Free to Serve

Formality and Informality in the Public Service

It was simple question, "How should I dress when I visit?" Some friends and I were sitting down at a restaurant, enjoying a meal and discussing an edifying Christian book. Our waitress noticed the title of the book, and she was curious enough to ask about it. After a short conversation, we discovered she was new to the area. So I invited her to church. She seemed eager to come.

That's when she asked, "How should I dress?" She wanted to know if we were formal or informal, uptight or casual. She didn't want to show up in a suit-kind-of-church wearing cutoffs and flip-flops. And she didn't want to show up in a jeans-kind-of-church decked out in an Easter dress. It's a good question.

So I fumbled out an answer, "Come how you'd like." I wanted her to know that we weren't the kind of church that cared about what people wear.

But we do. Every church does. Whether we are formal or informal, you can look around and get a sense of what expectations we have, collectively, when it comes to attire. But we must be careful not to confuse how we dress with how we worship. 

This is why I appreciate David Peterson's book, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. For the most part, this book is one long Bible study looking at the idea of worship through the Old and New Testaments. Just here and there does he pop up to reflect upon how his study might influence our thoughts on public services today. Notice what he says about whether a church should be formal or informal:

Formality and informality are not theological categories. Yet sometimes people imply that formality in church services is somehow more conducive to acceptable worship than informality. Others argue that informality is preferable because it allows for greater expression of biblical teaching about the congregation as the body of Christ. Formality may be the expression of a very narrow and inadequate view of worship and informality may be an excuse for lack of preparation or any serious attempt to engage collectively with God. Apart from the size of the gathering, the question of formality and informality will often be decided in practical terms by the personalities of those in charge and by the particular traditions of the group in question.

At MVBC, our Sunday morning services are fairly formal. Though there will be just a handful of men in jackets and ties, much of the service will lead you to conclude we are on the formal end of the spectrum--everything from the decor, to the carefully ordered services, to my preaching (almost always in a jacket and sometimes with a tie), to the willingness to sing older hymns that are often reflective in tone.

At the end of the day, the most important question is not how formal the service is but how Christ-centered it is. Are we honoring the Savior in what we sing, in how we sing, in how we pray and preach and respond to the Word? Let our attention be focused on the Savior first and foremost, with sincere hearts, and the Lord will be glorified.

Ramadan begins July 20

Ramadan goes from July 20 through August 18. For this month Muslims fast from food and water during the daylight hours (and typically feast when the sun goes down). Fasting is the fourth pillar of Muslim worship. The entire community is to engage in this discipline together. In the month of Ramadan attendance at mosques increases as Muslims commemorate the start of Muhammad's ministry.

It should be no surprise that many secular Muslims also celebrate Ramadan (much the way secular Christians celebrate Easter). For them the holiday has little or nothing to do with faith and everything to do with preserving a cultural heritage.

Christians should know that our Muslim neighbors are celebrating Ramadan. We should take this opportunity to pray that Muslims would turn to Jesus Christ. For help praying, go here. Let's look for opportunities to engage Muslims in conversation this month. Their attention to Ramadan is an opportunity for us to speak to them about the Gospel.

 

Christianity is Different

In his introduction to the New Testament, the late J. Gresham Machen noted that the early church was distinct. It was marked by simplicity and holiness.

It was unique, for example, in the extreme simplicity of its rites. Instead of the gorgeous ceremonial of the religions of the east--then spreading over the whole civilized world--the Christians practised merely two simple sacraments. Their new converts were baptized with water, as a sign of cleansing; their fellowship with one another and with their Founder was symbolized by a meal of bread and wine. There seemed to be but little that could hold the sect together, but little that could make it attractive to the world.

Yet, strangely enough, the new sect continued to grow; it made converts in all of the great cities. The converts, moreover, were affected in a most remarkable way. Practices formerly regarded as indifferent or even praiseworthy suddenly came to be loathed . . . 

A comparison of the early Gentile churches with the surrounding civilization is a comparison of light with darkness, of pure and healthy life with loathsome disease.

Simple services. Holy people. This marked the early Christians then and, Lord willing, it will mark believers today. We gather together simply to hear the Word, sing the Word, pray the Word and see the Word in baptism and the Lord's Supper. We seek to live lives distinct from the world in which we live. We carry a simply message of a crucified and risen Savior. And as this message--backed up by the simplicity and holiness of our lives--is heard, people are changed.

Christianity is different.

