BIBLETALK

In an article in the New York Times by Ruth Graham with this same title, it was reported that:

“StoneBridge Christian Church in eastern Nebraska is known locally for hosting a big annual fireworks event, which this fall included 15 food trucks and portable firepits for making s’mores. But it’s the Christmas season that is “our Super Bowl,” said the church’s executive pastor, Mitch Chitwood. This year, the church’s four locations in the Omaha area will host four “Jingle Jam” family parties in December and nine services on Christmas Eve, complete with classic carols, Christmas-themed coffee drinks and a festive photo booth in the lobby.

“What they will not have is church on Sunday, Dec. 25. On Christmas Day, StoneBridge will offer a simple community breakfast, but no religious services.

‘“We still believe in the Sunday morning experience, but we have to meet people where they are,” Mr. Chitwood said…’

Again, the Article said:

“This year, more Protestant churches seem to be making the decision to simply opt out. Though a clear majority will meet in some form on Christmas Day, fewer will do so than in 2016, when 89 percent of Protestant pastors said they were holding services, according to a survey by Lifeway Research, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. This year, that number dropped to 84 percent….

“Among nondenominational evangelical pastors, who tend to be informal and pragmatic in their approach to church matters, the numbers hosting Christmas Day services are significantly lower: Only 61 percent say they will do so, according to Lifeway’s survey.” (New York Times, Dec. 18, 2022).

So, I just wanted to comment on this.

First, this Sunday will be like all of our other Sundays. We will have Bible classes on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for all ages and we will have our worship together at 10:00 a.m. to celebrate with the Lord in communion, prayer, singing and preaching. It is, we believe, what the Lord has asked us to do on “every first day of the week” (c.f. Acts 20:7 with 1Corinthians 16:1-2).

Second, this Sunday will be like all of our other Sundays. Yes. I am repeating myself. It is a day we remember the Lord in the way He has commanded us to remember Him in worship (c.f. 1Corinthians 11:24). We may speak of any part of His life, including His birth, in the teaching of the day but our worship is to center around what we gather to do: “On the first day of the week when we were assembled together to break bread…” (Acts 20:7).

Third, this Sunday is not like a national or health emergency. If there was a tornado wreaking havoc or flooded streets from a hurricane, or a health emergency, that would not be the same reason as stopping services because families need stocking time, brunches or because attendance is expected to be low. The Pandemic was and is a painful reminder of the broken world in which we live – but canceling services because Christmas morning would require people to leave their PJs and come worship the Lord is an entirely different thing.

Fourth, it is not the America of my youth that I pine away to wish back – but the churches of my youth where serving the Lord in His way was the way to serve Him. The standard we follow for making choices for what we will do on December 25th is the same as what we do on every other day – whether it is a Sunday or not. But how much more will what we do on a Sunday reflect how earnestly we follow these words?:
• “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24)
• “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matthew 6:33).
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
• “He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18).
• “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2).
• “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
• “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4).

Lastly, I will be “in church” on Sunday because I want to follow Him. I could think of no better way to honor the Lord of my life; no better way to keep Him the reason for every season; and no better way to show my children what “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) really means.

I pray I see all of you too.

-Don Hooton

Taking the lead from a book called “Compassionate Creator: Becoming Human For Me” by Bruce Morton, we will take a look at the entrance of Jesus the King into the world in which He was born. Paul reminds us that “at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 6:6) and to the Galatians he wrote, “when the fulness of time came, God sent His Son..” (4:4). So, there is value in understanding, along with the written text, the events and the environment that led to God sending His Son into the world.

Secondarily, the study will also reveal how vastly different was the birth of the Son of Man compared to the gaudy scenes of popular religion. The scene of Joseph, Mary, the infant Jesus, wrapped in beautiful clothes, with animals, shepherds, angels and wise men all surrounding the manger to worship the Christ Child. The scenes, repeated over and over as if they are historically true, have contributed to the hindrance of people understanding the true message of that King.

So just how common was Jesus?

Was Jesus a man?

In the four Gospels, there is ample evidence that Jesus was fully human since He was born to a human mother (Matthew 1:25), He experienced hunger (Matthew 21:18) and thirst (John 19:28). Jesus also experienced temptation (Matthew 4:1) pain and suffering (Matthew 16:21), and He died (Matthew (27:50).

