Peter Said, Paul Said

I wonder if Peter and Paul were friends. They had a lot in common. Both were passionate about their faith, living it out in impressive, larger-than-life fashion. Each had plenty of baggage from his background to remind him of past failures. Paul surely had those pesky memories of hunting down families and persecuting them. Peter must have had haunting recollections of telling Jesus he would never forsake him one moment only to forsake him three times that very same day. Also, both these men offer seemingly different presentations of the gospel message in the book of Acts.

Peter, a man of action, stresses action in his Acts chapter two sermon. "Repent and be baptized," he says. When Paul recounts his story of how he experienced salvation in Acts 22:16, he tells of meeting Jesus and Jesus instructing him to go see Ananias who says, "What are you waiting for? Go be baptized!" Ananias (as Paul retells it) feels a certain amount of urgency in this. In fact, it seems like a directive and not a mere suggestion.

However, equally plentiful are the messages from the two of these men that emphasize not OUR action but God's action in the salvation process. Referring to the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 15, Peter declared, "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us" (7-8). He continued by affirming that God "made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (9). Cornelius had received the Holy Spirit when he believed the Gospel. He was saved by faith-plus-nothing. Peter makes no mention of turning from sins, of baptism, of circumcision, or anything else. What's more, Peter specifically ruled out any role for works in our salvation, adding the powerful words, "Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they" (10-11).

Similarly, in the conversion of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, the jailer asks the question, "…what must I do to be saved?" (30). Paul's answer is unequivocal: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…" (31). (Yet even in this instance we see the jailer and his family urgently baptized in the middle of the night.)

So what do we do? Do we ignore baptism as so many of our evangelical brothers and sisters seem to do? Or do we speak only of baptism and refuse to call others “brothers and sisters” unless they agree with us? Today we look at what Peter and Paul said about it in the book of Acts.
Mark

Acts 2: 38

Remember the guy in the rainbow wig who used to go to all the NFL games with a John 3:16 sign? You can bet the guy was not a church of Christer because if he were and he had the chance to show the world the Bible’s most important verse, he would have selected Acts 2:38 instead.

Peter does a masterful job in this sermon. He convicts he audience of their compliance in the death of an innocent man with the logic of a prosecuting attorney and the emotion and passion of a gospel preacher. He also offers us a great outline for what we can tell others when we speak. “Change your mind, change your heart and die (be baptized)”…that’s what it means to decide to follow Christ. And those who do get the amazing gift of he Holy Spirit to guide them in their journey. At the heart of Peter’s plea seems to be this: “You have chosen against God in the past, it’s time to choose God.”

That “plan” has been called by us and others the “plan of salvation”. Peter lays it out pretty clearly and does not want anyone to miss it. (By the way, the most notable group to call it a “plan of salvation” and use that exact same phrase is the Mormons.)

This week we will look at Peter’s first sermon and what it says about him and his expectations for the church. We compare his message with Paul’s later messages in Acts which quite often seem to counter Peter’s “here is how to choose God” messages with “here is how God CHOSE me” messages. Can they both be true? And how dangerous is it to ignore one or the other?

Mark

Luke-Acts: Community of Place

We have spent the last several months talking about Luke and the significance of the table in Luke. We talked a lot about this "table" being a metaphor for God's intention, which is that people would be brought into fellowship with Him. As we venture into ACTS, Luke's second book, we see God’s Church emerge as the ultimate representation of that fellowship.

But the Church is about more than fellowship. Country-clubs, alumni groups and other social organizations provide great food and fellowship for people each week as well. CS Lewis reminds us that the church differs from these other organizations in that they all provide a "unity of likings". In other words, people with common interests and tastes and probably similar backgrounds and political opinions, tend to gather in social groups around the world. They "like" the same stuff and they join organizations (like golf clubs) that offer them the opportunity to hang out with people of similar likings. But more than a community of likings, the church is a community of place. People come together simply because it is THE place God calls them to be, not because they all like the same stuff or have similar backgrounds, but because it is God's institution to change them and the world around them.

Obviously there are potentially big problems for churches who deal improperly with the tendency of people to gravitate towards "likings". We see some churches that are really nothing more than a gathering of likings; everyone looks sort of the same, drives similar cars, even dress sort of alike each Sunday. Many people spend their lives church shopping, hunting for that place where they "like" everyone and everyone there likes the same sort of stuff they do. Such an environment and such an attitude produce churches that are an inch deep and a mile wide. My experience is that they are often big and slick, have great coffee bars and nifty websites. Many of their "likings" are best seen in their corporate worship expressions which are measured by a slicker-the-better mentality and judged by how entertaining they are for the masses.

I don't think railing against the "community of likings" mentality is the most useful thing I could say to our congregation at Springfield. One look around and it's pretty easy to see that we are not geared to keep that crowd. We are not all alike, not from the same social clubs or political parties or economic backgrounds. We don't put a lot of effort into making our services slick or entertaining. However, if we don't watch it we may be guilty of falling down the other side of that slippery slope. The other side is perhaps not as shallow, but if left unchecked, can be as arrogant as the other side is shallow. It's a side which I might call the "if-you-don't-like-it-lump-it" side. This side correctly says, "We are not here to entertain you!" Then, rather than admit there might be room for diversity in what people like and don't like...we draw up a list as long as your arm of Biblical reasons to justify our dislike for the community of likings crowd. This side of the coin refuses to admit that actually liking something (say a worship service or a Bible study group) is possible.