Legalism

The word "legalism" is thrown out a great deal these days. We know it's bad. We know it is something to avoid. We know we are prone that direction. But can we actually define what it is? In his careful way, J.I. Packer addresses legalism:

Taking God's law as our rule must not be confused with legalism. Legalism, we know, is a mistake Christians must avoid. Legalism means two things: first, supposing that all the law's requirements can be spelled out in a code of standard practice for all situations, a code which says nothing about the motives, purpose, and spirit of the person acting; second, supposing that formal observance of the code operates in some way as a system of salvation by which we earn our passage to glory or at least gain a degree of divine favor that we would not otherwise enjoy.

In the first instance, then, a legalist is one who conceives of the practice of holiness as merely a list of rules which can be followed or broken. Such a man or woman ignores the heart. How might we see this brand of legalism today? Such an attitude crops up in teaching that is quick to tell us what a Christian must do but never why he must do it--this kind of legalism, at least today, is often referred to as moralism.

In the second instance, a legalist is one who draws confidence in the measure of his or her performance. He either thinks that obedience to a particular command makes him a Christian or, and I think this is most likely, his spiritual confidence is inextricably linked to the quality of his religious works. A "good" day, for the legalist, might be a day where he keeps his eyes pure, or she avoids gossip, etc. You might reply, "But isn't it good not to sin? Isn't God pleased when we are holy?" Yes and yes! And so we ought to rejoice when we traverse the narrow path. But when we start to place our confidence in ourselves and not the Lord (who, after all, is the one equipping us for every good work) we fall into the error of legalism.

Packer, who published those words in 2005, argued that evangelicals are more likely to be tripped up by the first kind of legalism than the second. We are, he insists, too well-trained to think that we can earn God's favor. But we are quick, he insists, to hamper the Christian liberty of others by imposing a list of rules upon them that are unbiblical, arbitrary, and unsympathetic to what is going on in the heart.

From where I sit, however, the second brand of legalism is, in fact, more common. It's not that we think that doing good works save us. Packer is right, most of us are too well-taught to assert this. However, we easily and often fall into the trap of grounding our confidence in our obedience rather than Christ's achievement on our behalf.

What about you? What brand of legalism are you tempted to adopt? Are you more likely to set up rules that aren't in Scripture but that nonetheless make you feel holy, or you are more likely to think that your obedience has won some divine blessing from the Lord?

Hey, Jude

Wednesday night I'll begin an inductive study through Jude. How thankful I am for this little letter. So many of us have been challenged to dig deeper into the Word by verse 3, "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." What is the faith? How was it delivered to the saints? How are we to contend, today? 

These are important questions.

A friend of mine is always quick to remind me that "life is full." And he's right, it is full. It is full of summer camp for kids. It is full of that project that has to get wrapped up before the boss gets back in town. It is full of a mom who needs special care this week because she's beginning to lose her memory. It is full of a child who needs extra help with math. It is full of vacation plans that have to be scrapped because finances are tight this year. It is full of a neighbor who lied to you and a not-so-good friend who surprised you. It is full of an overdue promotion. It is full of travel that means you have to miss your kid's all-star game. It is full of an uncle who mocks your faith. It is full of spouse who seems preocuppied with everthing but you. Life is full.

And into our lives that are so full, Jude's letter roars like a lion: "contend for the faith!" 

No matter what may be weighing you down and no matter what may be putting a spring in your step every believer is called to contend for the faith. How do we do this in a life that is full? That's what we get to talk about on Wednesday night for the next several weeks.

If you are in the area, come and join us. 

Psalm 110:1 - The Big Picture

Do you know the board game, Clue? The goal is to figure out who committed the murder, where the murder was committed, and what weapon was used. The criminal, weapon, and locale are hidden in an envelope. Suspects, each represented on a playing card, are evenly distibuted to all the players. The more cards you see, the closer you are to making the right accusation--and winning the game.

In my family, someone will inevitably spill a card or two--giving everyone else a leg up on the game. That's why it is important to keep those cards close to your chest. You don't want to show your cards unless you absolutely have to. You don't want to help anyone else see the big picture.

As we read the Bible, it is important to understand that God has shown us all the cards. He has given us the big picture. I'm not saying that we know now everything that we will one day know. I am saying that we know everything that we need to know. God has not hidden anything from us that we need to make sense of life. I'm thankful that the Word of God is, as theologians have described it, perspicuous. In other words, the Bible is clear. We can read it and understand it and, by God's grace, use it to make sense of the world in which we live. 

