BIBLETALK

by Don Hooton

“Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Most Christians know that they should be like Philip here. Yet, we often freeze or faint when opportunities come. Here are some ideas to help us be able to tell “the good news about Jesus.”

First, it’s about Jesus. If you want to share the heart of Christianity, your focus must be on Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about you and me. We should not go on nauseatingly about all the things that have improved in our life since becoming a Christian. The gospel is about Jesus—about who He is and what He has done—and we must make sure we remember that focus. As Paul the apostle wrote, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1Corinthians 2:1-2). Or, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2Corinthians 4:5).

Think about when you talk with people, do you use Jesus’ name? Sometimes, when we get a little bold in a “spiritual discussion,” we might speak of “Christianity” or “My faith” etc. There is nothing inherently wrong with using these words but sometimes, is it not because we see it might be too risky – personally – to use the name of Jesus? We may step up in courage and feel compelled to say “that God” said so and so and feel even more convinced we have spoken boldly. Yet still, nothing wrong with it, but that could be a broad stroke about the Divine with no reference to Jesus. But when we keep the conversation about the name Jesus (Acts 4:12), it means we are now engaged in conversation about the good news.

Admittedly, this is not ground-breaking because “my faith” (1Peter 1:17) or “my gospel” (2Timothy 2:8) and “God” (John 3:16 is just one) are used over and over in Scripture in words to describe what is the way to salvation. Still, the goal here is not to guilt or shame us in using these words when we have felt less courageous than we want to be. It is easier to say “As a Christian, I believe” or “I believe God says.” But when we pinpoint, “Jesus teaches {or} commands…” we are helping our listener be drawn to the good news. As God gives opportunities to share the good news, pray for courage and remember—it’s about Jesus.

Second, it’s news.  The good news about Jesus may involve lots of things, but fundamentally… it’s news. The Greek word euangelion was used to describe the utterances of an imperial messenger – whether at his birth or at his conquests. In the ancient Roman world euangelion (i.e. “gospels”) would be spoken aloud in public squares, heralding “good news” of a Roman military victory, for instance, or the ascension to power of a new Caesar. This was Rome’s social media, a way to spread Roman military and political propaganda in order to keep the peace in Rome’s manner that was built on absolute authority, dominant power and an hierarchy of human value and control.  So, when the Holy Spirit used this word to tell the story of Jesus, early writers (and listeners) would have seen the clear distinction of the news of the Prince of Rome and the Prince of Peace. The gospel of Jesus became a different kind of good news. Ecclesia, a political gathering, became the churches. “Savior of the World” was no longer Caesar to whom you must pay tax but a Redeemer to Whom you would want to pay thanksgiving and praise.

used to describe someone other than Caesar. When Paul tells us to remember the gospel, look at how he summarizes it: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you… For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Cor 15:1, 3-5).

The gospel—the message of Christianity—is not a philosophy for how to live. It’s not a list of moral rules or a system of religious practice. Of course, the New Testament does contain all of those things and Christians were obligated to follow the pattern of good words the chosen ambassadors (i.e. the Apostles) placed before the church. But if you are sharing the gospel – it is news about Jesus – how as the King of the Universe who overcame death and sin’s tyrant, the Devil, and how He rescues humans from all of it. The good news is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). If the news we are sharing isn’t about Jesus, is it the good news?

Finally, it is good. It’s not always easy. It’s often challenging. And for some, it’s offensive. Modern “Christianity” among some churches have dismissed the power of the miracle of its inception (i.e. the resurrection) as fairy tale and some have dismissed the challenge. And God warned that this would happen (1Timothy 4:1-6; 2Timothy 4:1-4) because the sinful heart is blinded to the gospel’s light (2 Corinthians 4:4). Turning hearts to respond in faith to the news about Jesus seems insurmountable at times. But the reason that we “persuade men” is not merely because we know the fear of the Lord – but because “the love of Christ controls us” (2Corinthians 5:1-14); And we know that it is not just true, it is good – deep in our soul. Like Paul, who joyfully and naturally introduce people to Jesus, because he was convinced of “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Then, we can share a little good news about the big event that has changed our lives: “Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am chief… [so we too]… could be an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1Timothy 1:15-17).

For a decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, tensions were building between American colonists and British leaders before the Lexington and Concord skirmishes that kicked off the armed conflict in April 1775. By the following summer, rebels were waging full-scale war that culminated on July 2^nd when the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, written largely by Jefferson, and signed later in August. Yet, violence afterwards never formally ended until 1783. And it was not until 1781, after the French helped the Continental Army force a British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, that the American colonists effectively won their independence. The 4^th of July is our nation’s day to celebrate all the events that led to that independence.

But in those events that led to independence, there is much to admire in their bravery and to disdain for their vileness in this tension and violence that went on for two decades. Americans today may romanticize their heroics and offer them saintly status in the halls of freedom; but the reality of war and all things connected to it has been aptly described as “hell” by General Sherman (1820-91) for good reason. Many Christians fought in that war and many died – as well as in wars thereafter. It is reported that over 1.2 million people have died and nearly half of those numbers being in the Civil War. But many soldiers lived through those wars – and many average people as well. And many did not fight.

