Archive: Listen to the Wesleys

by Steve | Mar 1, 1967 | Archive - 1967

Archive: Listen to the Wesleys

March 1967

By Charles W. Keyson, Editor

There is something forever “relevant” about the thinking of great Christians. They articulate the truth of the Gospel, so they deal with matters that really matter to people in every age.

One of the great problems of modern Methodism is its unfamiliarity with Wesleyan understanding of the Christian faith, the Christian life and the Christian church. Ignoring the Wesleys, we Methodists are something like the man who wandered around the world in search of treasures, not realizing that acres of diamonds lay in his own backyard!

Just a hint of our great Wesleyan heritage is found in these brief excerpts from The Message of the Wesleys by Philip S. Watson, Macmillan Paperback, $1.95.

On Prosperity: “Why is self-denial so little practiced at present among Methodists? Methodists grow more and more self-indulgent because they grow rich. Nine in 10 of these decreased in grace in the same proportion as they increased in wealth.”

On War: “If all nations do in fact make war their last resort, what further proof do we need of the utter degeneracy of all nations from the plainest principles of reason and virtue? So long as this monster [war] stalks uncontrolled, where is reason, virtue, and humanity?”

On Human Nature: “There is in the heart of every child of man an inexhaustible fund of ungodliness and unrighteousness, so deeply and strongly rooted in the soul that nothing less than almighty grace can cure it.”

On Life’s Purpose: “Let God be in all your thoughts and you will be men indeed! Your life [has no other purpose] than this: that you may know, love, and serve God on earth, and enjoy Him to all eternity.”

On Authority: “I allow no other rule, whether of faith or of practice, than the Holy Scriptures … God in Scripture commands me, according to my power, to instruct the ignorant, reform the wicked, confirm the virtuous.”

On Ministers: “A worldly clergyman is a fool above fools, a madman above all madmen! Indolent clergymen, pleasure­ seeking clergymen, money-loving clergymen, praise-loving clergymen, preferment-seeking clergymen – these are the pests of the Christian world, the grand nuisance of mankind, a stink on the nostrils of God! Such as these were they who made St. Chrysostom to say, ‘Hell is paved with the souls of Christian priests.’ ”

On Cultivation of the Mind: “It cannot be that people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading … Whether you (ministers) like it or not, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a petty, superficial preacher.”

On Objectives: “Remember – before all, in all, and above all, your great point is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent.”

On Faith: “Christian faith is not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also full reliance on the blood of Christ; a trust in the merits of His life, death, and resurrection; a recumbency upon Him as our atonement and our life … as given for us and living in us.”

On the Atonement: “I firmly believe God was angry with all mankind, and that He was reconciled to them by the death of His Son. And I know He was angry with me till I believed in the Son of His love. This is no impeachment of His mercy, that He is just as well as merciful. But undoubtedly as long as the world stands, there will be a thousand objections to this scriptural doctrine. For still the preaching of Christ crucified will be foolishness to the wise men of the world.” (I Corinthians 1: 17-2:5.)

Quotations © Macmillan

Archive: A Methodist Prayer Crusade

by Steve | Mar 1, 1967 | Archive - 1967

Archive: A Methodist Prayer Crusade

March 1967

By James P. Rush, Pastor, Wesley Methodist Church, Woodland Hills, California

The increasingly vocal “new theology of man come of age,” as I understand it, states that my selfhood, and my situation in the world in the midst of society, is more real to me than any reality outside of myself. If I am to find meaning in life, I must begin with myself. Here’s where I discover what has meaning to me personally – irrespective of whether it has meaning to anyone else at any other time in history.

This is a contradiction of New Testament Christianity, which states that life’s meaning is only realized as Christ indwells the individual, bringing faith-union with the living God.

Nowhere is the destructive effect of this “new theology” more evident than in the current decline in prayer life, both in clergy and laity. This decline is accelerating on an alarming and ever-growing scale.

Closely linked with our dying prayer life is the declining of personal confrontation with our living Lord. Apart from communication with the risen Christ, who alone can interpret our human needs to God, prayer be­ comes either: (1) recollection of a dead historical figure or (2) psychological auto-suggestion. Neither appeals to the frustrated person, who desperately needs help from outside of himself.