In fact, three words the writer of Hebrews uses indicate his understand of Jesus when he wrote: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

So, we should not dismiss what we have in common with him – that He was “like his brothers”. In fact, the writer says, “in every respect.” This comparison is to all the things of the context – namely that we face death, and fear death, and that he has set us from those things that he shared with us.

Had Jesus only been fully God, then He never would have had these human experiences. However, Jesus was more than a mere human.

Did He claim to be more than a man?

The New Testament records several instances in which Jesus affirms, or at least does not deny, that He is God. In a few cases, He identifies Himself as divine outright. In John 10:30-33, Jesus says He is one with the Father God, which causes the devout Jews to want to execute Him for blasphemy. They say what His words imply: “You, a mere man, claim to be God?” (NIV); “make yourself God” (CSB; ESV). The context demands we consider Jewish history – the very thing that prompted their response. When God first appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses asked God for His name. And God gave Moses an interesting reply: God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). For generations following this interaction between God and Moses, the Israelites revered the name of God (“I AM”) as a precious title that was not to be slandered or given to anyone or anything other than God himself.

Now read again John 8:49-58. Jesus made two remarkable statements. First, he claimed to be eternal and to have existed before Abraham! But more importantly, Jesus called himself by the ancient title ascribed only to God Himself, “I AM”. The Pharisees knew exactly what Jesus meant by this. From their perspective, Jesus said specifically, “I am God”. How do we know this was their interpretations of His words? We know it from their reaction. They responded by attempting to stone Jesus for claiming to be God (an act of blasphemy they considered worthy of death). And then, in Mark 14:61-63 (NIV), Jesus is on trial for His life and is asked, “Are you the Christ, Son of the Blessed One [that is, God]?” He answers, “I am,” and then calls Himself the “Son of Man,” which is a title used for an exalted heavenly figure in the Old Testament on Daniel’s visions (Daniel 7).

Was Jesus God?

Because these are not our experiences and outside our own frame of reference, they are often degraded to the impossible and a difficult concept for us to understand. It would be easy to understand if Jesus were merely fully human but not divine. We could also more likely accept it if Jesus was fully divine but not human. And, if all humans were fully human and fully God we would easily understand it. However, no one is fully human and fully God except Jesus so we lack a frame of reference that helps us to understand this concept.

Because of this uncommon experience, some have theorized different views of the incarnation. One is called Kenosis Christology where it is explained that the incarnation involved Jesus leaving his divinity behind for a while and living solely as a man. Though, If there was ever a moment when God the Son stepped aside from his divinity then he was never God in the first place. How then could it be said that the Word became flesh? (c.f. John 1:1,14). Other theories of the incarnation presented for its explanation—sometimes labelled Monophysitism or Eutychianism—both try to preserve Jesus’ divine nature by having it operating inside his humanity. To say that God the Son never stopped being God, however, does not mean that his divine nature was lurking inside his human nature—as if baby Jesus was secretly sustaining the universe from somewhere inside his skull. This is to confuse the natures of Jesus.

Jesus the man was just that—a man: flesh, blood, body and soul. When he worked miracles, he did them the way other humans would do them—through the power of God’s Spirit. As Peter says to Cornelius: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38). But He was acting as a man though He was God. He emptied himself of the right to act as God and instead as a servant and a man, be used by God through the Spirit to work miracles. When we appreciate the radical difference between God and creatures, we realize that we need this different way, the uncommon way of thinking about Jesus coming into the world. It’s less like Him moving from one place to another and more like Him adding an entirely different mode of existence.

Jesus was a man. But Jesus wasn’t just any man. He was God the Son

Based on these sources about the life of Jesus, Jesus claimed to be God more than once. Some of these statements were overt and clear and the claim made Him uncommon among common men. And as we will see in the upcoming lessons, He came in the first century A.D. to announce the good news of the kingdom of God, His kingship and kinship, to save people and make them new again. When He indirectly stated His purpose in statements like “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) or “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), He was preparing the way for us to see Him as the most uncommon among all of us.