Our moment in time in 2020 where the world around us is going crazy and things seem out of control should be seen in this pursuit for freedom. Some today vent their “freedom defending” chants online – some “protest” in the streets – and some engage in “violence”.  It should be remembered that our nation began with the same uneasiness and was scattered with unlawful acts and unscrupulous activities justified because it was war: “Give me liberty – or give me death!”

So, how should Christians live in violent times, whether there are Revolutions or Civil Wars?

When Jesus told Peter to sheath his sword because “those who live by the sword will die by the sword” (c.f. Matthew 26:52), He was announcing the higher kingdom to which all of His disciples are called: “If my kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting…” (John 18:36). The answer to the question about how Christians must respond is not articulated by the hallowed halls of history but in the sacred pages of Scripture.

How were Christians urged to respond to their Herods and their Caesars?

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor (1 Peter 2:11-17).

For early Christians, whether it was the unfair taxation of Rome through the tax-collectors, the evil persecution of people because of their religious preference or the mocking of the immoral masses,  Peter said that unbelievers were to see our behavior as honorable, glorifying God and full of good deeds: Honoring everyone; Loving all Christians; Showing Reverence for God in all you do: And manifesting respect for whatever King is in charge of the land.

Sadly, this is not what I have seen in some Christians, in social media, and even in some pulpits. While I have worked very hard to live up to the duty to which Peter’s words demand, my past is littered with foolishness for which I am ashamed. Jesus turned the tables on money changers, but He never beat up people. Jeremiah laid peacefully on his side proclaiming the ruin of the nation, but he never razed things to the ground. And Paul, even when his fellow believer was wrong in his prejudicial and unjust treatment of Gentile believers, he went to him and spoke face to face with him – without any threats or innuendo on his character. Sheathing the sword is not just about the sharp instrument that can extract life from a person – it is also about the words, attitudes, and actions in which we engage that kill and maim.

How about you?

Whether it is face-masks or taxation, incivility or injustice (all of which are held by different people as the more noble and most significant threat to our democracy than any other), let me tell you what threatens our nation – and every other nation in this world – more than anything else: When Christians stop listening to Christ and what He has called them to be in every generation and in every culture.

Let your voice be heard for righteousness. But do not let it be drowned out by your unrighteous ways.

by Don Hooton

Zechariah 7 describes a period in Israelite history after Jerusalem had fallen, after captives had been carried to Babylon and now, after Judah has returned to Palestine; Rebuilding the city and the Temple has begun and in about two more years, it will be complete. A delegation from the city of Bethel has come to the priests and prophets in Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s favor and ask – what seems like a perfectly logical question – should we continue on with the fasts of recent generations: the fast of the fifth (7:3), the seventh (7:5), the fourth and the tenth months (8:19)? These were all related to Jerusalem’s fall in 586 B.C.: In the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem; in the fourth, he penetrated the city; in the fifth, the temple was burned; and, in the seventh, Gedaliah, the Jewish governor, was assassinated and the remnant fled (see 2 Kings 25). For nearly 70 years, Jews observed these dates as fasts. But now, with the Temple going up and Jerusalem being rebuilt, they wondered if there was any need to continue.

In his answer Zechariah points out (7:5) that because of their hard hearts (7:12), the Lord had scattered their ancestors to Babylon and warned that they too were showing similar problems. While God promised His great work to bring Messiah and restore the remnant Israel to the place of peace (8:9-17), He warned them against repeating their past focus on the outward in order to make themselves feel as if they had done all they could (7:6) rather than do all that the Lord had asked.

The first lesson is that when we focus on rules and rituals, particularly those made by men, we are concerned about things God did not command while we neglect the things God has. While He had not commanded their fasts, He had ordained one: the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). Their fasting on other days to confess sin and pray for national restoration was not wrong per se but God had never ordained them. However, He had commanded them to “do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [their] God” (Micah 6:8). In Zechariah, He proclaims: “Dispense true justice, and practice kindness and compassion for each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another” (7:9-10).

“Dispense true justice” (7:9-10). Rather than repentance, Judah’s fasts reminded themselves of events caused by their sin. It was an outward show with little inward renewal. As a nation of individuals, they should have repented of the sin God had condemned among them. And what was that sin? In Zechariah’s words, it was their failures of true justice, kindness and compassion (7:9-10). While idolatry and the infringement of the Mosaic covenant was one cause for their judgment (2Kings 17:7-23), Zechariah says that it was also their abandonment of human brotherhood with the defenseless while also devising evil against each other. When they asked if they needed to keep fasts they had devised, they thought nothing of their continuing dodge of God’s clear interpersonal commands for the care for the poor, the stranger (i.e. immigrant), the orphan and the widow.

Now, in American streets, while a cultural war rages over prejudice and racism, over the immoral and illegal actions of some police officers and riotous people who destroy and make mayhem, what should Americans do? Even more so, what should Christians do? Should we continue on without reflection and still miss the point of what has caused the whole explosion in our culture? Even today, any nation – and especially the people of God, the church – are commanded this same brotherly love for all people (do I need to reference the many Scriptures here?). While Christians certainly must keep and maintain the essential biblical customs Paul demanded of churches (2Thessalonians 2:15), we cannot avoid the weightier matters of the Law, like “justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23).

