Welcome to Enbolden, Living a Bold Christian Life. I'm Chris Shetter, a self-professed, ordinary Christian, living out life with and learning about an extraordinary God. On today's episode, we'll still be in that tiny, tiny book of Three John, lesson number two. Commit to the big picture of Christ through the details of his love.
In Three John 10 states, so when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. My current Bible study of everyday theology has been a great strengthening and clarification of my Christian beliefs, starting with what scripture is intended for and delving into the Trinity and our role as believers in this world. The lessons have given my BSGs, also known as Bible study girls, a number of aha moments. We currently are on the section about church, what it is, who is the head of it, and what our responsibilities as a part of the body entail.
The first question asked was for us to define what we call church. When I hear media types chastised the quote church, or quote Christians, we're not condemning some action or stance. It makes me wonder what church spokesmen they will think will step up to a microphone. Is it going to be you?
Of course for Catholics, that would be the Pope or a regional bishop. But in the non-Catholic world, we are so dispersed with varying types of faith, traditions, even morals and values. In John's letter to the church elder Gaius, he juxtaposes that the elders and men's love for his brothers and sisters in Christ with another church leader, diatrophies. These brothers and sisters are strangers to Gaius, but he welcomes them readily into his home as we learn the other day.
These travelers are doing the good work of Jesus, spreading the salvation message, and then there's this other guy. John describes this leader as one who quote, loves to be first. We know a few of those. He doesn't welcome strangers, and even worse he refused to welcome John.
Imagine that, a church elder who wouldn't welcome Jesus' apostle. You'd have to think about the reasoning behind this. This elder even kicks out other believers who welcome new people. And why?
Because as what Warren Wiersby calls a quote church dictator, he lost focus on Jesus' big picture of love and became instead focused on the details of man-made doctrine. On the study in three John, Warren Wiersby is quoted, all true questions can agree on the fundamental doctrines of the faith, and in love give gratitude, I'm sorry, latitude for disagreement on other matters. I've read there about 34,000 different Christian denominations in the world. The Wikipedia page on Christian denominations, Catholic and non, is an almost endless list.
Subgroups within subgroups. People who have followed a pastor or priest's particular issue with the quote, way things are done and split off from their home church. And as active members of church, we have all seen the after-effects of change in leadership. Numbers dwindle and people divide.
Some churches survive and even thrive, while others will fade away. Titus 3.9 says, but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law. Because these are unprofitable and useless. The Greek word zealous means something very fervent as with spirit-fueled zeal to serve the Lord.
And zealous is used both negatively as jealousy and positively in zeal in the Bible. James 3.16 says, for where you have envy and selfish ambition, in other words, zealous, there you will find disorder in every evil practice. Because when we put our ideas about, quote, the way things should be done above the big picture of Jesus, his commandment to love one another as he loved us, we will fail every time. And what is showing that love?
To live in obedience to his will. As I've worked through studying the Bible, I keep coming back to my knowledge of how churches work and how they don't. I'm mystified by the lack of actual biblical-based decision-making. And how so many people forget the message of 1 Corinthians 13, which states, if I speak in tongues of men or of angels but do not have love, I'm only a resounding bong or clinging symbol.
The people in our church or faith family are all gifted by God, but the use of those gifts must be in love. I once sat on a church marketing committee that included a wide variety of talented people, many of whom had been members of the church for eons. The pastor welcomed us and gave us our charge, and I asked a few questions seeking clarification as our role. And within seconds of him leaving, so we could move on with planning, an older woman who sat across from me immediately pointed this crickety at me and said, who do you think you are?
And what makes you think you know anything about what needs to be done? Fortunately, I was comfortable enough about my background. I've worked in public relations and marketing that I almost laughed at her. You see, because I wasn't part of her, quote, known circle.
I was a nobody to quote her church. We are so often led by the flesh, what sounds good and what feels good. That's how someone like Diatrophies was allowed to be a dictator at his church. He said enough of the right things to convince enough people to support him.
Had they backed up and they're thinking and measured his actions against Jesus, the truth would have been revealed. Notice this life lesson isn't just about the big picture. It says through the details of his love. As Christians we must be students of the word.
If not, we are easily led by apostates and dictators and anyone else in our church who appears to be in charge. Jesus didn't come to erase the law and he reminds us of the simplicity of the law without all the human-made rules and regulations posted on it. He constantly chastised the Pharisees for behavior that we find today throughout our Christian churches. Remember that question in my study about theology?
What is the church? Well, it's you and me. It's not just a pastor or a priest or committee of leaders or even the click of volunteers. We need to take ownership of our membership in the church body.
When we see one of our body leading people astray, we need to remind them of Jesus' big picture. And we are to be knowledgeable enough about his word to help set the church body back on track. A dictator or false teacher is only successful with willing followers. Read that verse again in 3 John 10.
So when I call him I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Notice John will confront him face to face. He feels the responsibility of keeping the ship on the right course. He steps in and out of love of the truth.
He doesn't say, I'm coming to fire him. Or I'm getting everyone together to run about a town. John also doesn't tell guys just to go start his own church. It's an intervention of sorts.
That sounds a lot more like Jesus. In a Christian world where the more than 3 billion of us were one body. Where our focus was on obeying Jesus' teaching and his big picture of love. Imagine the impact we would have on this broken world.
Imagine if we could just get our own heart and our own local church soundly on that big picture path.