The recent uptick in benevolent requests from individuals and churches to us suggests that we consider again what the New Testament says to Christians and churches about what is their role and responsibility. Particularly as a church, but also as a Christian, it is imperative that we have the Lord’s permission – or authority – to do so: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord” (Colossians 3:17) and “If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words” (1Peter 4:11). If “sin is lawlessness” (1John 3:4), then to act outside the will that God has given is to act lawlessly, without authority, and sinfully – whether we are individuals or a church.

We should also be reminded that the Apostles, when resolving conflict with Hebrew Christians over the question of circumcision in Acts 15, appealed to these ways – as authoritative – to understand the will of God as they addressed the subject. Peter referred to a vision and what God did when he baptized Cornelius and his household and said, “He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith” (15:9) because God made the implication that Gentiles were welcome to Christ in giving the Spirit“ just as he also did to us” (15:8). That implication and inference was powerful enough to Peter to warrant the bold exhortation: “why are you testing God?” (15:10). In Acts 15:12, Paul and Barnabas said that the miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles was also evidence enough, through the Apostles’ example, that Gentiles were welcome to the body of Christ. And in Acts 15:13-19, James related the direct statement of God, quoting Amos 9:11-12, to show that Gentiles were saved because God had stated that they would be saved through the Messiah. This is the way the apostles showed the church then – and the church today – how we must discover the will of God in every generation.

In the New Testament, Christians were urged to help anyone and everyone: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Even in 1Timothy 6:17-19, the wealthy were commanded to be “rich in good works, to do good, be ready to give, and willing to share.” In His parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus said, “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37). There is, without question, a burning responsibility that we as individuals must care for the needy and do good with the things that we have. I certainly understand the level of fraud and cheating that continues to rise to a whole new level that we must combat when all we are trying to do is good. But we have instructions on that too. Paul said, “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat” (2Thessalonians 3:10). There are, also, ways to help without giving money: buy food, clothing or directly give the needs yourself. And while it is not a fool-safe way to keep you from feeling fooled, it helps. 

Further, the churches used their collected funds for benevolence with permission. Every time this kind of help appears in the New Testament the object of that assistance is clear. In 1Corinthians 16:1, Paul said, “Now about the collection for the saints.” This collection was not from or of but “for” the saints; and the church collected these funds, per the Apostolic instruction, in the first day collection when they gathered “for the saints.” Also, Paul said, “Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem” (Romans 15:26). Even in Acts 11:27-20, when the whole world was in the grip of a famine, they “according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea.” Incredibly early in the church’s history, the believers “held everything in common… For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need” (Acts 4:32-36).

In Scripture, every time the church used their collective resources for benevolence, the recipients were saints. As individuals, they certainly gave to those in need, anywhere or anyone, in obedience to Jesus. Yet as the church, they gave to the pooled resources and those resources were sent to saints “as any had need.” Some people use James 1:27 as an argument for the local church treasury to use its funds widely for all orphans and widows. The question is, however, who is James addressing? Is it a local church (or churches) or Christians at large? First, the letter was written to “the twelve tribes” (1:1) who are “brothers and sisters” (1:2) and then exhorts in verse twenty-six, “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless, and he deceives himself.” So, when James says, “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…” this is an exhortation to the individual: “to keep oneself” undefiled. 

But there are still further limits on the church’s use of its treasury for saints. One, it cannot foster idleness. Paul says, “Let the church not be burdened, so that it can help widows in genuine need” (1Timothy 5:16). In other words, these widows were intended to first receive care from others. He says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1Timothy 5:8). In addition, Paul commanded “brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, keep away from every brother or sister who is idle and does not live according to the tradition received from us… In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat…” Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and provide for themselves.” (2Thessalonians 3:6-12). If someone is able but refuses to work, the church was told to refrain from assisting them in their idleness. Second, it should not supplant family obligations because Paul said, “learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God” (1Timothy 5:4) so that the church should not be obligated (5:16). The local church was the last resort, not the first, for benevolent assistance. 

