Jesus said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (Jn 7:38). The virtuous life of the Holiness Tradition overflows.

If your want to begin or to further develop a virtuous life, then join me in this prayer of commitment:

Heavenly Father,
I come before You today to recommit my life to You.
Guide me in Your wisdom and strength
that I may seek to live a life of virtue and holiness,
according to Your will and Your Word.

Lord, help me to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit—
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
May these virtues be evident in my actions and my attitudes.

I ask for the courage to stand firm
in the face of temptation and the trials of this world.
Grant me the perseverance to pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness
in all that I do.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Keep my thoughts pure and my eyes fixed on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of my faith.

Thank You for Your grace that covers my weaknesses
and for Your forgiveness when I fall short.
I trust in Your unfailing love and mercy
to lead me in the path of everlasting life.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]See Mark 3:21; 31-35; John 7:5.

[3]See Acts 12:17, 15:1-29, Galatians 2:9; James 1:1.

[4]It is worth noting James was not the only brother of Jesus to have been converted. Jude, the writer of the letter that bears his name, was also a brother of Jesus (Jude 1), although he was too modest to admit such, and also an evangelist (1 Corinthians 9:5).

[5]Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, volume 1, translated Kirsopp Lake, the Loeb classical Library (Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University press, 1965), page 171.

[6]Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Harper San Francisco, 1998).

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In this sermon, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes how the Contemplative Tradition continually draws us into love for God, reminding us that the Christian life is less like a rule book and more like falling in love. It stresses the value of silence, solitude, and prayer as ways we engage with God’s presence, whether we take a silent walk in the early morning, ride the bus to work, wash dishes while the kids nap, or even take a nap ourselves.

This sermon was delivered on Sunday, 11 February 2024.

What Does It Mean to Please God?I am firmly convinced and convicted of the need for the Church and our church to focus on conversion and discipleship.

An important verse which stands out in this regard is

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6[1]

The obvious conclusion being that if we believe God exists, we will want to be friends of Jesus, so we place our faith in him, live a Christian lifestyle, and build each other up to maturity. In the end and along the way, we will experience rewards and blessings.

All of that I have explained and, hopefully, you understand what is at stake enough that you have chosen to become a friend of Jesus yourself.

But maybe you noticed the problematic clause in this verse I have not yet dealt with, which begs the question: What does it mean to please God? Is the life of discipleship merely about keeping God happy with us so he does not send down fire to punish us? That is not at all a compelling vision of Christian faith and practice.

In my humble opinion, it is a grave error to understand this verse as a transaction —that if I do this, then God will be satisfied, which is what the Old Testament sacrificial system and theologies of penal substitutionary atonement imply.

Notice the writer of The Letter to the Hebrews did not use the word “satisfied” but wrote “pleased”. This is an emotional word inviting us to understand this verse as describing a relationship. When we draw near to God in trust, in worship, in petition, etc, he responds with his own positive emotion and we experience the promised blessings and rewards.

child looking backThe best illustration is that of an infant who wanders away but continues to look back to ensure the parent is watching. An infant will only explore if he feels comfortably convinced his parent is watching and is supportive. This secure attachment provides safety and stability so that the infant feels free to explore and learn.

Even more so, when an infant does something, she holds it up to her parent for verification and validation. The parent’s pleasure affirms the child, who thus gains confidence to apply herself to further tasks with purpose and creativity.

This is what it means for an infant to have a secure attachment with his or her parents. An insecure attachment has observable negative consequences throughout one’s lifespan.

my son shooting hoopsThis explains why my son and I have a difficult relationship because every time he tries to ‘show off’ to me with his basketball prowess he fails to make the basket and I am stuck between affirming him for screwing up and encouraging him to keep trying

A secure attachment to one’s mother and father is absolutely essential to the healthy lifelong development of a child into productive and proactive adulthood.

Our spirituality can be understood as an attachment to God.

Eric Liddell winning raceMany Christians are proud to quote Liddell’s most famous lines from the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire: “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.” God did make Eric Liddell fast, and he ran for God’s glory, but those words were not spoken by the olympian and later missionary to China. They were written by Colin Welland and put in the voice of Liddell, as played by actor Ian Charleson.[2] While not Liddell’s words directly, they do represent the sentiment and experience perfectly.

When we come to understand and believe God exists, we will want to be in a right and full relationship with our Heavenly Father —Jesus did tell us to pray in this way, “Our Father in heaven” (Mt 6:9; cf. Rm 8:15; Gl 4:6). So we will want to draw near to him and to feel his pleasure, which is a blessing and reward that far surpasses anything this fallen world can offer.

How then do we draw near to God? A good place to start always is by following Jesus’ example.

Jesus’ Prayer-Filled LifeJesus said,

The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.

John 7:38

This was certainly true of Jesus’ own life. Streams of living water flowed from deep within him because he exemplified a prayer-filled life.

Because of this, Jesus enjoyed communion with God-the-Father, such that he knew the Father’s thoughts and feelings, even thinking and feeling them himself. In Jesus’ own words:

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things.

John 5:19

I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

John 5:30

Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works.

John 14:10

He came to this understanding because prayer was an habitual practice for Jesus. He prayed as he was being baptised:

When all the people were baptised, Jesus also was baptised. As he was praying, heaven opened.

Luke 3:21

Jesus prayed before choosing his core twelve disciples:

During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles.

Luke 6:12–13

After an exhausting evening of ministry, Jesus got up early the next day to pray:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.

Mark 1:35

When Jesus took his inner circle of disciples —Peter, James, and John— to pray with him, it led to his being transfigured in their presence:

Jesus took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

Luke 9:28–29

When the disciples failed in exorcising a demon from a sick child, Jesus instructed them,

This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.

Mark 9:29

Jesus’ anger was excited when he saw the Temple being misused and the people abused:

He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”

Matthew 21:13

Because they witnessed Jesus’ prayer life first-hand, the disciples asked him how to pray:

He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:1

And teach them Jesus did! The most intense and far reaching of his prayers was recorded for posterity. When he met with his disciples in The Upper Room, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus prayed for himself, for his disciples, and for all believers:

I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word.

John 17:20

The most intimate and painful of Jesus’ prayers was also recorded:

Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.

Luke 22:42

Jesus lived and worked and prayed. He retreated to quiet and isolated places for prayer. Jesus prayed that he might hear God-the-Father and do what the Father said and did.

Even this quick glance at Jesus’ prayer life should stir within the heart of his friends a hunger for a similarly deep, rich, and full relationship with God-the-Father; a longing for a steadfast faith, a boundless hope, and an undying love. Jesus points the way.