There is a verse in the Old Testament that is especially helpful in making sense of life. It is one of the most quoted verses by the authors of the New Testament. Meditation on this verse is well worth the effort.

Psalm 110:1, "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'"

Knowing MVBC

Tomorrow morning, before and after the service, is Knowing MVBC, our membership class. I'll teach the first session where we discuss what it looks like to be committed to a local church. I love teaching this class because I get to meet people, young and old, who are longing to be a part of the church of the living God (1 Tim 3:15). It is a privilege it to take them to the Word to see God's purposes for our lives. He didn't design us to live alone, but in community--a family of believers. Please pray for our time together, and thank God that he ordained the local church to be ground zero for the Christian faith.

The Mechanics of Scripture Reading

Christians in the past have not always agreed on how detailed to be when it comes to the mechanics of spiritual disciplines. The sinful human heart has a tendency toward legalism, and there is no better way to become legalistic than to boil down the spiritual life to a checklist that can be mechanically accomplished.

And yet the spiritual life is more like climbing up a mountain than sliding down a slide. It takes effort and toil. There are obstacles to overcome, and there are times when you will feel like giving up. What will you do then? Because every believer in Jesus Christ will feel like this at some point, it is important to have some basic mechanics to help, lest we fail to reach the summit.

So here are five things to keep in mind as you work to make Bible reading a spiritual discipline:

1. Commit to reading the Bible each and every day. 

The Bible is the Christian's nourishment. Just as we need healthy food every day, we need the Word every day. It was Jesus who said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." He was citing a truth that God's people had been told since their days of wandering in the wilderness (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3).

2. Adopt a plan for Bible reading. 

There are many plans, and I've written on them before. The key is to know what you are going to read before you actually sit down to read. In addition to choosing a plan that will get you through the Bible once or twice in the year, consider the following:

    -- Read a chapter of Proverbs each day. You can finish the book in a month.

    -- Read a section of Psalm 119 each day. That, too, will take you about a month.

    -- Choose a book of the Bible to carefully and slowly work through.

    -- Choose your reading around what is being taught at church. If the pastor publishes the texts he will be preaching from in advance, read that passage throughout the week. If you know what text your Sunday School teacher is going to be teaching from, camp out there. Do what you can to prepare yourself for the teaching that will take place on the Lord's Day. In other words, come prepared.

3. Read prayerfully.

When we read the Bible we ought to be aware of our need for God to apply His Truth to our lives. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. We must depend upon Him, therefore, in prayer. Remember Paul's words to the church in Corinth: "For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God" (1 Cor. 2:11-12). I take this to mean we are in desperate, constant need of God's Spirit to help us truly, deeply, and really understand God's Word. Thus, before we read, as we read, and after we read, we should pray for insight into God's Word that we might understand it better and know how to apply it to our lives.

4. Meditate as you read.

It is interesting how often in the Psalms we are called upon to "meditate" upon God's Word -- His commands, decrees, and statutes. So, for example, Psalm 119:47-48, ". . . I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes." To meditate, in the biblical sense, is to do more than simply read, it is to force yourself to become familiar with God's Word and, thus, with God's nature. Commenting upon this text, Spurgeon noted, "Happy are they who stand with hands lifted both to receive blessing and to obey the precept. They will not wait on the Lord in vain." To meditate is to read eagerly, prayerfully, with a willingness to obey the Word and with a hunger to enjoy it.

5. Ask good questions of the Bible as you read.

This makes all the difference for any reading, but especially for Bible reading. It is questions that get us into the text. It is questions the prove we are curious about the text. It is questions that lead us to the answers we want--even if it takes some work. The first questions I was taught to ask any text were:

    i. What does the text say?

Try to state in your own words what the passage you are reading is plainly stating. Sometimes this is really, really easy. Sometimes it will take a bit of thinking.

You may read, for example, in Mark 2:5 where Jesus tells a paralyzed man, "My son, your sins are forgiven." The scribes are shocked and they respond by saying, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Now what does this passage say? Simply that one day in Capernaum Jesus Christ said he forgave a man of his sins. Simply that a group of religious leaders believed Jesus to be blaspheming; they understood Jesus to be claiming an authority that belonged to God.  

The first thing you should do when you come to passage is take the time necessary to restate the passage in your own words, to make sure you know what it says.

    ii. What does the text mean?

Now you are in the realm of interpretation. Take that passage in Mark 2. It says that Jesus forgave sins. It says that the Jews thought Jesus was claiming equality with God. But what does that passage mean? This is an important question!