Further, local churches helped other Christians in other churches. In Acts 11 and 2Corinthians 8-9, the Apostles urged churches to help other churches with benevolence when they were in need. In Scripture, this is the only instance where one local church sent money to another local church. The church receiving, whether solicited or not, would have used the gift of money for the need to be addressed; It was not to expand their evangelistic ministry or enlarge their structures. This sole example was for benevolence when these local churches were unable to provide for their own people. Further, there was no intermediary society or sponsoring church engaged to do all the work of collecting and sending. Paul said, “When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me” (1Corinthians 16:3-4).

In application, the local church is authorized to help needy Christians but with every effort, follow the Divine mandates to not instill idleness nor supplant familial responsibility. The local church is authorized to send the aid to the ones who need it. It is not God’s intent that the local treasury be the bank for all needs in the world or the financial backing for good intending organizations who want to serve the world. However, Christians have obligations to help everyone everywhere that they are able. The latter decision is an individual decision for which we all will stand before God. Let’s not shirk our individual responsibilities. Let’s not absolve ourselves by “letting the church take care of it.” God never made the church, or us, to do that. But let the church be the church. And let each of us be the benevolent children of God.

By Don Hooton

Well, I’m now a grandparent and there is such a thing called Grandparent’s Day. So just like Christmas Day and my Birthday, shouldn’t I expect gifts? Well, I’m kidding – sort of.

But I do have a wish list; a wish list that I hope my children see and my grandchildren – and I hope it will be good for you as well.

First, I want my grandchildren to know the Lord. Moses told Israel, “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19). As a parent, I am responsible to teach my own children all about God – and then they can teach their children the same. That is the best gift they can have. As a grandparent, I need to stand alongside of my children and teach Who God is, what God has done and what God requires. If my children are not teaching them, I will find ways to tell them about God.

Second, I want my grandchildren to know they are loved and wanted. If they learn who God is and what He has done for all of humanity (John 3:16), they will know the soul affirming and righteous demanding love God has shown them, and me, in the Cross. But I want them to know love from their parents – and from me. Paul said to older woman “encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children” (Titus 2:5) because the strength built within a home around that God glorifying love will be the foundation rock bed for communities specifically and society in general – but especially for the church. So there are few more important things than to teach your child in a godly way that they are loved.

Psalm 78 shows God’s work for grandparents by warning through history of failed examples of family discipleship. The Psalmist said, “He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children so that a future generation—children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works but keep his commands. Then they would not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (78:5-8). So what in this Psalm will help me as a grandparent make sure my Wish List Is Met? I can leave it to my kids – but my work as a Christian, let alone a human, is not over.

I need to see that there is a multi-generation reality to what I do as parent – and as a grandparent (fathers, children, children yet unborn, and their children, 78:5-6). The legacy I create is not merely by the number of children I have or the gifts I receive – but by the gifts I give them. And I want the gifts I give to them to last a long time, in fact, for generations to come.

I need to tell of God’s works (78:4). To “tell” means to report, to count, to make known, to make a written record. Our mouths must speak it; Our pens must write it; And they should see it gloriously displayed in our lives. But speaking the story focuses their minds on God Himself so they can learn from you to worship Him.

I need to teach God’s law (78:5). Every grandparent teaches. Whether it is through the stories passed down or by behaviors that isolate an intended response, it is what we do even if we “did not sign up for this.” God has commanded it. The Hebrew word “teach” means to instruct or guide, a goal-oriented word which suggests there is a specific outcome you are working toward; teaching is a method to that end. A good guide knows the end destination, shows others the path, and instructs along the way.

While American society still communicates a powerful message that grandparents are extras, unessential and somehow throw-aways to what the world really needs, God saw them as critical figures in the faith formation of the young.

For, the last gift I want is time. Not only do I hope for the time so that I can blabber on and over them that they are the cutest people in the world (I’m not sure I am uncapable of this), but also, I hope for the time that I will have to spend with them to them all of the above – so I can have the time and joy to watch them teach the next generation the same thing – whether it is earth side or heaven side – but then I will know it has been time well spent.

by Don Hooton

by Don Hooton

“More Than a Momentary Blip in the Universe? Investigating the Link Between Religiousness and Perceived Meaning in Life“ is a study authored by Michael Prinzing, Patty Van Cappellen, and Barbara L. Fredrickson and published in December, 2021 in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (psypost.org).