Historical ExamplesStarting today, we are going to explore a balanced vision for a Christian Life based on six historical movements of the Christian Church.

Seeking to follow Jesus’ way to a prayer-filled life has created within the Church a Contemplative Tradition —the first historical movement I want to describe for you.

book coversFor this sermon series, I am relying on the writings of Richard Foster, most especially his book Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices from the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith.[3] Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth[4] is also a classic resource on spiritual disciplines, as is Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us.[5]

From its earliest days, there have been many individuals and movements within the Church that have sought to practice prayer, solitude, and contemplation for a fuller and more satisfying spiritual experience. They sought an encounter with God.

In the pages of the Bible, we find the example of the psalmists who meditated on God’s character and works (Ps 77:12-14); Mary, the mother of Jesus, cherished all things in her heart (Lk 2:19); Elijah, th prophet, kept vigil during earthquake, wind, and fire (1 Kg 19:11-12); Mary of Bethany chose to sit at Jesus’ feet (Lk 10:39); and, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, enjoyed a deep intimacy and abiding love through prayerful meditation and discerning contemplation, as evidenced by his gospel, letters, and revelation.

In the pages of history, we find the example of saints who followed the Contemplative Tradition:

• Claire of Assisi (ca. 1193-1253) left home and joined the Franciscans after hearing Francis of Assisi’s message of peace and penance. Moving to the first church Francis restored, at San Damiano, Clare gave her attention to the interior life of prayer and devotion.
• Benedict of Nursia (ca. 480-547) founded the Benedictine movement at Monte Cassino, Italy, establishing a model for monastic communal life. His Rule gathered roving prophets into communities of loving and nurturing accountability. He provided connectedness to the past with his rule of “spiritual reading”, simple accountability with his rule of “stability”, and rootedness to common life with his rule of “daily manual labour”. Monasteries following the Benedictine way became the norm for Western monasticism.
• Brother Lawrence (aka Nicholas Herman) (1611-1691) left the French Army and civil service to work as a cook in a Carmelite community. He wrote in his classic The Practice of the Presence of God, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen … I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were at the blessed sacrament.” He encouraged communion with God even as one works at menial tasks.
• Catherine of Siena (ca. 1347-1380) became a Dominican lay sister at the age of sixteen. Spending her early years in the solitude of her home, Catherine later embarked on a more public life by working for Church reform; carring for the poor, sick, and imprisoned; and, she served as an ambassador to popes and other leaders, working for reconciliation. All of these efforts were undergirded by solitude and contemplation, and her book The Dialogue is a spiritual testament to this best-known Italian mystic of her time.
• Cuthbert (634-687) started life as a shepherd but at age 15 he had a religious experience that changed his life’s direction. He adopted the religious life, preaching, teaching, giving money to the poor, and overseeing his diocese with compassion and talent, yet at the heart of his ministry was contemplation and prayer.
• Euthymius the Great (ca. 378-473) spent sixty-eight of his ninety-five years in the desert practising solitude. At first he spent whole nights in prayer on a mountain close to a monastery he supervised. Then he joined a monastery near Jerusalem, making and selling baskets to support himself and the poor. He was known for performing miracles, converting Arabs, and helping the needy.

And there are many more examples of spiritual giants and normal saints who devoted themselves to prayer and contemplation in many and varied ways. The overflow of their prayer-filled lives was loving action for their neighbours and changing the systems around them.

What Is a Prayer-Filled Life?When I state that individuals and movements within the Contemplative Tradition practised a prayer-filled life in their times and places I do not want to fill your imagination with a myopic vision of prayer.

Prayer within the Contemplative Tradition is less about ‘close your eyes and bow your heads’ and more about drawing near to God and seeking communion. It is less about telling God what he already knows you need and then waiting to see what happens. It is more about hearing him share his heart and will with you so that your heart and will joins with his. You can learn to partner with our Creator for a better way forward, together.

The prayer-filled life is a steady gaze with the soul upon the God who loves us. It begins with love. With time and experience you will sense a delicate but deepening love for God that feels more like a gift than an achievement. It comes little by little, and will fluctuate in its intensity —from high to low, hot to cold. In time, that sense of your love for God and his love for you will grow deeper, stronger, and more steady.

The prayer-filled life experiences the “peace that passes all understanding” (Php 4:7). This quiet rest and firmness of your life’s orientation is not due to the absence of conflict or worry. It persists even with a multitude of distractions. In time the quiet way of prayer wins over the chatter of a noisy heart.

The prayer-filled life experiences delight. There is pleasure, friendship, joy, and even playfulness in communion with God. Yet delight fluctuates with yearning, with experiences of emptiness. One searches and does not always find. This can feel like darkness or dryness. In those moments, solitude is your friend. Where delight is a feasting, it is tempered by the fasting of yearning, and both are needed for the growth of our soul.

The prayer-filled life experiences fire, where love become passion. Our disobedience or neglect becomes painful to us. You will both feel and welcome the purifying of God’s love burning out the stubbornness, hate, pride, and other sin because you will want love to blossom.

The prayer-filled life experiences wisdom. This is knowing God himself and his will, his glory (Jn 17:3b). This is also a sense of being known. Prayer turns into a deep two-way communication and an opportunity to listen in on and participate in the love shared within the Trinity.

The prayer-filled life experiences transformation. Communion with God will gradually and slowly ‘capture’ your heart and will, your mind and imagination, and your passions, resulting in the conforming of your personality into the likeness of Christ (Php 2:12-13 ; cf. Rom 12:2 Php 1:9–11). With prayer, you will take on his habits, feelings, hopes, faith, and love.

Practices for TodayTo follow the Contemplative Tradition within the history of the Church is to practise a prayer-filled life. While there are specific practices I can give you that have been tested and passed on by saints, here are some general ways to get you started in expanding your prayer:

Experiment with variety in venues for solitude. Take a walk. Limit your speaking for one day to listen and learn about yourself and others. Sit in a busy location and watch carefully, reflecting on what you see, blessing those who pass. Take a one, three, or even a seven-day silent retreat. Go into the city for a social justice experience. Wake up at 2:00 am, light a candle to symbolise Christ’s presence and listen to the sounds of the night.

Pray the scriptures. Set aside your normal Bible reading schedule and devotional to turn your heart and mind and spirit toward God. Read slowly, quietly, prayerfully, pausing at any word or phrase where you feel the Spirit’s nudge.