As I understand it, prayer involves several decisive acts:

(1)  We must personally accept that there has always been a plan developed by God for the administration of all Creation.

(2)  We must consciously acknowledge that God has expressed this plan in many ways, the most dramatic and specific being the creation of a covenant relationship with Israel and, subsequently, the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

(3)  We must believe that God continues to implement this plan through the agency of Christ the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul states, according to J. B. Phillips, Romans 8:26-28a, “The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations … but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonizing longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention … Moreover we know that to those who love God … everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”

Prayer, as demonstrated by our Lord, is the act of temporarily retiring from the involvements of this world and becoming receptive to God in an intimate, personal relationship – as a child communicates with his father. We do this by expressing our dependence on Him. We acknowledge our thanksgiving for the gift-experience of life. Finally, prayer means having our desires reshaped to conform to God’s purpose of active mercy, justice, obedience, and righteousness. This happens only when, like the young prophet Isaiah, we are confronted by the holiness of God. Then He reveals to believers yet another segment of His great plan and our place in it.

I do not believe that Jesus came to earth with a built-in knowledge of God’s plan. New Testament evidence indicates that it was unfolded to Jesus through prayer, and then He carried out the will of God in His relationship with the world, which received Him not. The mystery of our divine Lord’s true humanity is revealed in His widening comprehension of God’s will in human terms through prayer.

Matthew 14 tells us that Jesus went into “a mountain to pray.” Mark 1 reveals “In the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Even before His crucifixion, Jesus urged His disciples to wait while He prayed for more specific guidance in that situation.

We are all familiar with the format of the model for prayer He taught His disciples. But one ignored point is that prayer, as urged by our Lord, is never the expression of some vague, general interest in goodness. In­ stead, prayer is the active seeking of the continuing design or plan of God regarding specific human situations in which we personally are involved.

Peter stood outside the Upper Room after Pentecost and boldly delivered his great sermon, climaxed by the specific challenge, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter was stating the promises of God as they ought to be stated – “Try it and see if something doesn’t happen.” It takes courage to respond to God’s offer to communicate with us on these terms.

I can never forget the scoffing of the press (and an embarrassing number of ministers) before the last night of Billy Graham’s Los Angeles Crusade. He boldly announced that prayers had been offered that God would fill the 100,000 seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Its seats had never been completely filled, even at the most spirited sporting events. But that last evening of the Graham crusade, 134,000 people came! Not only the seats were filled, but the whole playing field was covered with chairs.

I’ll never forget Bishop Kennedy’s remarks to some amazed preachers, “Brethren, when about 100,000 people pray for one year for such an event, something is bound to happen.”

There are too many good, honest, Biblical, evangelical Christians who spend too much time informing God of the sorry state of human affairs – about which He is painfully aware. Also, there is too much time spent hoping and, I imagine, praying that God will act alone, thus excusing us from the spiritual disciplines through which God has always communicated His plan.

Many people are deeply and sincerely concerned and disturbed with the kind of religion fashionable among “new theology” advocates. Too often critics of this popular, new heresy resort to unsuccessful, highly emotional name-calling.

Jesus calls us to a better way – an alternative which has conquered apostasies worse than the current variety. In Matthew 18:19, 20 He says, “And I tell you once more that if two of you on earth agree in asking for anything it will be granted to you by my Heavenly Father. For wherever two or three people come together in my name, I am there, right among them!”

Has there ever been a more auspicious time to claim this astonishing promise? For over 1900 years, Christians have emerged victorious as they have opened their lives to receive God’s power through prayer. A prayer-answering God has given believers power to serve Him with new loves, new concerns, new aims and new determination to see things happen.

Are you serious about contending against the cancerous and Biblically-inadequate “new theology”? Then you must MAKE time to pray! Let us do it on a national scale. Consider the following method for a national prayer crusade. It is not original. I discovered its power from a brother minister, J. R. Grisham, presently pastor of the Methodist Church of Kosiuske, Mississippi. This crusade will last initially for one year. Here is how it will work:

(1)  Send a short description of the special needs of your church to Rev. James Rush, 24341 Friar St., Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364.

(2)  Send four mailing lists of the member families and their addresses typed on thin paper and cut into individual pieces. There should be four complete sets of members, each separated.