They hoped their research could explain why being religious is positively associated with perceiving meaning in one’s life. Prinzing said, “I have found that religious people will often claim that, if their religious beliefs weren’t true, then life would be meaningless. As someone who studies meaning in life, this makes me curious.” So, Prinzing and his colleagues had five different studies for their observations. They found that heightened religiousness was associated with heightened social mattering and heightened cosmic mattering, which in turn was linked to heightened meaning in life. But cosmic mattering accounted for a much larger proportion of the relationship between religiousness and meaning in life than social mattering. Even Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg wrote in his book The First Three Minutes that “the more the universe is comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.”

So Prinzing asked, “What is it about religious faith that makes life feel meaningful? Psychologists who have studied the link between religiousness and perceived meaning in life have tried to explain it by pointing to the ways in which religions bring people into communities. These communities provide social support and a sense of purpose and significance, which make life feel meaningful.”

Of course. Churches are communities of people committed to Christ and to each other. In fact in Acts 4, “there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.” And even for other communities in other places, “even beyond their ability, of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints, and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God’s will.” (2Corinthains 8:3-5).

Yet Prinzing wrote, “However, I didn’t think that religious people themselves would offer that kind of explanation.” “When I talk with religious people about why their faith makes them think that life is meaningful, I have found that they tend to say things like this: ‘If God didn’t exist, then we would be just a cosmic accident. We would be mere specks of dust in the vast cosmic void, and there would be no significance to anything we do.’ That is a very different kind of explanation. In this paper, the idea was to test these two explanations: the academic psychologist’s explanation and the layperson’s explanation.”

Of course. Churches should understand what Life is – and how Wisdom shows our lives: “The whole of man is to fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Our wholeness is connected to our purpose. And for believers, particularly in Christ, we know that Jesus said that “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10).

Prinzing told PsyPost: “The primary takeaway is that both explanations for the link between religiousness and perceived meaning are correct, but the ‘cosmic mattering hypothesis’ plays the larger part. Religious faith appears to make life feel meaningful primarily because it appears to give people the sense that they matter even in the grand scheme of the universe.”

And that is the point. Humans matter because “God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27). Humans matter because “From one blood* he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:26-28). Humans matter because we matter to God who gave us life – and gives us life eternal in Christ – for all who will believe.

You Matter. God has offered forgiveness in His Son. God has called all to repent. And God has asked us to believe. That’s why Jesus said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3). The Matter with Mattering – socially and in the cosmos – is to find that you matter to God. And I hope you see – you matter.

by Don Hooton

America pauses today to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., whose bold voice propelled the evidence of racial inequity to the forefront of our nation’s consciousness. It was a much-needed voice that called people to repentance; not just for the hateful violence against people for the color of their skin but for the inequity that people of color had to live with in every practical part of their existence – a struggle many experience today still.

That we needed his voice among our nation is no surprise. Like him, we are all sinners because “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:9). Paul applied this psalm to the universal reality of his own nation of Israel when the Psalmist had applied it to even foolish atheists and agnostics (Psalm 14:1). The Bible says it clearly, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If God had commanded Israel to treat aliens and foreigners as their own blood and to love them with brotherly love (Leviticus 19:33-34), what would He say to our nation? To generate and to support rules, prohibitions, and segregations was – and still is – against the will of God for any nation and His people. And our nation needed that bold voice to call us to repentance.

That we needed the same voice among Christians is no surprise. James addressed the unfair speech of cursing by Christians of others. He wrote, “With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way” (James 3:9-10). And he continues, “Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor” (James 4:11-12). And fellow Christians needed that bold voice to call us to repentance.

When I say surprised, it is not because I do not love my nation or do not love my people. It is because I should not be surprised when the Bible warns us that humans fail. Yet, the same Bible commands people to choose love and righteousness despite what is around us. Whatever the color of our skin, we should also want our kids to be known for the content of their character – not the color of their skin. We want to be known the same way. Yet, many people have been forced to struggle through a society that forced their struggle because of the color of their skin. And sadly, some have been forced to struggle in churches because of the color of their skin.