You may come across a verse like

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10b

Stop and wait at a verse like that, surrendered and still. Let the Spirit expose your weakness, the reasons why you lack strength. You may move to confession and a longing for strength that is not your own nor dependant on uncertain circumstances. Begin praying, “Lord, help me enter your joy … Forgive my pursuing joy in things that never fully satisfy — food and gossip and frivolous things. Let me soak in your joy.” Instruction from the Spirit may come. You may be moved to song or dance … who knows?

Take time for ‘holy leisure’. Resist the urge to always be ‘getting ahead’. Take a nap. Spend an hour visiting a neighbour, with no agenda. Watch the sun go down. Take a walk, not for exercise but for the sheer joy of walking. Stop praying to listen instead. Sit in silence, doing nothing, having nothing, needing nothing. ‘Waste time’ for God. The ideas are endless.

ConclusionThe Contemplative Tradition continually draws us into love for God, reminding us that the Christian life is less like a rule book and more like falling in love. It stresses the value of silence, solitude, and prayer as ways we engage with God’s presence, whether we take a silent walk in the early morning, ride the bus to work, wash dishes while the kids nap, or even take a nap ourselves.

Follow Jesus’ example and the example of saints that have gone before us in the Contemplative Tradition, that the Holy Spirit might make us more like Christ —to will and to act in accordance with God’s will for us (Php 2:12-13).

Jesus said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (Jn 7:38). The prayer-filled life of the Contemplative Tradition overflows.

[1]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

[2]R. Albert Mohler Jr., “‘God made me for China:’ Eric Liddell, beyond Olympic glory”, The Washington Times, 29-Nov-2017, https://replug.link/cd68fab0 (accessed 6-Feb-2024).

[3]Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices From the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith (Zondervan, 2001).

[4]Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Harper San Francisco, 1998).

[5]A.A., Calhoun, Spiritual disciplines handbook: Practices that transform us (InterVarsity Press, 2015).

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In this episode of the Deeper Dive podcast, our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes why clergy wear clerical clothes and that doing so is to imitate Christ.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback after watching or listening to this episode, we would love to hear from you.  You can leave a comment on the show notes page for this episode or contact me using the "Contact" form found on our website.

For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page.

Ken Collins has a fuller description of the different types of clerical clothes and vestments, and when they are worn and used, on his website. Visit this page and this page for information relevant to what is discussed in this episode.

The Deeper Dive episode where Ian describes ordination is titled, "On Ordination", and is found here.

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian describes how women are more prominent in the Bible than we may have understood.Here are some resources mentioned in the episode, plus an extra you may be interested in: Ian Forest-Jones, "Christ Appearing to His Own": A Pentecost sermon, Narellan Community Congregational Church d8 -ay -023 ,(ttps://replug.link/0771bde0) (accessed 31-Aug-2023 Philip Jenkins, "The Missing Woman of Emmaus", Patheos, 13-Apr-2020, https://replug.link/71465e00 (accessed 31-Aug-2023) Victoria Emily Jones describes the same issue identified by Jenkins and provides some great examples of artwork that does feature a couple on the road to Emmaus —"The Unnamed Emmaus Disciple: Mary, wife of Cleopas?", Art & Theology, 28-Apr-2017, https://replug.link/c395ab20 (accessed 31-Aug-2023)If you are using podcasting software to listen to this episode, please be sure to leave a rating, so that others can find the show. Also, don't forget to subscribe.If you are accessing the audio or video of this episode on our website, pleasure be sure to leave a comment or a question or even feedback. I would love to hear from you.For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: https://narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian explains that, no, Jesus was not racist and then describes how we can walk on water, but questions whether we should really want to.

The sermon this "Deeper Dive" episode is based on is called, "Walk On Water: Trusting God for great faith". Be sure to leave a question or comment and, if using podcasting software to access it, then please leave a rating, so that others can find the podcast.

You can read more about, and purchase, Madeleine L'Engle's book, Walk On Water: Reflections on faith and art on Amazon.

For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: https://narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes what exactly is ordination.

If you have stumbled upon this podcast for the first time or had it recommended to you, be sure to subscribe using your favourite podcast software. Whether you are a new or repeat listener or viewer, please leave a rating, so that others can find the show.

For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting our "What To Expect" page.

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian describes how once we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, we must continue placing our faith in Jesus each and every moment of every day, and commit to living a Christian lifestyle whatever the circumstances we find ourselves, so that we produce fruit consistent with repentance. God will do his part; now let us do ours.

Be sure to listen to or watch the sermon this "Deeper Dive" episode. If you are listening to the podcast using your favourite podcasting software, be sure to subscribe and leave a rating, so that others can find the show.

For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting our "What To Expect" page.

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", our pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes how speculation on what we do not know about Jesus' life and ministry can be fun, we need to be careful not to speculate too far and therefore make claims that are not justified. Such has led people away from faith and into bad theology.

Be sure to listen to or watch the sermon this "Deeper Dive" episode is based on, "Rest For The Weary: Inappropriate expectations", either on our website or by using your favourite podcasting software. If you are using podcasting software, be sure to subscribe and leave a rating, so that others can find the show.

For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: https://narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian describes how our theology of the Holy Spirit is sorely lacking, but it matters.

This "Deeper Dive" episode is actually loosely based on two sermons: "Christ Appearing to His Own" and "Freely You Have Received, Freely Give: On Jesus’ compassion".

For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: https://narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian describes how mercy is often in short supply in our fallen and sinful world, which is why the merciful stand out, shining like stars in the world. The friends of Jesus have received mercy from the Lord, so now exercise mercy toward our brothers and sisters-by-faith and to our neighbours.Be sure to listen to or watch the sermon this "Deeper Dive" episode is based on by clicking here or by using your favourite podcasting software. If you are using podcasting software, be sure to subscribe and leave a rating, so that others can find the show.For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: https://narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", our Pastor, Ian Forest-Jones, describes the competing extremes of delivery vs. content in preaching. He also presents his take on a sermon he was unable to give, so that he might encourage us to go deeper on the topics of the Beatitudes for ourselves.For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: https://narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian describes how important it is we not misrepresent the grace of God.Be sure to listen to or watch the sermon this "Deeper Dive" episode is based on at www.narellancong.org.au/teaching/beatitudes-part-4/ or by using your favourite podcasting software. If you are using podcasting software, be sure to subscribe and leave a rating, so that others can find the show.For more from our host, Ian Forest-Jones, feel free to check out his blog at www.forest-jones.net, where he writes on topics relating to manhood and manliness.If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia, on a Sunday, feel free to drop in to Narellan and visit with the Narellan Cong community. Before your visit, be sure to get more information on what to expect by visiting this page: www.narellancong.org.au/start-here/

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In this episode of "Deeper Dive", Ian describes how easy and dangerous it is to misinterpret the Beatitudes of Jesus when we are only looking for confirmation of our already existing beliefs or when we are looking for consolation due to our emotional needs.You can find the sermon on which this episode is based at https://narellancong.org.au/teaching/beatitudes-part-3/

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In this episode of the "Deeper Dive" podcast, Ian describes how Jesus was himself like salt, light and a city on a hill, following his own instructions in the preamble to his famous "Sermon On The Mount".