(3)  These lists will be mailed quarterly to different participating churches all over the nation, with a letter explaining the special needs of the church requesting prayer.

(4)  The pastor should arrange a special quarterly “Prayer Sunday” to explain the Prayer Crusade. At the close of this service, the pastor can invite members to come to the altar and receive the name of their quarterly prayer partner in the distant church. (Every name and address should be taken by someone.)

(5)  The person receiving the name should agree to pray daily for the person whose name he has received. Then the person praying should write to that per­ son, telling him in a short note that he is being remembered in prayer. It is important that each person receiving a name should write at least once a quarter for the crusade to be effective. For details write to National Pray-Without-Ceasing Crusade, Wesley Methodist Church, 24341 Friar St., Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364.

Archive: Let Us Pray Without Ceasing

by Steve | Mar 1, 1967 | Archive - 1967

Archive: Let Us Pray Without Ceasing

March 1967

By Homer M. Martin, Jr., Pastor, Trinity Methodist Church, Muskogee, Oklahoma

The capacity to pray is one of God’s outstanding gifts to mankind. This relationship be­ tween Creator and created will manifest itself in a glorious and harmonious life for man as he responds to God. However, numerous people never find the fullness of life they so sincerely desire. Why? Their prayer life is inadequate.

Surely, all Christians know about prayer. But an alarming percentage of them aren’t involved in prayer, except on an infrequent basis. There is a “lip service” type of praying which traps some as they merely recite the Lord’s Prayer along with a congregation. There is the “trouble” type of praying wherein some will finally pray as a last resort for a problem solution after everything else has failed. There is also the “half-hearted” type of praying: when one prays because it seems to be the thing to do even though he doesn’t expect much, if anything at all, to happen.

The one who only offers a prayer occasionally really has very little knowledge of this blessing from God. The person who prays often and at great length by talking to God is not fully involved in prayer. Because total prayer has the two elements: speaking and listening. Prayer is communication, and communication needs conversation going in both directions. So it is with total prayer. Even as Christians would speak often to God, certainly, they should be as willing to listen. The motto could easily be “Give God equal time!” No doubt many have cried out that their prayers weren’t answered when the truth of the matter was that they didn’t listen and thereby missed the answer God gave to them.

Think for a moment on the following:

“And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1)

This verse of holy Scripture may have been quite difficult to some in the past. But with an understanding of total prayer Luke 18:1 will have new meaning. Reflect a moment on Isaiah 26: 3 which reads, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.” This is another way of saying, “Pray without ceasing.” Both these scriptural references give us the knowledge that it is possible for a man to be constant in his prayer life, and that God provides the way. The apostle Paul told the church at Thessalonica, “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17). Today we should heed this admonition. We need total communication with God in the whole of our lives if we would have perfect peace.

Now let’s focus on a method from God to help us accomplish what He desires through prayer. We can seek wise counsel from Paul and read that he said to the church at Ephesus, “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication …” (Ephesians 6:18). The phrase “in the Spirit” is the key. A person who is in-dwelt by the Spirit of God is able to be constantly in prayer because of the Holy Spirit’s presence within him. Some may speak of this relationship as being “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” or, as being “filled with the Holy Spirit,” or, as having “the second blessing.” No matter what terminology is used, if the result is a personal Pentecost, then the Holy Spirit of God is present in an individual. Only when this occurs, is a person able to enjoy a new, full, communication with God – and a new communication with others as God speaks through him.

Truly, Jesus means for us to be constantly in prayer. So let us be obedient to Him and pray without ceasing. Thereby we can live in the victorious life God has planned for us.

Archive: Scriptural Holiness: Our Forgotten Doctrine

by Steve | Mar 1, 1967 | Archive - 1967

Archive: Scriptural Holiness: Our Forgotten Doctrine

March 1967

By James D. McCallie, Associate Pastor, First Methodist Church, Vincennes, Indiana

An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. – Isaiah 35:8

With these words, the sacred writer introduces us to a subject which is traditionally prominent in the witness of people called Methodists. It was the search for the Highway of Holiness which brought Methodists into being and which continues to give our church a reason for her existence. John Wesley commissioned the pioneer preachers whom he sent to America to “reform the continent and spread scriptural holiness over these lands.” This they set out to do in earnest.

