When we think of spiritual gifts, we must be careful to not fall into the trap of believing that spiritual equals intangible. The purpose of the spiritual gift given to us by the Holy Spirit is to enable us as believers to do something, to take action, for other believers and the church at large. We can not lull ourselves into believing that spiritual gifts are for us to receive, but not to exercise and employ. There may be no more succinct passage in scripture describing this than 1 Peter 4:10-11:

“As each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God— whoever speaks, as one speaking the oracles of God; whoever serves, as one serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen.” (LSB) 

Peter wrote this epistle to Christians struggling under Roman persecution (after the fires in Rome set by Nero, but blamed on Christians), and as he begins to close it out he wants to encourage these believers that they are not only to serve one another, but that they have been supernaturally gifted to serve each other. A unique gift given to each believer, not only to be used to minister to other believers, but ultimately to glorify God.

So how should we approach employing and exercising our spiritual gift, to leverage it for Christ and His church? The first thing we need to have is conviction that God’s word says that all believers have been given a unique spiritual gift and that we are to use it (1 Cor 12:4-5). If you are a new Christian it might be easy to think that you haven’t yet been given a gift, or if you’ve been struggling to figure out how to serve the church you might think your gift is somehow weak or inferior to others. Neither of those are true. While the Holy Spirit progressively sanctifies and spiritually matures us throughout our lives, we are given a gift from the very beginning; your spiritual gift is not something that you receive once you’ve reached a certain ‘level’ of being a Christian.

Second, we must have a heart of humility in employing our spiritual gift. We have been given our gift to serve others, not to serve ourselves. Our gift is not for self promotion, building our brand, or being able to brag about how much we do (Rom 12:3). If we approach using our spiritual gift with an attitude of how we’ll benefit from it or how many others might see us use it, we run the very real risk of acting contrary to God’s will. Our first concern must be for our fellow believers and not for ourselves.

Third, we must steward our time so that we can employ our gift. It seems obvious to say, but maybe not so obvious in practice, that if we are going to use our gift to serve others it will take time. We all have so many demands on our time between work, family, activities, etc. that often it feels like we have to “make time” to serve others. That’s both right and wrong in a sense. We do have to allocate time but as something we are called to do by God, serving our fellow believers should be a top priority for our time, rather than something we’ll do if we have enough time left after everything else. As we have said, your spiritual gift is a unique gift given to you for you to exercise. We can’t simply say that we ran out of time and hope the Holy Spirit gets someone else to take our place. On the opposite side we also must guard against laziness and idleness (Prov 6:6-11). It can be just as tempting to spend our time “doing nothing” as it is to spend our time doing too much. 

Finally, we must put in the effort to serve others. We are not robots and our spiritual gift is not a simple instruction to go do a simple task and then we’re done. We are often willing to go above and beyond at work or at home, but then when it comes to serving fellow believers we tend to stop if it is in any way hard work. Serving others is difficult work, but we can rejoice that we have a Holy Spirit that Peter tells us is supplying the strength for us to employ our gift. What a marvelous grace it is that we do not have to rely on our own strength! We can trust that whatever gift God has given each of us, He also provides everything we need to employ it.

So as we approach each individual day where God’s mercies are new every morning, let us do so with joy and the resolve to truly seek to employ our gift for the good of our fellow believers and for the glory of God and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

The book of Daniel, like Esther, has much to say about the unrivaled sovereignty of God. He is the God of history and the King of kings, and his dominion is an everlasting dominion. It also has much to say about the faithfulness and courage of those who live under his sovereignty in the face of rival claims—claims that are still made today. For this reason, then, Christians must prepare to remain faithful in the face of opposition.

As the book opens, Daniel is under pressure to become a good Babylonian. He is immersed in Babylonian culture, but when he draws the line and resolves not to defile himself with the king’s food, God gives him favor and success in the eyes of the king. Later, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow down to the king’s statue and disobey God by committing idolatry, for they were confident that God would rescue them. Perhaps even more astonishingly, they are courageous in the face of fiery death even if it means not being rescued (3:17-18).

In these accounts, Daniel and his companions are models for Christians today who face increasingly secular establishments that want to reduce the autonomy of religious institutions and limit the influence of faith in the public square. As is often said, ideas have consequences and, on a societal level, every government operates according to its own worldview. Christians, then, must think and act wisely because biblical faith cannot be limited to a strictly private or individual affair. It is, after all, an obedience of faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26)—and we must obey God rather than men. In other words, following Christ cannot be reduced to a private or individual affair. It’s not only what we do on Sundays, as important as that is in our lives. We follow Jesus, who last time I checked is not only open for business on Sundays. We follow the crucified and risen King to our death—even death for idolatrous compromise—so that his resurrection life might live in us.

So we should pray for Christians who are working to protect the exercise of religious freedom, and consider getting involved ourselves. We should hold fast our convictions when threatened to compromise, while allowing others to hold theirs when they differ from our own. We should pray for our Christian brothers and sisters across the globe who have never enjoyed the religious freedoms we have been given. And in all this, we should proclaim Christ and him crucified.

In the end, history tells us that, for the most part, God’s people remained in exile despite Daniel’s faithfulness and courage. In fact, God’s people still live in exile on this side of the cross. Nevertheless, the call for Christians to be faithful and courageous remains. But ultimately our rescue, like Daniel’s, will come not with our faithfulness and courage, but with the faithfulness and courage of another, one like a Son of Man who will come with the clouds of heaven and will bring with him those who are faithful to the end. And his kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed (7:13-14).

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:1-17).