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Show NotesNo specific links or resources mentioned.TranscriptHey there! My name is Ian Forest-Jones and I am the pastor for Narellan Community Congregational Church, located in Narellan, a southwest suburb of Sydney, Australia. We want to encourage and equip your friendship with Jesus wherever you are and however we can.This "Deeper Dive" podcast is for those who want to dive deeper into the biblical texts and issues raised as I research and prepare my sermons. To get the most out of this podcast, therefore, you really should listen to or watch the sermon first.Let me state up front, these ideas and speculations are my own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of my congregation and its leaders. I mention this each episode because we are a diverse community, from a wide range of backgrounds. Some among us are mature Christians; others are fairly new to the faith. I offer these reflections for those who are interested in reading the Bible better. I cannot give a definitive answer on any topic, nor would I wish to do so. I can only offer further content and perspectives that will help us all mature in our knowledge of Christ Jesus and our practice of the faith in our lifestyles.The content of the podcast, therefore, will focus on expanding your thinking on a topic rather than on giving you specific answers. This will infuriate some. So be it! In the tension may your faith be strengthened.If you have any questions, comments, or feedback afterward, I would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment on the show notes page for this episode or contact me using the "Contact" form found on our website at www.narellancong.org.auOn Sunday, the 29th of January, 2023, I delivered a sermon titled, “The SHAPE Of Our Calling”. The intent of the sermon was to remind us we are all called by God, generally and uniquely, to be co-workers with the Holy Spirit and with each other. Every member and friend of a local church should know their SHAPE. Why? To better express and enjoy their and our unique contribution to God’s Eternal Purpose.When I argue that individual Christians and local churches having a unique calling from God, I am aware not everyone would agree 'this is a thing', to put it colloquially. Some Christians don't believe God calls people uniquely or specially.They come to this conclusion, I believe, because they want to emphasise God's general call, that God calls people to place their faith in Jesus and to follow his commands in their lifestyle. "Do THAT and you will be doing well", they argue, "THAT is all you need to concern yourself with."Of course, I agree with that sentiment 100%; however, I believe there's more to Christian faith and lifestyle than that.Those who do not believe God has a unique or special call for individuals tend to belong to more theologically conservative and traditional denominations. And I am pretty certain their convictions on this issue are a reaction to those Christians and denominations espousing Prosperity Doctrine.Prosperity Doctrine, at its most basic level, holds that the Christian faith and lifestyle is one of health, wealth and happiness. Preachers and teachers in this space cast a grand vision of the glory, purpose and significance of individual Christians. Which doesn't sound all that bad, does it?So, on one hand we can believe individuals have no special significance to God's Eternal Purpose or that we have more special significance than we are currently experiencing. Who is correct?I would argue neither of these jokers are correct, but they do offer correctives to each other. Thus, we can find a balanced theology between thinking too highly of ourselves and thinking too lowly of ourselves.The key verse of my sermon was Ephesians 2:10, where we read, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do." From this we can first ascertain the issue of unique calling has nothing to do with the invitation to salvation. It has to do with what comes after salvation, what is called santification. Santification is the work of the Holy Spirit AFTER salvation to rescue us from the disease of sin, to help us be more like Jesus AND to empower us to do good works. Good works do not save us from sin, but if you are saved from sin you will want to do good works because you are just so thankful to be saved that you want everyone to know it and to be saved themselves.What are good works? Good works are the practical expression of loving our neighbours. We can get the best sense of good works from how Jesus described his own ministry: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour" (Luke 4:18–19).Another great passage on this topic states this, "Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27).Good works, then, are the practical things we do to love others around us who are in need. It includes all the ways we contribute to the common good.So, God invites sinners to salvation AND God calls those who are saved to do good works.I am still talking generally, though. How do I move theologically from what is generally true for every friend of Jesus to that which is unique?For that, I would turn to passages like 1 Corinthians 7:17, where we read, "Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him." Passages like this remind us to do good works where we are! And each of us has a unique SHAPE and context in which we live and move and have influence. So, do good works where you are and do what you can with what you have.Each of us are unique individuals, who can do unique good works in the unique situations in which we find ourselves. God may call us to bigger and better things that take us out of our comfort zones and put us into new contexts, but until that happens, if it happens, then be faithful in your good works where you are, because God has put you there for a reason. And the people around you need you to be faithful and to do the good works only you can do.Additionally, according to the apostle Paul, "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit." (Romans 8:5). This tells us that, as we increasingly set our mind on the things of the Spirit, the Spirit herself will guide us toward the things the Spirit wants us to do. Therefore, not only can we decide ourselves what are good works to do, but we can grow in discerning the direction the Holy Spirit sets for us. Now THAT is the truly blessed life!Thank you for listening; I hope you found this Deeper Dive helpful.If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, then you can leave a comment on the show notes page or contact me using the "Contact" form on our website at www.narellancong.org.auUntil next time, may God bless you and keep you and fulfil in you the free, full, and forever life promised by Jesus to his friends.