The labor of these men and their successors left an indelible mark upon the religious life and moral climate of our nation. A movement for the promotion of holiness in the 19th century outgrew its Methodist beginnings. It touched every segment of American life during our most formative years, with people of many persuasions becoming seekers for holiness in terms of personal Christian experience. Had the challenge for this personal pursuit been allowed the fullest possible expression, the 19th century might have seen what one thoughtful observer of the times hoped could be a great and original ethical development, surpassing even the Protestant Reformation in importance.

But mainline Methodism, by the turn of the century, was leading and following American Christianity along a different course. Churches began to concentrate on building an ideal society and to lose sight of the pursuit of personal holiness, forgetting that no social order can be more holy than the persons who compose it. The backlash from this neglect is being felt in our time in the sagging stewardship, undisciplined membership, and shortage of leadership in our churches. And in American society, it is evident in the strange paradox of those who clamor for justice and dignity in unjust and undignified ways.

It is a matter of historical fact that the Church has exerted more creative and constructive influence upon society when persons have been singled out as candidates for holiness than when they have become lost in the crowd. It is also a matter of record that holiness, like judgment, must always begin with the household of God.

Perhaps we should begin by eliminating the misunderstandings attached to the word “holiness” and its equivalent term “sanctification.” Like all religious language, these terms deal with something intangible. Therefore, they are not as easily understood as most of the secular words we use. Too often, those who are fond of using these words have given them a bad reputation. A person is more “crankified” than “sanctified,” and who has a “holier-­than-thou” attitude toward everybody else, reveals a holiness so “full of holes” that intelligent people will have nothing to do with it.

But holiness is too prominent in Scripture to be cast aside merely because there are those who fail to do justice to its magnificence and splendor. Holiness needs to be redeemed and restored to its rightful place as the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing can be more at­ tractive or desirable than the God-likeness revealed in the life of Jesus. That’s what holiness is. Nevertheless, the goal of God­ likeness in terms of the life of Jesus Christ is considered by most people to be as impossible and impractical as it is desirable. To an age that demands technical and scientific perfection for every exploratory thrust into the outer space of the universe, it is strange, indeed, that the children of the church should be willing to settle for moral and spiritual imperfection with regard to the conquest of that inner space of the soul.

The Scriptures make holiness both possible and practical by placing the religious ideal in a familiar, secular setting. It is a highway-and it is paved with more than good intentions. It is meant to be traveled.

For those Jewish exiles to whom the promise was written centuries ago, it was a roadway leading across the desert from Babylon and captivity back to Jerusalem and the holy place where their God would meet with them. For early Christians, who heard and believed the words of Jesus, the imagery was changed only slightly to signify deliverance from sin’s captivity and entrance into eternal life. When Jesus said, “I am the Way,” He clearly identified with Isaiah’s Way of Holiness. It is no wonder that the first Christians were called followers of “the Way.”

All other religious systems are at best “ways” to God, revealing some truth and insight into the nature and character of God. But Christ is “The Way” in terms of revealing everything that we need to know and to do about God-likeness. He is the only way for us to become God-like. If Jesus were no more than a religious teacher – a setter of standards – then there would be nothing original or unique about Him. But if Jesus is Lord and Savior, He is not only a goal setter and an example for us to follow, He is the very route we must travel.

The Christian life has long been pictured as a road to be traveled. Bunyan’s great classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, graphically describes the Christian life in terms of the difficult and dangerous paths that one would have encountered in the 17th century. In recent years we have moved from the wagon tracks of the wilderness, past Model “T” Fords and mud roads, even past the ribbons of superhighways which span the continent, to the invisible and uncharted lanes of space travel!

What possible meaning can we find in traveling the highway of holiness in the space age? Perhaps we can find in the rocket thrust a significant parallel. In high school I was told that the last great hurdle to overcome in space travel was the development of a rocket with powerful enough thrust to send the traveler soaring out beyond the pull of gravity, where he would be free to explore new worlds. Now that day is here! The timeless message of the New Testament makes a similar announcement: that the earthward pull of sin and death has been overcome by the resurrection of God’s crucified Son. The same spiritual pow­ er which raised Him from the dead can thrust us beyond our old selves into a realm where sin and death have no more pow­ er over us. As long as we submit to the thrust of this new life in Christ, we are energized to live creatively for God – free from the sinward bent of human nature. No wonder Charles Wesley could sing with poetic abandon:

Soar we now
where Christ has led,
Following our exalted Head.
Made like Him, like Him we rise,
Ours the cross, the grave,
the skies. Alleluia!