Even in the context of Zechariah, Judah had the “religious” system down and had the “motions” going. But they were oblivious to their hearts. They had based their fellowship with God on the mechanical or outward and not – the real heart shaped by the word from God – and Zechariah called them out in their failings to “dispense true justice” (7:9-10). We too, while still distinguishing between custom and Divine Law (Mark 7:1ff), must equally demand of ourselves everything God expects of us for the powerless among us. Outward religion without a heart shaped by God’s teaching will lead to further hardening of the heart.

This isn’t just about social justice; it’s true justice. While people who kill and people who cause mayhem should pay the penalty, so should people who mistreat the powerless. God held the whole nation accountable for it – and equally placed as the reason for their guilt and expulsion from their homeland.

As disciples we must work to reach the powerless with the gospel. How can they hear without the gospel? How can they hear through voices of prejudice and oppression? The Saved should be reaching out to The Lost – not just to those who look like, talk like, walk like or really “anything” like us. Paul went to pagans who were nothing like him because his own heart had been transformed by the good news of God. The result is that churches should look like Heaven. Heaven will not be white or Anglo-Saxon; Heaven will be a perfect blending of every color God made in all the people God saved. Churches should also.

We may say, “But we have racial equality.” Do we? Do we “love” when we fail to show kindness and compassion to {every} brother especially in times like these. People who put down others because of their ethnicity, skin color – and even their economic place – do not know God’s real heart for the underprivileged, the very ones our society has tried to make invisible because it makes us uncomfortable and reminds us what our forefathers in oppression have done. God’s people should stand up – in every generation – against all ungodliness.

We can celebrate our “months” – or – we can really change and “dispense true justice.”

by Don Hooton

by Don Hooton | March 26, 2020

From recent headlines, some think the COVID-19 pandemic is leading us to the end of time. From staggering numbers of widespread disease to speculative questions about governmental workings, all it would take to push many over the edge that the Lord is coming is a plague of locusts and an earthquake.

Please, be certain. The Lord is coming. From the moment Jesus was present on the Earth, He promised, “I will come again” (John 14:3,18,28). Even the Apostles spoke regularly that the coming of the Lord was “at hand” (James 5:8) and the end of all things was “at hand” (1Peter 4:7). And nearly twenty centuries later, here we are with the same promises and the same warnings that Jesus will come again. And with every generation should we be reminded. As Paul says, He will come unannounced like a “thief in the night” (1Thessalonians 5:2). So, be certainly prepared – because soon can always be today.

Yet, my interest in this article is the rumbling of ideas that come from modern Premillennialism. Premillennialism is, in simple summary, a teaching that says Jesus will return to establish His kingdom on the earth (in Israel) where He will reign for a thousand years. While there are variations of this across denominational lines within this mind set, the premise behind the view is that what Jesus came to do was not accomplished; namely, He was not crowned King of the Kingdom God had promised Him and the Church Age has now come until the Kingdom Age begins.  As it relates to the subject at hand and the title of this article, the last days comes into play as we discuss the Premillennial timeline for a period of tribulation before (or mid, or post) the days Jesus returns to establish the Kingdom.

Yet, people who lived after the Apostles seemed to think otherwise about what Jesus did:

• In AD 90, Clement of Rome wrote, “the Books and the Apostles teach that the church is not of the present, but from the beginning. For it was spiritual, as was also our Jesus, and was made manifest at the end of the days in order to save us. (The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. XIV).
• In AD 130, Barnabus wrote, “Moreover I will tell you likewise concerning the temple, how these wretched men being led astray set their hope on the building, and not on their God that made them, as being a house of God… So, it cometh to pass; … Again, it was revealed how the city and the temple and the people of Israel should be betrayed. For the scripture saith; and it shall be in the last days, that the Lord shall deliver up the sheep of the pasture and the fold and the tower thereof to destruction. And it so happened as the Lord had spoken” (Epistle of Barnabus, 16:1ff).
• And in AD 160, Clement of Alexandria, commenting on Matthew 24:3,34, wrote: “But our Master did not prophesy after this fashion; but, as I have already said, being a prophet by an inborn and every-flowing Spirit, and knowing all things at all times, He confidently set forth, plainly as I said before, sufferings, places, appointed times, manners, limits. Accordingly, therefore, prophesying concerning the temple, He said: “See ye these buildings? Verily I say to you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another which shall not be taken away [Matt. 24:3]; and this generation shall not pass until the destruction begin” [Matt. 24:34] … And in like manner He spoke in plain words the things that were straightway to happen, which we can now see with our eyes, in order that the accomplishment might be among those to whom the word was spoken” (Clementine Homilia, 3:15. See Roberts and Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, 8:241).