So, do not fail your brother if you are a Christian. Love people because they were created by God just like you. Honor people because they were created by God just like you. And stop the cycle of hate within our own history that has ruined generations from knowing humanity – and even the true church of the Lord – the way God intended people to know through us.

“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:19-20).

by Don Hooton

In an article by Everett Piper in the Washington Times (July 25, 2021) called America’s new religion: Fake Christianity, he wrote, “The faith that motivates Americans today is not the “singular” faith proclaimed by John Wesley… or the confident faith of Saint Paul… nor is it the creedal conviction of the early Church…. No. The contemporary church’s faith isn’t even anchored in the bold exclusivity of Jesus himself, who said, “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life and no one comes to the Father but through me!”  Instead, he writes, it has been replaced with a pseudo-message or Fake Christianity. As proof, he offers:

1. Rachel Bratton of Western Journal who said this: “American Christianity has fallen. Thanks to cultural corrosion and a lack of biblical literacy, a new ‘fake Christianity’ is now being preached within the American church.” “This counterfeit religion is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” stated Ms. Bratton, “a worldview that has quickly gained prominence and given many Americans a theology that looks nothing like historical Christianity, despite what they may claim.” She then goes on to cite the recent work of George Barna, whose February survey showed that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD), or — watered-down, feel-good, fake Christianity — is the most popular worldview in the United States today. Ms. Bratton concludes: “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism distorts the God of the Bible in an attempt to make him bless all the dissipations and vanities of the modern world.”
2. George Barna, Director of Research and cofounder of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University and The Barna group, answers: “The moralistic perspective is we’re here to be good people and to try to do good…The therapeutic aspect is everything is supposed to be geared to making me feel good about myself, ultimately to make me happy. Deism is the idea that God created the world but has no direct involvement in it. Basically, according to MTD, there is a distant God who just wants everyone to be nice, and the purpose of life is to be happy. American ‘Christians’ who have adopted this philosophy have… elevate[d] personal definitions of right and wrong above any objective standard of Truth — like the Bible.” “MTD is essentially what I would call fake Christianity. Because it has some Christian elements in it, but it’s not really biblical, it’s not really Christian.”

And there you have it. America’s religion is no longer that of the Apostles: “the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). And whether it has always been of the Apostles is a matter for discussion elsewhere. Still, Ms. Bratton wrote, “Please stop calling yourself a Christian if you don’t believe in Christianity!”

So if the vast prominence of what the public sees as Christianity is indeed fake, how will we ever find what is true?

True Christianity is formed from what Jesus really taught. “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). He told the Apostles that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20).

True Christianity is formed from what the Apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, commanded us to do. In Jesus’ day, He told people to His disciples that “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). In fact, he said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (5:11). While He did say the world should see us love like Him (John 13:34), we won’t always be liked or even appear “nice” by the world’s view since loving also means rebuking those who are not walking in love (Romans 14:15) or “not acting in line with the truth of the gospel.” Walking according to the desire of the flesh is not walking according to the Way (c.f. Romans 8:1-4; Galatians 5:16).

True Christianity is following The Way, The Truth and the Life. Just as He told the Apostles in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And to his disciples He said, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). Jesus is one of confession, not counseling and comfort, and today’s “Christians” would do well to remember that he‘s the one who said those ignoring this would be “cast out and trampled underfoot.”

The message and life for followers of Jesus, as He has said, is one that will confess Him, sacrifice for Him and live like Him is their lives – and no seek self, self-centered pursuits and self-centered religion. “These are matters which do have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion… but are of no value” (Colossians 2:23).

Fake Christianity will always feel easy because it makes what we already believe to be true to be our truth. But real Christianity will follow one Way; one Truth; with one Life – the way Jesus has called for all of His disciples. It’s easy when we follow Him. It’s hard when we follow people – or worse, “our heart.”

by Don Hooton

“Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 30. The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christ’s original church.” (Batsell Barrett Baxter, Who are the Churches of Christ and What do they Believe?)

History tells us how people lived and dealt with life where they were. The history of Christians does the same. Churches of Christ do the same. They are comprised of imperfect people who did indeed  falter. Even in the movement known as the Protestant reformation where people began to read Scripture and challenge Catholic teaching, tradition and papal authority, there was borne in hearts of people like that a desire to follow only the Bible. As next generations began to adopt their own traditions and set up their own church polity, the result of denominationalism grew. Yet there were many who were dissatisfied with that result and wanted to restore what the New Testament church should believe and practice to themselves. And there are people today with the same desire.