But let no one get the idea that the highway of holiness is a retreat from reality! Though a Christian’s head may be in the clouds, there is a sense in which his feet are firmly fixed on the ground! Our Lord has shown us that holiness ought to be as much at home in the market place as in the monastery. He who would walk the highway of holiness will find it running parallel with the common highways of life.

Much ancient and modern the­ ology has tried to complicate the route for us, but God’s Word keeps it simple and plain. Like the earthly and familiar roads which we travel, there are certain signs along the way which guide us. The sixth chapter of the Roman Letter calls our attention to three, the first of which is a sign of …

(1)  IDENTIFICATION. This sign tells us the starting point. This is the first requirement of mapping any route since you are likely to wander aimlessly un­less you know its relationship to your destination. The starting point for anyone traveling this highway is to know where you are in relation to God through Jesus Christ.

“Do you not know,” asks Paul, “that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3, 4). And again, “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that … we might no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6).

Be assured that the guilt resulting from all the sins you have ever committed is forgiven – that your baptism and reception into the Church has marked the beginning of a new life in Christ. For unless there was a time when you confessed the known sins in your life, turned from them in genuine regret and repentance, asked God to forgive you for Christ’s sake, then accepted by faith the fact that your sins are gone – unless you have done this, you will never find the interchange which gets you off the dead-end road of sin onto the holiness highway which leads to eternal life.

Whether you are young or old, you can know that Christ’s Spirit dwells in your heart. You need no longer be haunted by the sins of your past. Your con­ version might have come as a gentle breeze beyond the range of memory. Or it might have come in a whirlwind of emotion in an unforgettable moment. The method is not as important as the fact – the privilege of knowing that you have been born into the Kingdom of God as surely as a baby is born into this world, with all the possibilities of growth and maturity before you.

The second marker we encounter is a sign of . . .

(2) INFORMATION. This sign tells us which direction we are going, where we are going, and how far it is. Directional and mileage signs are easily over­ looked. It is easy to get on the wrong road, headed the wrong direction, if we do not pay careful attention to the signs.

So, St. Paul reminds us: “You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

The familiar King James Version translates it, “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God” which suggests to us some sort of calculation. With the New Testament as our road map, it is a good idea to calculate the destination, the distance, and the direction involved in our spiritual life’s journey.

As to the destination of holiness toward which God is leading us, we have Christ as our pattern. He once lived and died in a human body to prove His mastery of the human situation. That love toward God and man which motivated Christ can motivate us. The Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit can produce in the life of a Christian a perfect love, which meets the highest divine requirement ever made of humanity.

The distance from sin to holiness is generally measured by Scripture in terms of conscious choice rather than in terms of accident and ignorance.

Honest mistakes are no more incompatible with the display of perfect love in our Heavenly Father’s sight than the blunders of an obedient child in the service of his earthly father. In fact, a sincere effort to express perfect love may often be the occasion for error in view of our limited foresight, understanding, and control of circumstances. God graciously takes all this into account. He provides for such a margin of unavoidable error in the atoning death of His Son. And God guards us against incurring guilt by the restraining and renewing presence of His indwelling Spirit.

As to the direction which holiness takes, however, we must be careful not to rationalize away our shortcomings. For even honest mistakes may become sins if we carelessly fail to rectify them upon recognition. Holiness does not free us from the ability to sin; it only frees us from the necessity of sinning. And, try as we may, we cannot free ourselves from wrongly motivated actions and attitudes which arise out of the inherent corruption of our subconscious self. Like an iceberg in the ocean depths, some 7/8 of the real self lies hidden below the surface, beyond our conscious control. Unsuspecting seamen have driven great ships to their destruction by colliding with ice­ bergs. So it is that the unredeemed subconscious lurks as a hidden menace to the Christian’s future safety. We cannot steer completely clear of it. Nor can we long suppress it because it is a part of us. Only Christ, who knows the hidden depths of our being, can cleanse and bring our subconscious under control.