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Show NotesNone this time. Sorry.TranscriptHey there! My name is Ian Forest-Jones and I am the pastor for Narellan Community Congregational Church, located in Narellan, a southwest suburb of Sydney, Australia. We want to encourage and equip your friendship with Jesus wherever you are and however we can.This "Deeper Dive" podcast is for those who want to dive deeper into the biblical texts and issues raised as I research and prepare my sermons. To get the most out of this podcast, therefore, you really should listen to or watch the sermon first.Let me state up front, these ideas and speculations are my own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of my congregation and its leaders. I offer these reflections only for those who are interested in reading the Bible better. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback afterward, then I would love to hear from you.  You can leave a comment on the show notes page for this episode or contact me using the "Contact" form found on our website at www.narellancong.org.auToday marks the first episode of "Deeper Dive" for the year 2023. You can find this podcast on your favourite aggregating software. It will be under the name "Deeper Dive with Ian Forest-Jones", to distinguish it from the other podcasts using the name Deeper Dive.Of course, you can still access the audio and video from our website.I also want to mention, at this point, I intend for this to be a weekly podcast, but that may not always be so. I may be too busy one week to prepare a "Deeper Dive", or the sermon topic just doesn't lend itself to diving deeper, so to speak.At those times, I may deal with another topic relating to reading the Bible better, or I just might not be able to get to it. Either way, I beg your forgiveness in advance, but I also want to invite you to submit any questions you might have, related to reading the Bible better, question you would like me to address. I am certainly not the final word on any topic, but I may be able to offer a perspective that helps you appreciate what a rich and valuable and helpful book the Bible is. It is God's chosen and primary vehicle for his Great Communication, after all!On Sunday, the 22nd of January, 2023, I delivered a sermon titled, “Generospitality: The path of loving”. The intent of the sermon was to help us remember the generospitality of God toward us and our communities of faith, and to encourage us all to a generospitality which will transform our communities and our neighbours!The sermon audio and video are available on our website and on your podcasting aggregator, so be sure you have listened to that sermon before I continue because I am going to assume you have heard it already. If not, just press pause and come back to this episode later.For this episode, I want to expand a little on three issues I raised in my sermon and introduce another.Because of our fallenness and sin, there is much dysfunction and brokenness in the world generally, and that includes in local churches specifically!We need to recognise and accept, therefore, there will be brokenness among us; but, generospitality mitigates against brokenness. How do they do this?Well, local churches, as communities of faith, encourage and equip generospitality, which is to say we promote discipleship among the friends of Jesus. Generospitality softens the effects of brokenness and even heals, thus preventing bitterness to spring up and cause trouble for the community and the person. The writer of The Book of Hebrews noted this when he wrote,Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord. Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.  (Hebrews 12:14–15)The key is for local churches to step into our role as the image of God, to better reflect his love, grace, mercy in our communities and our neighbourhoods. When we are representing God well, he is pleased and blesses us by attracting the lost to our communities, so that we can disciple them; when we are not representing God well, he is displeased and removes his blessing, people are hurt, fall away from the Church, and even lose their faith.Neither the Church nor local churches are God, but we are to represent him as per his call on humanity to rule over our domains on his behalf.Those who fall away from the faith because of belonging to a dysfunctional local church are mistaking that church for God. Just because that church is dysfunctional does not mean it represents God well or at all.If you belong to a dysfunctional local church, and can't do anything to fix it, I would encourage you to leave, but do not abandon your faith in God. Go somewhere else and help it to be better than what you left behind.In our reading from The Book of Hebrews, it is clear there are limits to generospitality.The writer illustrated his instruction to "pursue peace with everyone" by referring to the story of Esau. He wrote,And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal. For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears, because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance. (Hebrews 12:16–17)I know there is biblical evidence that suggests Esau was born evil, but I believe the writer here suggests another way to interpret his story.Esau sold his birthright because he was hungry, and that set up bitterness in his heart, which caused trouble for him and defiled him, a situation made entirely worse when his father, Isaac, was unable to bless him from his deathbed, and so Esau felt rejected and sought revenge against his brother Jacob.While the writer started his illustration by pronouncing Esau was immoral and irreverent, there is no reason to think he meant Esau was always that way. When he wrote, "for you know that later", I believe he was indicating Esau's immorality and irreverence for the things of God developed over time, as a result of his early dismissal of his own birthright. Thus, Esau became immoral and irreverent. This happened because no one helped him to process what he had done when he gave away his birthright, so that when the consequences became evident later in life, it was too late for him.However, we know Esau changed. When he and his brother Jacob later reconciled, Esau is presented much more favourably than Jacob. He forgave his brother and is portrayed with humility and grace, unlike Jacob who continued his conniving ways.So when the writer of Hebrews used this story to illustrate his instruction, "pursue peace", I believe he was showing that despite our best efforts to nurture our communities of faith toward generosity, hospitality, and discipleship, there will always be those who fall away because not every situation of brokenness is dealt with well. Let us do our best, therefore, to help each other and apologise when our best is not good enough to stop immorality and irreverence, bitterness and trouble from springing up.All of what I have just described I touched on, at least a little bit, in my sermon, but I wanted to deal with these issues a little more here. The one issue about the limits of generospitality I did not raise is what we are to do with those who would take advantage of our communities.As far as we know, it was the apostle Paul who wrote to the church at Thessalonica,In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” For we hear that there are some among you who are idle. They are not busy but busybodies. Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and provide for themselves. But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good. (2 Thessalonians 3:10–13)From this we can appreciate the church at Thessalonica was a generous and hospitable church, but there were some who were taking advantage of this. The apostle strongly advised those people to work and provide for themselves. It is one thing to need the help of the community and it is another thing to take advantage of the generospitality of the community.To the community, however, the apostle encouraged them to "keep doing good", by which he meant keep providing for such people, even though they take advantage.This is not the case for everyone, however. In an early Christian document called The Didache we find these instructions:Every apostle who arrives among you is to be welcomed as if he were the Lord.But normally he must not stay with you for more than one day, but he may stay a second day if this is necessary. However, if he stays a third day, then he is a false prophet!When he leaves you, an apostle must receive nothing except enough food to sustain him until the next night’s lodgings. However, if he asks for money, then he is a false prophet! (Did. 11.3–6)In the context of the early Church, the apostles traveled between churches to teach and encourage. To such, along with any other visitors, hospitality was granted by the community. No question.However, there were strict instructions given so that such apostles could not take advantage of the local churches they were visiting. Hospitality was only to be given for one or two days. Lingering was seen as taking advantage and was discouraged.Therefore, there is a limit to generospitality and times when it should be withheld.This instruction puts into perspective the apostle Paul's practice of not collecting a fee from the local churches he was visiting. He payed for himself and his ministry team by tentmaking, so that no one could accuse him of taking advantage of anyone.Thank you for listening; I hope you found this "Deeper Dive" helpful.If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, then you can post it on the show notes page or contact me using the "Contact" form on our website at www.narellancong.org.auUntil next time, may God bless you and keep you and fulfil in you the free, full, and forever life promised by Jesus to his friends.