These restoration “movements” have been happening all the time. An early advocate for this restoration was James O’Kelly of the Methodist Episcopal Church who in 1793, withdrew from the Baltimore conference of his church and called upon others to join him in taking the Bible as the only creed. In 1802, a similar movement among Baptists in New England was led by Abner Jones and Elias Smith who were concerned about “denominational names and creeds” and decided to wear only the name Christian, taking “the Bible as their only guide.” In 1804, a Kentuckian named Barton W. Stone and several other Presbyterian preachers took similar action declaring that they would take the Bible as the “only sure guide to heaven.” In 1809, Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander took similar steps and maintained that nothing should be bound on Christians as doctrine which was younger than the New Testament. These men did not advocate the starting of a new church but rather, a return to Christ’s church as described in the Bible.

Likewise, members of churches of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Instead, for churches who identify as churches of Christ, it is a plea for religious unity based upon the Bible in our divided religious world. We believe that the Bible is the only possible way to develop this common ground for unity among people who want to please God. It is an appeal to go back to the Bible. It is a plea to “speak where the Bible speaks and to remain silent where the Bible is silent” in all matters that pertain to religion. The objective is religious unity of all believers in Christ with the only basis for that, the New Testament, the whole body of authoritative literature for Christians in every age.

It was Jesus Himself who prayed for those who would believe in Him through the Apostles when He prayed, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:20-23).

If fulfilling Jesus’ prayer for unity around the teaching of the Apostles in the Bible interests you, we welcome you to join us.

by Don Hooton

There are many ways the modern church should learn from the first century church. We too often look for inspiration from peers or other churches when instead, right in front of us, are early Christians who let the gospel transform them personally and empower them collectively. We can see this in cosmopolitan Antioch!

Luke said, “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul (Acts 13:1, NLT). These five leaders, prophets and teachers, represent a broad racial, cultural and socio-economic span of culture. This diversity gave the church great strength – and unity with a broad scope of experiences that fastened them together to keep the unity of the Spirit.

Barnabus and Saul are the most well-known. Barnabus was a Levite from Cyprus and “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” who brought “a great number of people … to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). Though he had respect, wealth, and other standings in the world before (c.f. 4:36-37), he followed Jesus. When the Apostles were afraid of Saul, Barnabas vouched for him (9:28). At Lystra, Barnabus’ demeanor triggered pagans to call him “Zeus” while Paul, who did most of the speaking, was “Hermes” (14:12). Even though Saul had been trained at the feet of Gamaliel (22:3), Barnabus obviously took no passive place next to Paul in the work; he led. They both did. While Jews, they partnered with non-Jews to lead.

Then there are three rarely observed as leaders. One is Simeon, who “ministered to the Lord” in the same way. He was called Niger (or, the black man, see NLT). The Greek word, “Niger,” is translated black and is the source word for Nigeria. Also, it was a common Roman name, so Simeon wasn’t Jewish and strongly Gentile. His ethnicity did not stop his leadership in Antioch.

Then there is Lucius, from Cyrene. In the first century, Cyrenaica was an African territory roughly corresponding to eastern Libya. While mostly Greek, it did have a community with 100,000 Judean Jews who had settled there under force during Ptolemy Soter (323–285 BC). Yet, Luke does not identify any Jewishness but instead, his locale – which suggests his origins from north Africa because he was another African who ministered to the Lord and expanded the ethnic diversity of this evangelistic church.

Last, there is Manaen (the Greek form of a Hebrew name), likely a Hellenistic Jew. Luke says that he grew up with Herod Antipas, the one who killed John the Baptist and before whom Jesus stood trial. This has been interpreted as “foster-brother” (ASV), “childhood companion” (Berkeley), or “courtier” (cf. RSV). Whatever the precise meaning, it was a relationship of honor and distinction Luke emphasized which placed Manaen in the upper levels of society. Yet, his upbringing did not prevent the Antioch church from allowing him to lead them as prophet and a teacher.