To get to the answer, you have to interpret the text. I would say that this text means that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. It means that Jesus is more than just a man, he is God, the Lord of the universe. That is what the text means.

After figuring out what a text says, you need to go to work figuring out what it means. The more you read the Bible, the more you study the Bible--in small groups, as your church gathers, and even alone--the easier it will be to understand the meaning of the text. This is where having a good study Bible, a Bible Dictionary, and even a nice commentary can come in handy.

    iii. What does the text mean to me?

Only now are we ready to apply the text to our own lives. In Hebrews 4:12 we are told, "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." And Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." Therefore, we can trust that every text from the Bible is a life-changing passage.

Go back to Mark 2:5-6. If Jesus is God, this truth must change our life today. There must be an area of your life that, for whatever reason, you are failing to place completely under the authority of Jesus Christ. What is that area of your life? If Jesus has the power to forgive sins, he is God! He deserves our worship. So in what area of your life are you tempted to remove from the realm of Christ's authority?  

But we also know that Jesus forgives sin. There is hope for you. Where do you need to turn to Jesus for forgiveness? This passage should lead you to examine your own life and uncover sin that needs to be confessed and repented of, that you might be able enjoy afresh the forgiveness that comes through the finished work of Christ.

Applying Scripture to your life is hard work, but it is worth the effort.

What does this passage say? What does it mean? What does it mean to me? Over time, questions like this really do become second nature. You start asking them naturally.

Just as there are different reading plans, there are different sets of questions people find helpful when reading the Bible. Let me commend a more detailed set of questions. It is called: C.O.M.A. It stands for Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application. David Helm, in his book, One to One Bible Reading offers a ton of questions that come under these four headings. He has altered them for each genre of Scripture and he has made them available free, online, here. They can be copied and re-used.

Whatever questions you ask, the key is to ask them each and every time you read. Wrestle with the text. We all want to marvel at the wonders of God's Word. But this often takes a good deal of work.

If you have ever climbed a mountain, you know what it is like to be rewarded at the very top. After hours of struggle and toil, when your muscles ache and you feel like you can hardly climb another step all of a sudden you set your gaze on the most beautiful sight you've ever seen. From the top of the mountain your eyes behold a beautiful vista--peaks and valleys, eagles nesting in branches, mountain flowers blooming in the sun. And the sight is all the more glorious because of the effort it took to reach the top.

So it is with the reading of Scripture. If you want to marvel at the Word of God, if you really want to enjoy it, you need to take the time to dig into Scripture. Commit to reading the Bible each and every day. Adopt a plan for Bible reading. Read prayerfully. Meditate as you read. Finally, ask good questions of the text.

The poet, Bernard Barton, summed up what our heart toward Scripture should be in his famous hymn, "Lamp of Our Feet":

Lamp of our feet, whereby we trace

Our path when wont to stray;

Stream from the fount of heavenly grace;

Brook, by the traveller's way.

Bread of our souls, whereon we feed;

True manna from on high;

Our guide and chart, wherein we read

Of realms beyond the sky.

What will be said at your funeral?

When the British pastor, C.H. Spurgeon, died, the Tabernacle, where he pastored, had to hold five memorial services to accomodate the numbers who wanted to gather. Arnold Dallimore reported that the first service was for members of the church. The second service was for ministers and students. The third for Christian workers and the fourth for the general public. At the fifth and final service the preacher closed with these words of thanksgiving and a farewell:

The eyes now closed in death, that twinkled like two stars in a dark firmament, and brought light and joy to many bereaved and saddened hearts, have lost their light forever. The voice that spoke in tones so convincing and persuasive is hushed in death. The hand whose grasp uplifted many a fallen one, and gave new strength and encouragement to many a stricken one, will never again take our hands within its holy embrace. We bless God for thee, my brother. We are glad that heaven is made richer though we be made poorer; and by this bier we solemnly pledge that we will undertake, by God's grace, to follow thy blessed footsteps, even as thou didst follow thy blessed Lord!

What do you think would be said at your funeral, were that day to come sooner than you expected? Though we shouldn't live for the applause of men, it is nonetheless worth asking what impression we would have made on those around us. What will they have to say about the way we spent our time, our money, and our energy? What will they say about how you spoke? Did the gospel drip from our lips like honey from honeycomb?

It is good to live everyday as if it were your last, and it is wise to live with eternity in view.