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Show Notes The Fellowship of Congregational Churches' Statement of Faith The Salvation Army's belief statementTranscriptOn Sunday, the 28th of August, 2022, I delivered a sermon simply titled, “Salvation By Grace”. It was part 5 in our "Fight the urge to fit in" sermon series, in which we are considering a statement of belief that represents what I believe to be essentials of Christian faith. The clause on Salvation By Grace from that statement reads, "We believe that salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith and that people cannot save themselves by works of righteousness but that works of righteousness are products of the Holy Spirit who indwells believers by faith."I am pretty convinced what I covered in my sermon represents the essentials on the topic of Salvation By Grace, being what a person needs to understand and appreciate about this topic for a maturing Christian faith and lifestyle. Once you understand humans are incapable of saving themselves, that our salvation is a gift of God, then you will feel gratitude and feel increasingly inclined to live your life to the glory of God.The Salvation Army's doctrines pick up this sentiment. Their statement on this topic reads,We believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself.This is an old-fashioned way of saying the conviction of the truth of salvation by grace is confirmed in the believer by the Holy Spirit, which leads to gratitude, as I've already mentioned.The Fellowship of Congregational Churches' doctrines take another approach. The FCC's Statement Of Faith reads,God alone can deal with humankind’s sin and bring about a reconciliation with Himself … God, by His Grace, forgives and reconciles to Himself all who turn to Him in true repentance, turning from sin and trusting in Christ’s atoning death … The Scriptures affirm that the sinner is justified by faith alone in the finished work of Christ.These are merely excerpts from three paragraphs that touch on the topic of salvation by grace. It is a good statement; however, it adds complexity and nuance to the topic, and so goes beyond the essentials to direct the believer toward a specific theological tradition.If you don't believe me, let me now read the three paragraphs in full:God, by His Grace, forgives and reconciles to Himself all who turn to Him in true repentance, turning from sin and trusting in Christ’s atoning death. God imputes to them the righteousness of Christ Himself and adopts them as His children.God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, must work in a person before they can enter Salvation. He leads the sinner into an awareness of their sinfulness and brings them to repentance and trust in Christ. He brings to birth a new and eternal life within the person and, by His continuing work, develops in this new life the fruits of love and holiness.The Scriptures affirm that the sinner is justified by faith alone in the finished work of Christ, that is, by His substitutionary death upon the Cross and His resurrection from the dead. The works of humankind and the traditions of the visible Church are of no avail in Salvation and Justification.As you can tell, the FCC Statement Of Faith is not trying to represent the essentials of Christian beliefs. It is trying to encapsulate the essentials of a theological tradition. If you accept this statement, then you are THIS type of Christian and not THAT type of Christian. It is a statement that moves beyond the basics into advanced Christian thinking and study.This is not a bad exercise. I wholeheartedly recommend Christians read deeply and widely so that they may understand the Bible better. This is the precise reason I am offering this podcast, after all. In highlighting the complexity and nuance of the FCC's statement, I am merely pointing out the difference between various doctrinal statements and what they are trying to achieve.If the FCC tried to argue its statement was a representation of the essentials, they would be arguing that to be a Christian one had to believe not just these things but to believe them in this way.Let me be clear, that is not what the FCC is doing. I am merely presenting a thought exercise.You will encounter Christians who agree salvation is by grace alone BUT to be a 'real' Christian you also need to believe this other thing.Across my travels, I have encountered Christians who argued that 'real' Christians worshipped on Saturday, rather than Sunday; that 'real' Christians believe in a young Earth and 7 day creation; that 'real' Christians speak in tongues; that 'real' Christians pray to Mary rather than Jesus; that 'real' Christians only read the King James Version of the Bible; that 'real' Christians don't believe in free will; that 'real' Christians know Jesus is coming again on this day and in this way; and so on and so on.Now, I'm not saying these beliefs aren't interesting nor am I saying that they don't have merit. I have heard some good arguments for each of these beliefs that have made me pause and think deeply about them. However, I will enter the boxing ring and defend my contention these beliefs are NOT necessary for salvation. These are the non-essential beliefs that Christians are free to believe and debate about. And it is the respectful debate about such beliefs that helps us all to know God better and make him better known. But they are not necessary for salvation and it is salvation by grace alone that is the real and important topic worth discussing.

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On Sunday, the 21st of August, 2022, I delivered a sermon simply titled, “Redemption”. It was part 4 in our "Fight the urge to fit in" sermon series, in which we are considering a statement of belief that represents what I believe to be essentials of Christian faith. The clause on Redemption from that statement reads,  "We believe the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ provide the only redemption from sin and that Christ died for all people; reconciliation and new life connected to God are possible only through his death and resurrection".I do not want to complicate matters, but I would be remiss if I did not mention there are actually four images of salvation found in the Bible: 1. Redemption (which the sermon described) 2. Propitiation 3. Justification 4. ReconciliationThese are fancy theological words, so I'll try my best to define them as simply as possible for you."Propitiation" is turning away the anger of an offended person or party by the offering of a gift. The word was often used by pagans in the ancient world, for they thought of their gods as unpredictable beings, liable to become angry with their worshipers for any trifle. When disaster struck it was often thought a god was angry and was therefore punishing his worshipers. The remedy was to offer a sacrifice without delay. A well-chosen offering would appease the god and put him in a good mood again. This process was called propitiation."Justification" concerns how believers are declared to be in the right with God through their faith in Jesus Christ. It is a judicial concept describing acceptance by God as not guilty because a person's sins are not counted against him or her."Reconciliation" is the restoration of friendly relationships and of peace where before there had been hostility and alienation. In the relationship between God with humanity, Christ removed the enmity existing between us by his vicarious sacrifice.Each of these images are found throughout the Old and New Testaments. It would be incorrect to say any of these are more important than the others, for they all work in tandem. The Bible describes Christ’s meritorious, substitutionary death in effecting reconciliation of God with sinners (aka propitiation); of sinners appropriating this free gift by faith (aka redemption); the Bible also describes the promised forgiveness and salvation that become the sinners’ possession by grace (aka justification); and, finally, reconciliation to God.Each image has its strengths along with its weaknesses.Theologians and biblical scholars have debated the relative importance of each of these images. They have composed theories that attempt to make sense of Christ's work on the cross and through his resurrection. These theories go by many names: there is the Penal Substitutionary Atonement theory; there is the Christus Victor theory; the Moral Influence and Moral Example theories of atonement.According to Mike Wittmer, a theologian at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, "Christus Victor explains why Jesus died, penal substitution explains how his death worked, and the double-sided moral influence and example theories explain what we should do in response".These are not the only theories, but they are representative of the debate surrounding this topic since the early years of the Church.Dr. Roger Olsen is a Christian philosopher and historian. He is the author of the Statement of Beliefs I am currently preaching on. He has listed out the rationale for the Governmental Theory of Atonement. That rationale ably depicts the kind of theological and philosophical thinking that tries to make sense of the cross and resurrection, and how they relate to our sin and reconciliation.The rationale for the Governmental Theory goes like this (there are 20 points, so please bear with me): 1. A viable theory of the atonement must take into account and, in some way, explain why Jesus’ death was necessary for salvation (or at least why he did die to save us). Why did Jesus have to die for us to be saved? 2. The cross of Jesus can have had more than one result. A viable theory of the atonement needs to get at the one or more crucial results that address and redress our deepest needs. 3. Scripture talks about our guilt, shame, captivity, ignorance, indebtedness, deserving death, etc. But underlying all is alienation from God—a condition of being estranged from God due to sin. 4. A viable theory of atonement must include an account of how the cross reconciles us with God or makes reconciliation between us and God possible. 5. Put another way, a viable, satisfying theory of the atonement must somehow answer the question “Why didn’t God just forgive us instead of using Jesus’ death as the means of reconciliation?” 6. A viable theory of atonement cannot ignore Scripture’s numerous references to the wrath of God against sin or God’s love for sinners. 7. Without doubt the cross represents a divine victory over Satan (or the powers that enslave), but how does that address the issues of wrath and guilt? 8. Without doubt the cross represents a powerful demonstration of God’s love, but how does that address the issues of wrath and guilt? 9. Something like Anselm’s satisfaction theory and Calvin’s and Wesley’s penal substitution theory is necessary to address the issues of God’s wrath, our guilt and our estrangement from God in light of God’s righteousness and love. Only they seem adequately to answer the question “Why did Jesus have to die for us to be saved?” by incorporating those biblical aspects of our condition and redemption. 10. However, those theories raise profound questions about God’s character, especially God’s love and God’s justice. 11. Is there something like a “law” either inside God or outside of God (but to which God is bound) that requires death as punishment (or satisfaction) for sin? If not, why didn’t God just forgive? Or did he and the cross simply present a demonstration of God’s love? Or a conquest over evil powers? 12. Scripturally, God is holy, righteous and just as well as loving. The combination of our sin and guilt and God’s righteousness creates a problem. God wants to forgive sinners, but cannot merely forgive without appearing to condone sin. (It’s not that God is bound by some law but his character and moral governance of the universe require demonstration of how seriously God takes sin.) 13. God’s main motive in the cross is not anger or retributive justice but twofold: love and desire to uphold his righteousness (and moral government of the universe). 14. The cross is not God taking out his vengeful anger against us by punishing an innocent man instead of us; it is rather God lovingly taking on himself the display of his righteousness in order to uphold his righteous government of the universe (i.e., to not condone sin). 15. In the cross event, God himself, in the person of his Son, voluntarily suffers the consequence of our sin, takes the punishment we deserve (not “our punishment”), pays the penalty we owe, etc. 16. The cross does not change God from angry to loving, from wanting to destroy us to wanting to forgive us. It expresses the true character of God as both loving and just. It is God’s way of relieving the tension between his own love and justice created by our sin. 17. The cross does not reconcile God to the world; God is always already reconciled to the world. The cross vindicates God’s decision to forgive sinners by demonstrating his abhorrence of sin. It is not “merely educative” (as some critics claim). 18. The result of the cross is that God stands ready and able (morally) to forgive anyone who repents. 19. There are other results of the cross: victory over evil powers, demonstration of God’s love, restoration of creation, justification of sinners, etc., etc. 20. All theories of the atonement have an element of truth, but none gets at the heart of Christ’s “work” for our salvation as biblically and incisively as this one which in no way excludes other facets of Christ’s work for salvation.Dr. Olsen readily admits there are strengths and weaknesses to this theory, but hopefully from it you can see how there is so much to take account of when trying to make sense of Jesus' work on the cross and through his resurrection.In the end, the best summary statements about Christ’s atoning work in Scripture are the following two (closely related) verses: from 2 Co 5:19,"In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us" and from Col 1:19-20, "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross".In short: God was in Christ, reconciling all things to himself. Remember that and you'll be fine.

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On Sunday, the 14th of August, 2022, I delivered a sermon simply titled, “Humanity”. It was part 3 in our "Fight the urge to fit in" sermon series, in which we are considering a statement of belief that represents what I believe to be essentials of Christian faith. The clause on Humanity from that statement reads, "We believe that human persons are created in God’s image and likeness but that all persons (except Jesus Christ) come into the world under the curse of sin and need redemption when they attain the age of accountability."In my sermon, I explained what it means for humans to be created to be the image of God and aspire to his likeness, how we are under the curse of sin and need redemption. What I did not cover was the qualifier humans need redemption when they attain the age of accountability. It is this qualifier I want to talk about on this episode.An age of accountability is not to be found in the Bible. It simply refers to a notional age at which persons can be reasonably assumed to understand the responsibility of their actions and can be afforded increasing independence to make their own decisions and actions. In Australia, this age is legally enshrined at 16 years.Those who accept this concept of an age of accountability would likely feel anyone younger than 16 years is not fully responsible for their actions as they likely do not understand their actions. Similarly, pro-age of accountability advocates would support a parent's right to make decisions on behalf of their child. In Australia, for instance, we debate whether young people should be charged as an adult for particularly heinous crimes.If we accept the concept of an age of accountability, then we may run into difficulties with theologies of Redemption.Theologies of Redemption start with the idea that, based on the holiness and perfect justice of God, humans are justly exposed to the consequences of sin which leads to death and eternal separation from God. So far so good.But what about those under the age of accountability? If children are not fully responsible for their actions because they are not fully capable of understanding their actions, then how can they be held accountable to the consequences of sin? Their actions are not sin per se, which is rebellion against God, so children cannot reasonably be said to rebel against commands they do not understand.Now I can imagine there are many heads spinning right now. Please just consider the logic. That's all I'm asking.I have already referred to "theologies" of Redemption, suggesting there are a plurality of views on this issue. So, is there an alternative view? Well, yes there is, thank you for asking.Augustine was a theologian and the bishop of Hippo, in Northern Africa, around the early 400s. Augustine remains an influential theologian. He famously argued for Original Sin against Pelagius.A theology of Original Sin holds that as a result of the disobedience of the first humans, all humans are sinners by nature, having a disposition to sin that underlies every actual sin. Thus every human person is born a sinner and is justly exposed to wrath, whether they have actually done anything wrong or not, and whether they understand what they do or not.Humans are guilty by virtue of our tendency to give in to temptation rather than any actual offences committed.The Fellowship of Congregational Churches describes the situation as, "God created humankind perfect, but after being tempted by Satan, by our own free choice, we disobeyed God and became sinful. Humankind’s whole nature is now corrupted by sin and our fellowship with God is broken."The Salvation Army includes this statement: "We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God."The statements of these two denominations say a whole lot more than the statement I am preaching on. Is this extra 'stuff' essential to Christian faith.If we accept the idea of Original Sin, as espoused by Augustine, then there is no such thing as an age of accountability. Everyone is a sinner by nature. From the moment they take their first breath, they are condemned to the consequences of sin, which is death and separation, unless they are saved. Since children cannot make a profession of faith, the only recourse is for their parents to have them baptised.Many Protestant Christian churches, like my own, do not practice Infant Baptism. Whether we realise it or not, this line of thinking holds baptism is not entirely necessary for salvation and certainly not entirely necessary until the age of accountability.Do we have to accept the idea that those under an age of accountability are automatically separated from God? No. Whether we baptise infants or not, God alone is the judge of who is separated from him or not. The issue here is how does sin work in humanity.And when I stated earlier an age of accountability is not found in the Bible, I did not mean there are no Bible passages that bear on this topic. There are many.For example, the psalmist behind Psalm 139 wrote with conviction, "For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made." Yet, in another psalm, 51, David wrote in confession, "Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me."One psalmist believed he, and by implication all humans, are sinful at birth, yet another psalmist believed God creates each human individually. It seems illogical that God would create humans who are sinful even as he is creating them.Then the Gospel of Luke reported Jesus declared, “Let the little children come to me, and don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Jesus revealed here he saw children at least as a symbol of what a faithful human looks like and at best believed children are in the kingdom of God. If so, that is either because they have faith by virtue of being children or they are not accountable.Let me be clear, I am summarising a whole lot of theology here, so please forgive me. I am only inviting you to think a little deeper on the issue. I find this statement on Humanity covers enough of what is essential for Christian faith and then leaves a lot of room for discussion and alternative points of view bringing the Bible to bear on insights into human nature found in the fields of Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology.