How, then, shall the subconscious be cleansed and brought under Christ’s control? Having been saved from the penalty of our guilty past, how shall we be saved from the potential of future sinning? Here is where the wholeness of holiness comes into focus. Even after conversion, we face a spiritual crisis in every temptation that we meet. Soon­ er or later we face the one big crisis of how to get rid of the conflict between the new self which we have become through identifying with Christ and the old self which keeps cropping up and pressuring us to yield against our better judgment to that which is contrary to Christ.

The first disciples of our Lord faced this crisis at the cross­ roads of Pentecost, where the last vestiges of the self-centered life gave way to the purifying presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Until that time, they had Christ and Christ had them – but He did not have their whole selves at His command.

Even though the first disciples were basically converted people, there were unconverted areas of their lives which required a further work of divine grace.

We find ourselves in the same predicament. It is basic to beginning the Christian life to let Jesus Christ be our personal Savior. But it is basic to continuing the Christian life and growing in it to let Him be Lord. Most, if not all of us, are just not able to see the implications of Christ’s Lordship until the depths of sin in the subconscious self are revealed and brought to focus in a crisis situation, where sin can be dealt with once and for all. The information sign which we need to consider stands somewhere along the road. When we find it and follow its directions-directions which tell us that there is for us a life of victory over sin-then we are not far from the third and final sign which is a sign of …

(3) CAPITULATION. This is the sign that tells us that there is a preferential highway ahead – that we must yield the right­-of-way.

Listen once more to the Scripture’s instruction:

“Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.”

The secret is in surrender. That is letting God have all there is of you at His disposal – your dreams, your ambitions, your possessions, your all in order that sanctification may be complete and holiness may characterize your entire life, rather than just a part.

The “yield” sign has a qualification: “so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification” (Romans 6:19). The now-ness indicates that it is a decision to be made the moment it is faced, in order to avoid possible collision with the will and purpose of God for your life. It also indicates that the yielding is an act which leads to a continuous attitude of surrender to God’s right-of-way all along the journey.

Romans 12: 1 and 2 is the grand climax to which this whole discussion is pointing. Addressed to “brethren” (Christians), this plea urges us to “make a decisive dedication” of body, mind, and will to God (see the Amplified New Testament) – a once­for-all unconditional surrender to God which conditions us for a constant life of surrender.

Dr.E. Stanley Jones, now past 80, has titled his latest book, Victory Through Surrender. From a lifetime of experience he writes:

“… lose yourself in the will of God by self-surrender and you will find yourself again … The surrender which seems downward, laying down your arms, is actually a surrender upwards. It is a surrender to creative love. This is not acquiescence. It is cooperation with the power that raised Jesus from the dead-that power when surrendered to and cooperated with will raise us from a dead noncontributive life to a creative fruitful one.”

Know where you are with God; consider where you are going with Him; and yield the right-of-way in your life’s program to Him.

This is the highway of holiness – a highway that will never lose its charm and challenge for the traveler.

Archive: What is the Church?

by Steve | Mar 1, 1967 | Archive - 1967

Archive: What is the Church?

March 1967

Today there is much confusion about the doctrine of the Church. We hear many ideas that have no basis in the Word of God, which stands as the ultimate measure of Christian truth. Here are four definitions to stimulate and challenge you.

THE CHURCH IS:
Where Christ is Pre-eminent
says Robert 0. Fraley, Staff Evangelist, Epworth Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma

One of the characteristics of modern Christendom is its confused doctrine of the Church. This confusion is evidenced by a barrage of current questions such as: “What is the purpose of the Church?” “Why is the Church casting so little vital influence on government and society?” “Why do people want to belong to a church?” “Which church is right?”

Questions like these simply bring to focus the more basic and vital question: “What is the Church?” Is it only another man-made organization among the many that our social drives have produced? Is it a group organized to answer man’s search for salvation and peace? Is it a denomination or collective fellowship? Is it a building housing a group, with a charter and a name?

The first step in discovering a satisfactory answer is to distinguish between the Church as a doctrine and the Church as an institution. Just as we must in­sist upon a New Testament definition of the term “Christian,” so we insist upon a New Testament definition of the term ‘·church.” The Greek word translated “church” most often used in the New Testament is ecclesia. Its root meaning, “the called out ones,” establishes the doctrine. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul speaks with authority and clarity relative to the doctrine of the Church, using the unique metaphor of the Church as a body (Ephesians 1:23). In Chapter 5 he speaks “concerning Christ and the church”:

“Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body” (vs. 23). “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church . . . holy and without blemish” (vss. 25-27).“The church is subject unto Christ .. .” (vs. 24). Christ “nourisheth and cherisheth … the church” (vs. 29).”… we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (vs. 30).

These “called out” individuals, wherever found collectively, form the Church as an institution. The Church, then, as an institution, is made up of the body of believers in Christ who together perform certain functions. The Church (the body of Christ) is bound by faith to its Head (Christ). The functions of preaching, teaching, serving, and witnessing necessitate organization. Not the organization, but the faith relationship to Christ, makes the group the Church according to biblical doctrine.

In implementing the organization by performing the functions, it is natural that attention is given to externals. But when externals are accentuated, faith recedes. It is thus evident, that in any church as an institution, the faith relationship can be lost while function and organization continue. Such was the situation that evoked the messages to the churches in the Apocalypse: “ … Thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4). “… I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Revelation 3:1). “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot …” (Revelation 3:15).

When love grows cold, and apostasy brings death, then the mad scramble to make the Church “relevant” ensues. This we are witnessing in contemporary Church history.

It is ordained, but not guaranteed, that “a” church contain “the” Church. Many a church, by laxity in membership standards and proneness to backsliding, contains “a mixed multitude.” The evidence that members of “a” church are members of “the” Church is in their faith, fruits, and the demonstration of the Holy Spirit in His gifts.

Naturally, we will establish groups of believers. We need a focal point of worship and activity. We must unite in order to send believers to a waiting, weary world needing Christ. Organization is implied and inevitable. But the confusion resulting when organization supersedes the organism (body of Christ) spells death. Then the Church becomes only another organization reflecting our social drives. Then will people join, feeling that external adherence is sufficient for salvation. Then will the voice of denomination rise in crescendo claiming unique authority.

Only when organization is kept as a tool, and Christ given preeminence, only then do we have “the Church.” For such a fellowship of believers, missions is its purpose, evangelism its activity, the Bible its authority, the Cross its glory, healing its ministry, care of the needy, its compassion, testimony its expression of triumph, miracles its norm, love its mark of identity, prayer its source of power, faith its exercise, and the return of Christ its expectation. This is The Church!

“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3: 21

THE CHURCH IS:
A Place of Certainty
says Warren Broker, Layman, Epworth Methodist Church, Elgin, Illinois

In many ways, the Church is like Motherhood. Both are defended and spoken of reverently by almost everyone. Both are turned to for comfort in time of trouble and despair . . . but quickly shunned when help with the chores is needed.

A recent experience with an every-member canvass reveals the actual attitude that many people have toward their church. Members dislike being “hounded” every year to serve on some commission. Or they are sick and tired of “always” being asked for money. Others nourish feelings that were hurt by something that was said, or possibly because there was no welcoming committee at the church door to greet them the last time they attended a service of worship-six months ago.

Obviously many laymen consider the church to be an organization that is interested primarily in their time and money … and offers in return solely a place to be baptized, married and buried-and to attend occasionally on a convenient Sunday morning.

The Church of Jesus Christ means infinitely more than this to me.

In one sense, it is the House of God where I come to pray, worship, and hear His Word preached. In my own inadequacy and gross imperfection, I can find here the Presence of the only One who is truly perfect, completely sinless, all-forgiving. It is a sanctuary from the trials and uncertainties of life where I can be secure in the knowledge that God is unchanging and that He is always with me.

In another sense, the Church is a fellowship of believers with whom I can unite in worship, in seeking His will for my life, and in my feeble efforts to follow His leading. Of course I should also read the Bible, study and pray at home. But these activities take on added significance when they receive the mutual support of other hands and voices. For Christ has given us the assurance that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” This relationship with Christ applies also to church service projects of all kinds. These worthwhile activities are not carried out simply to help others – many fine secular organizations also do that – but to glorify Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Father.

I also consider the Church to be an institution founded by Christ. It gives unity of purpose to His work on earth from generation to generation. Even a cursory review of Church history from the first Christian Pentecost through the Reformation to present-day ecumenical movements reveals an amazing sense of direction. Surely this represents more than the bungling efforts of man alone! Mighty nations have risen and fallen during the past two thousand years. Yet the Christian church has not only survived, but it has continued to advance inexorably in performing its sacred mission.

What does the Church mean to me? Many things. And all of them have special meaning and purpose because of their inseparable relationship to Jesus Christ.

THE CHURCH IS:
The Risen Christ Expressing Himself
says Dale C. Bittinger, Pastor, First Methodist Church, Dayton, Tennessee

The Church, conceived in the heart of God before the beginning of time, is both an organism and an organization. As an organism, whose life is the Holy Spirit, the Church is the risen Christ expressing Himself through redeemed and regenerated human personality in all races. The Church that Christ loved, and for whom He gave His life, is characterized by a deep and abiding fellowship and an inner witness of the Holy Spirit, as well as a life-giving love for God and man. Her pure and holy conduct glorifies Christ. Further, the true Church has a quality of inner spiritual unity centered in the life of Christ and the Being of God, rather than an outward mechanical unity centered in a unified and uniform organizational structure.

By the command of the Savior, the Church as an organism operates within the church as an organization. The organism was meant to control the organization. Any other arrangement makes the Church weak and unworthy.

The Church is the spiritual Israel, having superseded the He­ brew people in the matter of responsibility for the Kingdom of God on earth. To carry out her function of manifesting the Kingdom of God, the Church yields herself to the rule of Christ by fulfilling His ideals within and without her borders. She wages unceasing war against all forces in opposition to her Lord by: (1) proclaiming His great evangel whereby men may be brought into the Kingdom, (2) by testimony to His moral standards, and (3) by persistent, perpetual prayer in the secret place as well as public worship. Like her Master, the Church is moved by, and ministers to, the needs of all men. To the extent that the organism is in control, these functions are carried out.

Although the history of the Church has been and will be filled with persecution and conflict, our Lord has promised that she will prevail. In the end time, Jesus will come again and claim His Church. In this climactic moment of the ages, Jesus Christ will present the Church as His spiritual Bride to the Father.

THE CHURCH IS:
A Fellowship of Faith and Love
says Blaine Lambert, Retired Pastor, Minnesota Conference

A fellowship of faith and love was formed at Pentecost; it grew into THE Church. The fellow­ ship continued in the teaching of the apostles, and in the practice of the two sacraments Jesus had suggested.

Jesus gave the program of the Church when He said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses . . . to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). This gives the Church’s only commission. Only one condition of membership is re­ quired: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38).

At first, the testimony to the resurrected Jesus was so overwhelming that everyone was a witness. Christians pooled their property, and cared for the total needs of their company. The first officers were named to care for material needs; one of these became the first Christian martyr, another the first evangelist to a neighboring land.

When laymen came to Antioch, and proclaimed Christ to all, Jews and Gentiles believed. There was no class or color line. They were called Christians first in Antioch. They talked about Christ and lived like Christ. In a decaying Roman society, the Church became the one center of security and hope. Letters and messengers were sent between local churches; but their unity was in one Living Christ.

Paul uses three figures to describe the Church: (1) the body of which Christ is the head, (2) the temple in which He dwells and each believer is a part, (3) the household of God, the Heavenly Father. In Ephesians 4 we read, “But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift … until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” This is the goal of the Gospel: Christlikeness in the individual and in the Church.

A modern definition of the Church is “a congregation of faithful men in which the Word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly administered.” But to preach the Word of God, a church must include all ages and classes, and provide a fellow­ ship in which the Word may be understood, with opportunities for worship, witness, and work. Such a fellowship would provide an atmosphere of expectancy that would lead men to seek the Savior. So the Church offers frequent invitations for personal commitment to Him, and for repentance and renewal.

There is a significant story in Acts 4. Peter and John, forbidden to speak at all in the name of Jesus, reported to their friends. They prayed for courage “to speak thy word with all boldness . . . and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” So today, little companies and whole congregations may meet for study, prayer, and resultant action, and find a spiritual renewal. In 61 years in the Methodist ministry, I have seen this happen many times. Christ “loved the Church, and gave Himself for it!” Let us love the Church and give ourselves to it.