On the Day of Pentecost, in the first sermon of this good news, Peter said (Acts 2):

• “For… this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh… in those days I will pour out my Spirit…’“ Men of Israel, hear these words: …this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men…  25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken… 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he (i.e. Jesus) has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing… Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
  • Peter said the events surrounding Israel’s rejection and Jesus’ crucifixion by “godless men” was part of the Divine plan for Jesus to receive the Crown as Messiah: “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”
  • Peter said the events they witnessed was what the prophet saw: “For… this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel that “‘in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh..”
  • Peter said David prophesied of these events: “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ.”
  • And Peter said, “Therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he (i.e. Jesus) has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing… Let all… Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ.”

People closest to the Apostles – as well as Peter from the outset of the gospel – were saying clearly that the “last days” of the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom was in his generation; that the promises of those last days in Joel were being fulfilled in their hearing; that Jesus was crowned King just as David was promised; and that the promise including His resurrection from the dead (v.23). This fulfilled the promise because Jesus was seated at the right hand of God to receive from the Father every promise the Spirit had made to Messiah in ages past; And the evidence of this is this pouring out (of the Holy Spirit) that they both heard and saw.

The kingdom came indeed (Acts 2:35-36). The kingdom is present (Colossians 1:13). And today, we live with a risen Lord who is King of His Kingdom and Head of His church. Since Jesus was crowned King, the last days of the epic plan and purpose of God – the dispensation of the Messiah’s rule that will usher in God’s final judgment on all and the final glory awaiting them in the Garden of Heaven itself – was fulfilled – and we do have the last days ahead of us – we have had and continue to have the last days about which the prophets spoke.

In other New Testament passaged, this view is sustained.  of Hebrews reveals, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things… After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (1:1-4). Notice that “in these last days” there is a change emphasized that God has spoken to us in His Son. God’s message is now exclusively in his Son Jesus the Christ in contrast to the different ways He revealed Himself in ages past. So if we let the word of God mold our concepts and we are told that God now speaks to us through His Son, indeed we are in the last days – the Christian Age, and not just a few days before the end of time.

Peter says to his own generation that Jesus was “foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in these last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God…” (1Peter 1:20-21). According to Scripture, the end of the times is the times when Christ would be manifested to the people. And since He has been revealed in the first century to people who are now believers, these are the last times. Knowing this, Peter warns that “scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming…” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed… But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2Peter 3:3-4). When Jesus came the first time in the last days, He established His Kingdom but when He returns again, it will not to be to establish Kingdom already established but to bring the world to judgment on “the day of the Lord…, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be burned up” (2Peter 3:10). This message of promise urges us: “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless” (3:11-14). If Peter’s readers were not living in the last days, why warn them to act in such a way – if those days were millennia away?

Paul warns, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come” (2Tim 3:1). He tells of “men [who] will be lovers of self, lovers of money… holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” If Timothy was not living in the last days, why would Paul give him this strong warning? The need for this admonition today, and the admonition of Peter, is because they both saw the need to make it to their generation – because it as for them – and it is for us – the last days. We need it today because they needed it then.

There is the Apostle John, whose Revelation is the basis for much of the language of premillennial theory. He  begins, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (1:1-3). Again, he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place” (22:6). And again, he wrote, “And he was saying to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near” (22:10).

Last, there is Jesus’ words on Mount Olivet. He says, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34). That generation saw the fulfillment of the things in Matthew 24 about Jerusalem (c.f. Luke 21:20-28) – not us – unless someone would propose that Jesus was wrong. He most certainly was not.

The New Testament contains these facts and warnings connected with the end of the times or the last days. Christians living in the first century understood accurately that they were living in the last days. And by extension – so are we because the last days – as described in Scripture – began when the first good news of Christ was first preached by inspired men. The teaching of premillennialism is in error – and those who purport the “last days are upon us” are being misled and misleading.  Trust your teaching – not on theories that men have created – but on the one teaching which was begun so long ago by inspired Apostles. Build your hope on those truths for that will never lead you astray.

by Don Hooton | March 15, 2020

With the COVID-19 virus now a pandemic, the elders are trying to manage our responsibility to God and our responsibility to you in this pandemic. Some believe that many are over-reacting and there are those who believe the earth is dying.  Either extreme is dangerous. And the perspective I hope you will see is that prepared security is not the same as panic.

The word “panic” is named after the Greek mythological demigod named Pan, a mischievous forest god.  Legend says that his favorite diversion was to torment Greek travelers on the byways. Lying in wait and concealed in the bushes, Pan would rustle the bushes as a traveler passed by when he would gently rustle the bushes. The traveler would be startled and pick up his pace. Pan would meet the traveler again and again making the traveler hasten to Pan’s amusement. Soon the traveler’s breathing became heavy, his heart would pound. One more rustle from Pan and the traveler would run along the dark and narrow forest path in… Panic.

In some circles, these pandemics create panic – just like that. Imaginary, illusory triggers make adrenaline-fed hyperventilation common place. But in these moments, Christians need to be reminded of the Voice of God. In every time and in every place, we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me” (Hebrews 13:6)?

Even in the last two centuries, we have learned from others when similar events created panic.