The naming of these five men reminds us of several things. First, the church needed leaders who were prophets and teachers – and these three would carry on when Barnabas and Saul leave on their journey. Second, the church was proactive in including everyone. The names, along with details supplied by Luke, indicate the early church was unafraid in being culturally diverse. Third, leadership reflected the makeup of the church. While these five are not called elders or deacons, their qualification to be used by the Spirit was in their character – not skin, not heritage and not wealth – but none of those prevented them either.

While I am grateful to God that our congregation grows more diverse, we need to grow more. It’s true that the gospel is not about percentages: it’s about people. It’s true that it’s not about ethnicities: it’s about souls. Yet it was Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who made the point to share information that reflected the diversity in the church in Antioch. As we grow, we need to reach out to everyone around us – and not just the people who look like us – so we can look more like Antioch did.

Over the last twenty years, our membership has become more diverse but there is more that we can do, particularly among Asians and especially Hispanics. Second, our evangelistic support has grown to include different ethnicities in countries like Uganda, Italy, India as well as even a Spanish speaking work in our County. And third, our leadership has started to reflect the same diversity. Yet, it is my hope that as qualified men who desire to serve will mature, as opportunities arise in the support of foreign work, and as days unfold to teach the gospel to a person from another culture living in ours, that the gospel will transform all of us personally and empower us collectively to be like Antioch.

Paul told the Thessalonians “that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk).. excel still more,” so should we. We have come far – but we have more to do and more with which, to excel.

by Don Hooton

Love is not a New Testament discovery although we sometimes regard it to be. At its very core, the gospel is that God so loved the world. Yet, it is in the Old Testament that we learn of the two “great” love commandments to which Jesus refers in Mark 12, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The command to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which is the basis of the so-called “Golden Rule” of Jesus, is “The Law and the Prophets” according to Jesus (Mat 7:12), not the gospel.

The foundation of any society is based in how the members of that society treat each other. And the society God was building in Israel had love as its foundation: love for God Himself and love for neighbor. In quoting Leviticus 19:18, Paul wrote that “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). The Law is good because it teaches what is good. And love is good – and the source of any society’s success. And for the church as its own society within human societies, love must be the norm.

Loving our neighbor is more than being nice. Even in the context of Leviticus 19, God showed the this neighborly love manifests itself in ways we often don’t recognize as love (“reprove”) and prohibit things in which we often feel justified (“gossip”). In fact, love is not passive at all. We can’t  excuse ourselves just simply by being nice when we disengage from people around us; It demands just the opposite. John said it: “Let us love in deed and truth” (1John 3:18). If you love your neighbor you will, “Reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself” (19:17). These two commands—both to love and to reprove your neighbor—seem unlikely together; but in the proverb, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love” (Prov. 27:5), they explain each other.

Furthermore, loving our neighbor restricts us. When God said to them, “You shall not take vengeance” Paul reasoned that “Vengeance belongs to God” (Rom. 12:19). It is true that we can hold back God’s work of vengeance upon others by seeking it ourselves. However, the point God made to Israel is that what makes one refrain from vengeance is not because it trespasses on God’s territory, but because we love our neighbor. Personal vengeance is prohibited because God has called His people to love.

Yet there is more. Not only must loving our neighbor prevent us from seeking revenge, it must keep us from “bearing a grudge.” Grudges are easy to cherish, especially when we believe it is deserved. And while it is true grudge holding does more harm to the holder than the object, the reason it is prohibited is because it is not love. Look at all the things that love prohibits (19:9-18):

When you reap the harvest of your land… Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality… but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. Do not hate. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

So, the heart of the Law and the Prophets, Jesus said, is how we treat each other. There is nothing new about this. Quit using your righteousness as a cover for grudge bearing, revenge, slander, hating, partiality or perverting justice. Quit using self-needs as cover for your defrauding the poor, the foreigner, the deaf or the blind. Learn what this means: Love your neighbor as yourself. It’s not merely a warm hallmark-ish sentiment to moisten your eyes; it is the demand of being made in the image of God.

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law…. any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law… Let us walk properly as in the Lord… not in quarreling and jealousy (Romans 13:8-10).