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TranscriptOn Sunday, the 31st of July, 2022, I delivered a sermon simply titled, “Jesus”. It is the first part of a sermon series called, "Fight The Urge To Fit In". The intent of the series is to reinforce just how important what we believe is to living a Christian lifestyle. While we are pressured to condone all sorts of sinful and destructive behaviours in our world, the friends of Jesus fight the urge to fit in by standing on the firm ground of biblical beliefs.However, the question this series is inviting us to consider is just what are those biblical beliefs that form that firm ground? In other words, what is essential for us to believe about Jesus the Christ?In my sermons during this series, I will preach and teach to what I believe is essential. In these Deeper Dive podcasts, I invite you consider what is non-essential, what we are free to believe yet disagree on. I will do this by comparing the doctrinal statements in my sermons with other doctrinal statements, to look at what they include and whether that is essential or not. You will likely disagree with me on some things and agree on others, but I hope you leave some good questions and comments so that we can have some good discussion on these topics.During this sermon, the statement about Jesus Christ we considered was this: We believe that Jesus Christ is God, Saviour and Lord of all creation; he is the perfect revelation of God as well as God incarnate, the only mediator between God and humanity. I would be surprised if there were any orthodox Christians who would disagree these are essential beliefs about Jesus.However, other doctrinal statements include other points about Jesus.Both The Apostles' and Nicene Creeds are the foundational creeds of Christian orthodoxy, and both include reference to Jesus being "incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary". The FCC Statement Of Belief includes, "Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless human life and taught with divine authority." Interestingly, the Salvation Army statement does not include this clause.So does believing in Jesus' birth to a human virgin by the Holy Spirit count as an essential belief?Jesus' birth to a virgin is described in two Bible passages, Matt 1:18–25 and Luke 1:26–38. While not describing the virgin birth specifically, both Mark 6:3 and John 8:41 show an awareness of Jesus' miraculous conception, as does the apostle Paul, in Gal 4:4 and Rom 1:3, the author of Hebrews, in Heb 7:3.However, sceptics point out Matthew’s use of the word “virgin” is ambiguous. It could mean a woman who has not had sexual intercourse, but it was also occasionally used to simply mean “girl”. Additionally, Matthew referred to Jesus' virgin birth as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isa 7:14, but Luke does not. Could this be an instance of a NT writer reading the OT and forcing a prophecy to apply to Jesus?Debate over Jesus' virgin birth was present in the early church, yet both the Nicene and Apostles' creeds affirm it. Also, it is sufficiently clear from the Bible, as well as cultural context, that virginity was expected of young women, and their chastity was guarded by the family. Matthew then drew on a prophecy fulfilled in Isaiah’s own lifetime (Isa 6–8), to show that the supernatural birth of the Messiah was analogous with Isaiah’s prophecy but was fulfilled in a more excellent way.So, that Jesus was born to a virgin is almost certainly affirmed in the Bible, but does that make it essential? I'm going to go on record and say, "Yes", I believe it is essential; however, remember that creeds and statements of doctrine are not tests of faith but they are teaching tools, especially for new believers. Therefore, I am not convinced Jesus' miraculous conception needs to be included in statements of faith because it is not a doctrine on which I would ever really preach or teach. I would most definitely state it as a matter of fact, but I wouldn't dwell on it in a sermon. In fact, the NT writings don't dwell on it either. It's only mentioned in 2 gospels and referred to obliquely in only 3 other places.Jesus' virgin birth is essential, and I will defend it if you want to argue about it, but it is does not really tell us an awful lot about Jesus' nature and work, so it is not really necessary to include in a statement of belief.

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This deep dive will look into two issues raised during the research and preparation for my 2022-07-10 sermon, "The Glories of Love". The issues I address in this episode explore where to find truth that we can rejoice in and how to tell stories that open people to the Truth about Jesus.

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This deeper dive will look into issues regarding the context of 1 Corinthians 13, which is the passage we are studying in a new sermon series.

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This deeper dive will look one more time at the Wesleyan Quadrilateral —hopefully, I don't repeat myself!

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This deeper dive will look into issues raised during the research and preparation for my 2022-06-12 sermon, “On The Trinity: What to believe and why to believe it”. In this episode I address the issue of what are the essential beliefs of Christianity. Surprisingly, this is a much tougher question to answer than many Christians realise. Oughtn't we be more gracious towards those we disagree with, if the disagreement is not on something that is essential?

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This deeper dive will look into issues raised during the research and preparation for my 2022-06-05 sermon, “The Day of Pentecost: The dynamic of the Church”. The issues I address in this episode explore the issue of people abandoning their church and cancelling a fallen leader. Please note, the subtitles are not accurate. I will leave off this feature in future videos.

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This deeper dive will look into issues raised during the research and preparation for my 2022-05-29 sermon, "The Ascension: Christ in us for the world". The issues I address in this episode explore a bit more the issue of Christ's body post-resurrection and whether Heaven is 'out there' or closer than we think.