This week we will talk about how we make those decisions by looking at how the early church used to make those decisions.

Mark

More Thoughts for the New Year

Beginning in November, several ladies participated in an e-mail study group using the book Preparing My Heart for Advent.* Below are some snippets from the devotionals for December 26 through January 6. May they bless the start of your New Year:

Did you know God knows your name? He knows everything about you (see Jeremiah 1:5). He knows exactly what you need and wants to give it to you. He is the giver of all perfect gifts [James 1: 17] . . . But what if you wanted to give God a gift? How would you know what He wanted? The same way you choose a friend’s gift. You need to spend time with Him and study about Him. You need to ask Him questions to know how to please Him and walk in His light (p. 137).

. . . we can look forward to deepening our relationship with God, as well as living with the ultimate hope of seeing Him face to face (p. 138).

O come all ye who are faithful, come adore Jesus all year long. And in His presence may you feel His life and His light (p. 143).

Let your goals reflect your priorities: God, spouse, children, family, others . . . Just like the psalmist, ask God how you can best spend your time to gain a heart of wisdom (p. 144).

Who are you living for this year? Philippians 1: 21 reads, “For to me, to live is Christ” (p. 146).

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5: 9) . . . In this new year, keep your accounts short. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness . . . (p. 148).

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5: 11a) . . . Isn’t it awesome that we have such a powerful positive tool to use for God’s glory? Let us step out in encouragement and love (p. 150).

*Ann Marie Stewart ©2005

Thoughts for the New Year

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

(Psalm 82: 3-4)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

(James 1: 27)

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

(Hebrews 13: 1-3, 16)

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

(Micah 6: 8)

Merry Christmas to All at Springfield!

Marnie, the kids and I are on the way to Missouri and Michigan to see our extended families, so we won't be with you today or next Sunday. After taking the year off from traveling last Christmas, we are off in the minivan this year to drive the roads! (Hope Clint Propst and I don't have to make another trip to Ohio like we did two years ago to retrieve a broken down van.)

What a year it has been at Springfield! We have had some very sad times, like the loss of Agnes Bennett, one our longest standing members. The departure of Agnes is truly a milestone of a faithful generation passing onward. She lived a long and faithful life, so it was possible to celebrate that life and share joys in the midst of the normal sorrow at her funeral. It was much harder to see the silver lining in the passing of Kyle Mack, who tragically lost his life in a car wreck this fall. It was a difficult and terrible thing to see a young life cut short.

But we have also had many times of great joy. We welcomed Kenneth's family from Ghana! (One sure way to grow your church is to import members from afar;-) We have added so many new people that I hate to mention names for fear of leaving some out. We had a great retreat with Randy Harris that inspired us and will serve as the first of an annual tradition for years to come. We have welcomed Gene Kraft home from Afghanistan (but Ray Gibson was shortly sent off in his place). We have seen baptisms of our young people and many inspiring stories of service and devotion.

I think we will all look back on 2007 as a great year... a milestone where we grew and began a pattern of growth that will carry on for years to come.

Please join with me in praying this holiday season for our church. Pray that we will have the vision and leadership to go forward in 2008. Pray that God will send us new people to join with us in our mission to serve God in our community. Pray that our hopes and dreams will be one with God's hopes and dreams for what we should be doing in Springfield.

Love and Peace to all,
Mark, Marnie, and the Kids

Would He Mind?

Donny was the best friend a seven-year-old could ever have. We did everything together. We rode bikes together, ate King Vitaman Cereal together, played war together, and spent the night at each other's house every weekend. We were blood brothers. We both hated girls, and we stuck up for each other when someone called me fat or him four-eyes. We even had a secret fort we built in the woods - a true friendship.

Donny looked up to me and rightfully so. I was older than him by two months, a fact I frequently reminded him of, and I out-weighed him by thirty pounds, a fact he frequently reminded me of. Age and weight are two factors that loom large in seven-year-olds' relationships, so when Don had a question, he would often come to me.

One December day, as we played in a snow bank, throwing snowballs at the Anspaugh's statue of the Virgin Mary, Donny had a question. We had been talking about Christmas, the number one December topic for seven-year-olds, when he posed a quasi-question/comment about Christmas being Jesus' birthday.

I must confess now that I rarely, if ever, knew the answers to any of Donny's questions. Usually I'd just act like I knew and he would believe me. But this time was different. I actually knew the answer. This was my chance to tell Don something about Jesus other than he was a prefix for various swear words.

"No! No! No!" I blurted out, scorning Donny for his ignorance. "It's not his birthday and don't let anyone tell you different. No one knows when his birthday is!"

Donny sat there for a while, I guess embarrassed that he had even asked. He knew better than to argue theological issues with a guy who went to church on Wednesday nights, but in reply he mumbled, "If nobody knew when my birthday was, I wouldn't mind if they just picked a day."

I still remember what Donny mumbled that day in a snow bank. Donny, who had never been to church a day in his life, saw a smiling Jesus who said, "Go ahead, just pick a day!" and I saw a frowning Jesus yelling, "No! no! No! For the last time, it's not my birthday!"

Do we really think that he cringes when we sing about mangers? When he hears songs about Bethlehem and wise men, does he pull his hair and say, "It never says three, it never says three ...." I doubt it. I really doubt it.

All these years later, I wonder if Don remembers what I told him. I hope not, because he now has a two-year-old who's almost ready to ask him the same question. What a shame if that's the only thing he remembers about his friend who went to church three times a week.

Mark