David Lipscomb (“The Cholera and the Christian Religion,” Gospel Advocate 15.28 (17 July 1873) 649-653), during a Cholera outbreak in Nashville where 1 out of 25 residents died, write: 

“Christ gave in precept for the government of his followers the rules of his own life. [As] Paul [said] to the Galatians (4:15), ‘My little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.’ To reproduce the life of Christ in our own lives is to act as Christ would act, were he in our places. We thus become Christ’s representatives to the world…  Now in view of these things and the wild panic that seized the population, what would Christ have done in the emergency?… Would he have become panic stricken with fear—fear of death, and have used his means to get himself and family, with their fashionable and luxurious appendages out of danger, to some place of fashionable resort and pleasure, and left his poor brethren and neighbors to suffer and perish from neglect and want?… The religion of our Savior was intended to make us like Christ, not only in our labor of love—of our self-sacrifice for the good of others, but also in raising us above a timid, quaking fear of death… These fatal scourges, under God, become opportunities to show the superior excellence of the Christian religion, in giving true courage, love and self-sacrifice to its votaries… Christian men and women should be prudent, and cautious in such surroundings…

C.S. Lewis, some 72 years ago about the fear of the Atomic Bomb, wrote:

In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”  In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.  This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends… —not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.

So here is my exhortation to perspective.

Many respond that the greater pandemic is sin in the world to which everyone has the cure at their disposal: Jesus Christ. That is very true. Yet, that wonderful gift does not change the need to respond against infections. The promise of Messiah was given before the Law but still God commanded Moses to  quarantine those infected to protect the community (c.f. Leviticus 13). If then it was not a lack of faith on a believer’s part to keep social distance for the sake of the community’s wellness, it is not now either.  And refocusing our attention away from the danger of infection to the regular demand for sin’s healing is equally the same as telling people that God never wanted anyone quarantined – except just to trust Him.  It is not panic to pronounce procedures of prepared caution. It is panic when you do not believe God will get you through this and it is foolish to mock the efforts to keep the community well.  So, don’t yield to fear mongering but don’t be so foolish to believe that quarantine practices are not good for the community or are somehow a lack of faith – God instituted them. Keep perspective.

Lipscomb said, “Christian men and women should be prudent, and cautious in such surroundings…”

And Lewis said, “do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation” but would later go on to urge us being found “doing sensible and human things” in which his list included living – and I would add to the living – living wisely with respect to the way God asked Israel to quarantine.

Don’t panic. But keep perspective. If God knew what he was talking about, keeping social distance and eliminating opportunities for infection is always wise. But lastly, don’t be afraid to serve those who may fall prey to the virus – if there is something you could do – show them Jesus in you.

by Don Hooton | March 15, 2020

This pandemic of the COVID-19 virus has made life different and challenging. School closures, working from home and limits on public gatherings make every day a new normal. For churches, it is no different. With the current ban on gatherings of 10 or more, what are churches to do? What about Christians? And while the use of internet, email and even the telephone, makes our connections possible in this turbulent time, not every instant access will solve all the challenges. I want to address a subject I think many Christians are wrestling through: Communion in the present distress.

Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is the memorial feast instituted by Jesus Himself to bring the disciple to remembrance of the meaning of the sacrifice of His body and the covenant of His blood (c.f. Matthew 26:26-30). In Paul’s instructions to Corinth where he corrected what they were doing wrong, he wrote, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Corinthians 11:23-26). After noting twice that he spoke of what they did “when they came together” (11:18, 20), he says of  communion, “So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another” (23).

This crisis has raised the question, ‘What should Christians do in regard to communion if they are providentially hindered from partaking “when you come together”’? As is the case where I am – and it appears that in most places around the world that the same is true – we are not “coming together” as a church at all – so what are we to do?

First, many Christians are talking about this – and that is good. Truth seeking disciples should always feel comfortable discussing Scriptural subjects without judgment, harangue and divisiveness. We should feel free to express our convictions – even when they are different – and remain united in the cause – that cause that is not ours – but the cause that is Christ’s Who saved us. I understand that not everyone will agree with my conclusion, but I trust that you will look at it from Scripture, as I am trying to do myself.

Second, Paul’s words to the Corinthian church was caused by serious spiritual problems. There was division and political maneuvering (chapter 1), there was a man who had his father’s wife (5), there were law-suits among members (6), there were prideful uses of spiritual gifts (12-14) and there were some who denied the resurrection (15). In the middle of these issues was the Lord’s Supper (11) and the discussion of marriage that Paul connects to their “present distress” (7).  Bible scholars disagree about whether this distress was from within or without. The word “is a strong word (old and common), either for external circumstances or inward sense of duty. It occurs elsewhere for the woes preceding the second coming (Luke 21:23) and for Paul‘s persecutions (1Thessalonians 3:7; 2Corinthians 6:4; 2Corinthians 12:10)” (Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament). What Paul is addressing is difficulty in their present to advise them to refrain from marriage (7:26). If it was from within, it may have been the general stress of their prideful divisiveness, or from without, it may have been persecution in its many forms in early Christianity. Whatever it was, Paul made it a valid reason to give a specific advice to answer those issues that would not forever be a pattern.

This, then, creates the question that in our own present distress, how is the Christian to be instructed regarding communion when they cannot come together with the church?  And even more specifically, what is one to do when the church cannot come together at all? 

Here are some Biblical instances: what did the eunuch do when he got back to Ethiopia? Did he have to wait until another was baptized and a church was formed before he could take the Lord’s Supper? What did Paul do when he arrived with his entourage of believers in a town to preach? Did they partake on a Sunday when there was no one there yet to form a church? And even more, what did Paul do as he travelled for months by boat on his way to his Roman trial before Caesar? Did he reflect on the meaning of the Communion without elements on the boat? Was that approved? What if somehow that the elements of the Communion accessible were? Would he have partaken? Or, did he sin by not partaking at all? If a leper became a Christian, still excluded from public life, would they take communion alone or not at all? What about believing soldiers of Rome, like Cornelius, who would have likely been stationed in postings or movements abroad, what did they do if no disciples were there to meet with them?

There are no clear answers to any of these questions. If someone is, as we say, “providentially hindered” (i.e. kept by circumstances outside their control) from assembling with a church to partake of the Supper, will they be in violation of Divine Law? My answer is no. It is my belief that they will be viewed in the same way from the precedent God Himself set with the Israelites regarding lepers (Leviticus 13). While not everything is parallel, leprosy was a circumstance outside of their control. With that, they were prohibited from worshipping in the assembly. So, if you cannot attend services for a circumstance outside of your control, you should not believe you have sinned by not partaking of communion.

Then, if a leper was later pronounced clean, he was granted – by God’s permission – a substitute assembly later to fulfill his worship obligations where the same sacrifices would be offered (see Leviticus 7:20-21; Deuteronomy 26:14; Numbers 5:3; 9:6-11). It was an extraordinary solution beyond the normal expectation for all worshippers that granted an alternative solution to the extraordinary circumstances.

We don’t know if the present pestilence will last weeks, or, even worse, months and how long our gathering will be hampered. But just as the instances created by extraordinary circumstances considered above, I believe that Christians then would have persevered, studied, praised and prayed as often as they could to honor the powerful gospel that had transformed their lives. They would have recalled, celebrated and shared the story of the Savior. And in that, they would have surely still reflected on the sacrifice of the Lord Himself in their extraordinary circumstances. So, I believe that God could, in consideration of our own present distress, allow Christians to reflect on the Memorial Feast, with or without the elements, when they cannot meet with the church on the Lord’s day – or even when they are are watching in a LiveStream connection.

Even before this crisis, some churches continue to meet even when, because of shortages of supplies, may not have had all the elements of communion to share. As an example, in Uganda, Christians meet even when the fruit of the vine is in short supply and continue to meet and to reflect “in their present distress.” Would God feel dishonored if they had no juice? Likewise, in hearts like theirs that are trying to honor His authority in this present distress where they cannot assemble with the saints, Christians should be able still to remember the Lord in the Communion – with or without the elements. The church does not make the elements meaningful or blessed – the Lord has.  I believe that God understands what we are going through in this present distress. And Lord willing, this present distress will pass soon.

Some will counter that ‘since you made the exception “when we are gathered together” in 1Corinthians, that must mean when all of this passes that people can feel justified to stay at home from church services or go on vacations and get communion on their own.”  Not so. Let’s get back to the text. When Paul said that “in light of the present distress” it is better not to marry, does that mean once the distress was passed that he intended to set a permanent precedent of discouraging marriage? Should weddings cease? Of course not. Contextually, his advice is based on the “present distress,” a present crisis that they knew about and around which this different admonition about marriage applied. That crisis would pass. So too when our crisis passes, you should partake of the Supper when and where Christians assemble on the first day of the week. All Christians should be encouraged to see clearly that this is what Jesus intended and that the Memorial Feast would be for every Sunday and for every believer when they assemble (Acts 20:7).

So, let us always pray as John did and “pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3John 2); Pray that this crisis will pass. Or, even better still, join Paul in saying, “Maranatha!” or “Come, Lord Jesus!” (1Corintians 16:22).

by Don Hooton

A major problem in evangelism is a shared problem we all have in communication. And as we began this conversation about the New Testament church in our first article, we want to explore more about who is this  “New Testament church.”

As I said before, with this series I am not trying to evangelize unbelievers, but train believers – namely for the purpose of evangelizing unbelievers. We need to understand how to talk to those in the world to rescue them. If we just talk in our own lingo about what we already understand we will never teach them anything. So remember that this conversation is to equip the Christian to help those who are not.

So, the first point we raised about being a New Testament church is that we must adopt the view that the writings of the New Testament were given to the church so that we could be a New Testament church.  We must be drawn to, directed by, and determined to follow fully what we do from the New Testament because there is no other way to be a Christ follower or a church that follows Christ than to be among a New Testament church because the New Testament points the way of Christ – because – it is His way.

If that is the case, then we move to the question about who belongs to a New Testament church.

When the Bible uses the word ekklesia where church is the English translation, it is a group of people. Peter said these who were ‘added to the number’ (Acts 2:47) were the people who were responding to the preaching he and the Apostles shared. And these people were told to “repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins” (2:38). It was Jesus who told Nicodemus that he “must be born of water and the spirit” (John 3:5). And Paul was told, “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). So those who are “in” this ekklesia are people who have been “baptized” in response to these teachings. A New Testament church is people who have been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.

Further, the ekklesia are people who aim to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1John 1:8) and who “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). It is not a static relationship where we walk as we want. Instead. Churches are responsible for fulfilling their divine mission and assembling with the same “manner worthy” of the Lord’s cause. Just as we noticed in the last article, the New Testament is the Divinely given spread sheet for our functioning. While it is not a business document, it is given so that Christians and churches would not how to be about the Lord’s business. So, a church that chooses its mission, structure and worship outside of that teaching is not demonstrably trying to walk in the light of that word.

Some challenge this “New Testament” concept by saying then that a truly New Testament church should carry out every practice recorded in the New Testament, right? Like, foot washing or greeting one another with a holy kiss or meeting in a Temple or in private homes? Consider these guidelines for answering this challenge.

First, if the practice was done universally and consistently in the New Testament, it should be followed today. Timothy was sent to remind the Corinthians of things Paul had practiced and preached ‘everywhere in every church’ (1 Corinthians 4:16,17). This was the case with head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11:16 and with women remaining silent in the church meeting (1 Corinthians 14:33,34). The same instruction was shared by Paul to the Timothy and the churches he served (1Timothy 2:8-15). Consequently, the instructed rule of a woman’s role in the church meeting cannot be thrust aside as culturally oriented, no matter how devout, sincere or well-intentioned the followers of the liberation movement may be. On the other hand, foot washing, a lesson of humility and service taught to the disciples by our Lord, is never evidenced in Scripture as a practice the Apostles obligated on the church. We certainly must manifest humble serving in our culture but we don’t need to de-sock at every assembly. And the same thing can be said for meetings. Churches met in various private homes (Romans 16:3-16; Philemon 2, etc.), the Temple (Acts 2) and in various synagogues for a time, and in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9). We must conclude that the church met wherever it was convenient to do so, and that no one kind of meeting place was superior more spiritual than another.

Second, another challenge made is Paul’s practice of refusing financial support at times when he “made tents.” Since Paul ‘made his tents’ does this necessitate – as once was said to me – that we do likewise? The real question was if  Paul was obligated to work or did he choose to work? In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul clearly established the right of every minister of the gospel to be supported by those to whom he ministered. Paul chose to forego the right of personal support in order to preach the gospel so as not to offend or burden the work in which he was engaged. We must not compel others to do what Paul did voluntarily as a matter of Christian liberty. We must look at the context of these items we consider – to determine not only if they were universally obligating – but whether or not the practice of it was to create an example to follow.

Who, then, is a New Testament church? They are a church that looks to the inspired Word of God, not only for their doctrines as they relate to the individual in His relationship with God, but also for the principles by which the collective church is to be governed and to carry on their task in the world. And that church is full of those who have put on Christ in baptism and walk in their lives with the light of His Word.

by Don Hooton

A major problem in evangelism is a shared problem we all have in communication. Just like words my generation uses for a bird’s song is to the younger generation a communication or tweet on Twitter; or just like the fried meat my mom made in a pan is now the same word for what fills our email inboxes with unwanted mail – spam, the word ‘church’ now means many different things to different people in different generations. At the sound of church, some think Sundays, stained glass, robed worship leaders and candles. Even the term ‘New Testament church’ is often lost to and meaningless for an unbeliever like a ‘monkey wrench’ is to most women and a “colander” is to most men.  So where can we begin?

We should begin this conversation about the New Testament in “New Testament church.”

With this series I am not trying to evangelize unbelievers, but train believers. Unbelievers come to faith, not with  the New Testament teaching about church but rather, what the New Testament says about the good news of Jesus. An unbeliever develops faith, indeed by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17) but first by what is declared about God in Creation (Romans 1:19-21). This staging point brings belief there is one God through reasoning much like Paul did in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). Faith builds on the reason for a Creator and the Word builds trust in the Redeemer who Created us. So while the New Testament is indeed the source for this faith building of faith, faith should grow from belief in the Creator and then the Redeemer and then, who believers should be as the church.

So, this series is about what Christians need to understand about what the New Testament church is.

What is a New Testament church? Who is a church like this? How does a church like this operate? What is the worship a New Testament church engages in? And last, what is the work a New Testament church fellowship partners in?

Let’s begin with this idea of the New Testament church. What truly defines a church in the New Testament is the Lord Jesus. The authority of all teaching begins with Him. God has spoken to us in these last days through Him (Hebrews 1:1-3); Christ has brought the message of truth His Father wanted to the Apostles (John 17:17-24) by the power He promised them in the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:13; 16:12-13). That promised Spirit came to them personally and visibly in Acts 2 and as a result, Peter was able to say that they had been given “everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called” them (2Peter 1:3) and Paul was able to say that “when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ… as it has been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:4, ESV).

These “words,” spoken and written by inspired men, are the once and for all revealed message from Christ – about Christ – and for Christ’s people. Jude said that this “faith was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) and Peter said that “this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1Peter 1:25). So emphatic was it that John would say that “everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God” (2John 9) and Paul would say that “even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you [and] contrary to what you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).

So, the only writing we have from Christ, about Christ, and for Christ’s people, is the New Testament. If we are aiming to please Him “in every respect” (Colossians 1:10) then, we are to be people who want our lives as individual Christians to radiate His light and as a church committed to serving Him, we are equally obligated to please Him “in every respect.”

Therefore, “church life” is something Christ is sovereign over. He alone speaks how churches should worship, should organize, should work – and frankly – should just “be.” We are His. He is the Head (Ephesians 1:22-23) and we are the body.

Yet, some say that the New Testament sheds no light on the life and practice of the church today. For example, Donald G. Miller stated: “No particular structure of church life is divinely ordained” (The Nature and Mission of the Church, p. 82). And goes on to say that “any form … which the Holy Spirit can inhabit and to which He may impart the life of Christ, must be accepted as valid for the church. As all forms of life adapt themselves to their environment, so does the Life of Christ by His Spirit in the church.”

Even respected church leader, Dr. Gene Getz, wrote: “He (Paul) was ‘a free man’—not locked into patterns and structures, either in communication or in organization and administration” (Sharpening the Focus of the Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), p. 109). He added that “Paul was not consistent in the instruction he gave regarding the appointment of elders and deacons. … It is impossible, of course, to arrive at conclusive reasons as to why there is a disparity in Paul’s approach to church leadership from church to church. But, is this not part of the genius of the New Testament? Once again, we see freedom in form and structure, means and methods, patterns and programs.”

This may sound good to today’s world except for the painful fact that Paul equated his practices with the principles that he taught: “I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:16,17). Paul said the practice came from his teaching after reminding them that “you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written that none of you may be puffed up against one another” (1Corinthians 4:6). Paul instructed his readers to imitate his ways because they conformed with what he had taught and urged them to follow in what was also “written.”

Therefore, to be a New Testament church, we must adopt this Pauline view that the writings of the New Testament were given to the church to be a New Testament church.  We must be drawn to, directed by, and determined to follow fully what we do from the New Testament.

You see there is no other way to be a Christ follower or a church that follows Christ than to be among a New Testament church because the New Testament points the way of Christ – because – it is His way.

by Don Hooton

Well, it’s Summer again.  Stores across America have racks full of the itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, yellow polka-dot bikinis – and much much… less. In fact, American women spend more than eight billion dollars a year on bikinis alone (statisticbrain.com). And according to Bethany Baird’s blog Lies Young Women Believe, girls are obsessed with the bikini because:

“The world says they’re cute! You get the opportunity to showcase your entire body, and it’s totally acceptable. You can get some serious attention from guys…” She traces her mothering from her own upbringing when she wore them and said, “As I grew up and got a little bit older, my parents started talking to me about the concept of modesty. My perspective on bikinis slowly started to change. I came to the conclusion that a bikini is basically like a bra and underwear but designed for water. I realized that just because the bikini is culturally acceptable, that doesn’t make it a wise wardrobe choice. I would NEVER go anywhere in my bra and underwear, so why would I go swimming in something that covered the same amount of body? I’ve decided that I have to be consistent. I can’t uphold one standard for the dry world and another for the wet world.”

Even though culture may call bikinis the better fashion choice, it has no idea of what Christians should view as the better choice.  In fact, Paul tells Christians to see themselves as non-conformists and as a result, transform their behavior this way: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).  You see, Christians want their choices to reflect the will of God – not the will of Macy’s or Target.

Please understand I am not advocating some kind of “prudiness” or full body flapper sets with bright orange flowers all over them. What I am suggesting is that if your summer choices are determined by cultural standards, by what’s popular, or what makes you feel sexy, your choice is not to glorify God. But what should Christians do?

Paul says, “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness” (1Timothy 2:9-10).

Did you hear that?  What we choose to wear should be dictated by professing godliness.  While the context here is first to women, and second, to an impropriety of lavish extravagance rather than of a lack of clothes (unheard of in that age in the first place), it contrasts godly women from those women of sensual and worldly excess who aim to draw all eyes to them. Notice these two commentary notes:

1. “These terms stress not so much the absence of sexual suggestiveness, though it is included, but rather an appearance that is simple, moderate, judicious, and free from ostentation.” [Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Wheaton, IL: Scripture Press Publications, 1985].
2. “Those that profess godliness should, in their dress, as well as other things, act as becomes their profession; instead of laying out their money on fine clothes, they must lay it out in works of piety and charity, which are properly called good works.” [Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997]

Professing godliness, then, must mean a greater attention to the display of godly character than sun kissed skin and glamorous attire. Godly women will want to impress their man with godliness rather than displaying her body to entice him to sensual transgression.  

Whether it is bikinis or swim trunks, jeans or Tshirts, a Christian woman will make the good choice (as should a Christian man) of wearing what really professes godliness. Be modest for the Son.