God’s Faithfulness to His People

When we scroll through the latest headlines, we are bombarded with the reality of our broken world. Currently there are wars and rumors of wars, and it may seem to some like God is absent from these events. However, when we look to Scripture we see that God is never absent – he is always guiding and directing the events of history, like a hand in a glove. He is constantly present and always faithful to his people.

  As we are diving into the book of Esther this spring, we see the faithfulness of God and his plans for his people as he guides and directs the course of history. Last week, we looked at Haman’s plan for the destruction of the Jews. Esther 4 picks up with the response of Mordecai and the people of God to this plan of destruction. When Mordecai learned about the decree that had been issued to destroy the Jews, he was devastated. He put on sackcloth and ashes, lamenting with loud and bitter cries. The people of God joined him in a public display of sorrow. Esther, isolated from the world in the walls of the palace, was not aware of the decree and at first sent garments to clothe Mordecai, perhaps wondering why he was making such a spectacle. Mordecai knew that Persian laws could not be changed (Esther 1:19), so the severity of this new decree was one that he took seriously.  With this, he asked Esther to approach the king and plead on behalf of her people. The problem with that is that there was another law – no one could approach the king without being summoned, including the queen. This law was punishable by death.

The faith of Mordecai is evident here. He knew that what is impossible with man is possible with God. He tells Esther, “for if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place”. Mordecai is trusting in the faithfulness of God. God is going to accomplish his purposes and deliver his people. He invited Esther to be a part of that, but knew that God would do it even without her. God’s faithfulness does not depend on Esther’s faithfulness.

Esther’s response – she gathered God’s people to fast and pray. She obeyed in faith and in fear, knowing that the cost could be death. We know how this story ends. God uses Mordecai’s faith, the prayers of his people, and Esther’s courage to show his faithfulness in the salvation of his people and the thwarting of the plans of evil against them. The story of Esther is historical evidence that God is faithful and that he moves through the lives of ordinary people to accomplish his purposes.

God’s Faithfulness to His Purpose

Have you considered that God’s story is not done yet? God continues to write his story in our own day, and he invites you and I to be a part of it. The same God that created Esther and appointed her to be the beacon of hope for her people has created you, in this time, in this place,  for such a time as this. What is God doing in our day? How does the story he is writing, that he is inviting you and I to be a part of, end?

Take a look at the book of Revelation. God has written the ending and given it to us so that we can know his purpose for this world. We can know how the story ends. In Revelation 7:9 -10, John sees a great multitude, that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” We know how the story ends. If we are in Christ, our salvation secures our place before the throne of God, worshiping our King. But there will be others with us – every tribe, tongue, and language. How will they get there? God, in his kindness, allows us to be a part of that.

God’s Faithfulness to His Call

Let’s look at the state of our world today – the world that we have inherited has seen the gospel flow and impact every political nation. Unfortunately, there are still around 3 billion people that not only do not know Jesus as Lord, but do not have access to the good news of the gospel. Most of these people have no access to a Christian, a missionary, a church, or a Bible. These people are considered unreached and need an outside witness to share Christ with them. This part of the world includes 28% of the world’s population, but only 3% of the missionaries, and 1% of missions finances are dedicated to these people. These people are not more lost than your atheist college professor or your unchurched neighbor, the difference is access. Apart from an outside witness going to them to share the gospel, they will live and die without knowing this good news. This is a tragedy and a crisis of obedience in the church today.

Looking at Esther, God prepared her to live in that palace, to have the king’s favor, for that time, to accomplish his purposes. And by God’s grace and according to his plan, she was faithful to that purpose.

Looking at church history, after the book of Acts the church expanded all throughout the Roman empire through an earth that God had prepared by means such as Roman roads, the Pax Romana, a common language, trade, currency, and even through the persecution of Christians. God created those people in that day, for such a time as this. And by God’s grace and according to his plan, the early Christians were faithful to spread the gospel using these avenues in their time.

Fast forward to today, we have been placed in a world where you can travel almost anywhere in a period of 24 hours! We have the internet, which makes communication across the globe instantaneous. In many ways we have a common language, as English is becoming more and more an established language of business and trade, even in countries such as China and India where English is not the first language spoken. Could we be in a season that God has prepared for such a time as this? Could he be calling us to be used by him so that we may see every tribe, tongue, and nation worshiping before the throne of God? Could the events of today and our stewardship of the gospel message see his glory fill the earth as the waters cover the sea?

If we do nothing, God will still accomplish his purposes. But friends, we don’t want to miss out! There is no greater purpose for our lives than partnering with him in this great purpose he has created you for. How are you living your life to this end? How will you join him?

Does this mean that God is calling you to go to those 3 billion and share the gospel with them? Maybe. But he could also be calling you to join in the support of those who are going, and there are many ways that you can do that.

God’s Faithfulness for Such a Time as This

To join God in what he desires to accomplish in and through us to fulfill that Revelation 7:9-10 vision, we look to our Savior – Jesus Christ:  who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God! Oh what joy to look to our Savior and know that nothing compares to living out what we were created for in Christ. If you do nothing, God will still accomplish his purposes in the world. But who knows whether you have not been put on this earth for such a time as this? Will you trust God’s faithfulness for what he wants to do in and through you? God is guiding and directing the events in our current day, and as his child, he has given you an important role to play in expanding his kingdom among all tribes, nations, and languages. Just as he called Mordecai and Esther, he calls us, ordinary people, to join him in an extraordinary purpose. Will you join him for such a time as this?

To join in your part in God’s global mission, lived out through the body of Christ at Providence Church, connect with Providence Missions and let us help you get started with discovering more of your unique role in God’s global mission by clicking this link. 

I may have lost you with the very title of this post, though I hope not! When we think about spiritual disciplines, