Hearing the Music

Gospel to the Point

 I want to take this opportunity to share with you some reflections on the gospel, and how it underlies our vision for Christ Church Youth Ministry. 

What is the gospel? The gospel is that we are saved, not by anything we do, but by what Christ has done for us, all by grace alone. In other words, salvation, from beginning to the end, has been accomplished by Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection; we, though sinners in ourselves, are counted as righteous before God when we put our faith in Christ. Now this amazing grace that has brought us near to God will also continue to bear fruit in our lives over time. In and through Christ, God is not only saving individual persons and adopting them into this family, but is also renewing the whole of creation until the day of Jesus’ return, when all will be made perfect and glorious. 

There are two “false gospels” that people often fall into. If you picture the gospel as the peak point of the mountain (grace to the point), then one side of the peak, we find legalism, and on the other, relativism/antinomianism (no law). Legalism says that Christ’s work on our behalf is not sufficient to save us, we must also do good works in order to be saved. The older brother in the prodigal sons parable in Luke 15 is an embodiment of the legalist; he serves the father, but only out of duty, his obedience is not a way to honor the father, but a way to get things and blessings from the father. His heart is cold toward his father and his younger brother. On the other side of the mountain top is relativism, or antinomianism. Antinomianism does not mean simply disobedience or breaking God’s law, an antinomian is someone who says “who is to say what is right and wrong? I’m the only person who can decide what is right and wrong for me.” The younger brother in the parable of the prodigal sons falls into this error. Which one of these two “false gospels” are you prone to fall into? Do you see God extend his grace to others and feel resentment because they are not “good enough people”? Do you feel in your heart that you can live however you choose, and God will simply affirm your heart’s desire and want you to pursue your own happiness?

Both legalism and relativism will drain your spiritual vitality and make God seem less real over time. And both Christians and non-Christians can fall into either one or both of these. Only when you truly understand that you are saved by grace alone, not by your works, can you truly approach God with boldness, while being propelled by the saving grace to do good works as a way to honor the One who saved you.

At Christ Church Youth Ministry, we seek to build a ministry that is centered on and motivated by this amazing gospel of grace. Our vision for youth ministry can be captured like this:

By God’s grace, Christ Church Youth Ministry seeks to form persons who understand the essence of the gospel, applies it to every area of his/her life. Persons whose heart affections are changed and set on Christ, rather than idols and false gods. Persons who are growing in and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, whose mind and heart are aligned with and engaged with the Word of God. Persons who live a life of integrity and service to others, who are eager to share their faith with their friends and neighbors, with love and patience. Persons who are growing in their repentance of sin and reliance on the grace of Christ for all of life. Persons who are thoughtful in engaging the culture and applying their faith to their education/vocation. 

Photo by Etienne Bösiger on Unsplash

Maintaining Unity

Have you ever stopped to think about the things you protect or guard? We protect our homes. We protect our skin. We guard our time. One of the biggest industries these days is the effort to protect our cyber presence. We guard our reputations. We put insurance on our cars and security cameras in our doorbells. The list goes on. While none of these things are wrong in and of themselves, they do paint a picture of what we value. It would be interesting to stack what Americans usually protect against cultures around the world or from different eras.  

Biblically we are encouraged to keep watch over our tongues (Psalm 39:1, James 3), keep the commands of our Lord (John 14:21), guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23), and as we will see Sunday, to maintain (preserve) the unity of the church (Ephesians 4:3). Protecting, preserving, guarding (all words that could be substituted for what we have translated "maintaining") this unity is a big part of responding to the calling that we have received from the Lord. As we will note on Sunday, we are called to maintain this unity, not create it. In other words, when we surrender to Christ we objectively have this unity with others who also are following the Savior. I'd encourage you to stop and think about that a moment; you are unified with Christians all over the world (and throughout time!). On the one hand this includes people who think and talk like you, but it also includes folks who are vastly different from you, culturally, socio-economically, theologically, etc...  

The Greco-Roman world Paul lived in, like our modern times, was more about divisions than unity. There were citizens and there were slaves. There were men and there were women. There were aristocrats and there were the poor. There were Jews and there were Gentiles. And the lists go on and on. It is into this world, as well as into ours, that the words of Ephesians come. You are different. You are one. You have a unity that goes beyond all of the things that might otherwise separate you culturally. Keep watch over that unity. Maintain it. Preserve it. It is valuable!

_{Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash}

Church in Exile

I recently heard someone use the categories of empire and exile to describe where we have been as the church in the U.S., and where the church in the U.S. may be headed, joining much of the church around the world. In short, the church in empire leads from the top, from positions of power. The church in empire has obvious influence and often little resistance. The church in exile is in many ways just the opposite. Cultural positions of power are few and far between, resistance is more noticeable and more persistent. The church in exile does influence, but its influence does not come from the top, but rather emanates from the bottom. It infiltrates between the cracks as opposed to coming in through the front door.

The first century church was a church in exile. Rome was the empire, the cultural influencers. It is against this backdrop that Paul does his work: takes his missionary journeys, preaches his sermons, writes his letters. It is against the backdrop of the Roman empire that Paul teaches the church how to be subversive in a Gospel sort of way.

Over the next several weeks we are going to dig into the blueprints that Paul unrolls for the church in exile to do their subversive work. Paul is going to take the truths that he wrote about in the opening 3 chapters of Ephesians and use them as a catapult to launch a lifestyle, that we know historically, will subvert the empire from below. The subversive work Paul outlines in chapters 4-6 in Ephesians does not come with "swords loud clashing or the roll of stirring drums", but rather it comes with lives that are pursuing holiness. It is a plan that cares about sexual purity in a a sex crazed world. It cares about telling the truth, seeking unity in diversity, curbing our anger, serving and submitting to one another, learning to be good friends, spouses, children, employees and bosses. In short, when God makes you his child and fills you with his Spirit (chapters 1-3) everything matters. Nothing is left unchanged.

This week we are going to be reorienting ourselves to Ephesians by looking at chapter 4:1 and following the "therefore" back through chapters 1-3. In preparation, I would encourage you to read through the entire book (a well spent 15-30 minutes). I might also commend last year's opening message on Ephesians as good way to reorient yourself to who these Ephesians are, who Paul is, and what is the central point that he wants to communicate while he languishes in a Roman prison (grace and peace).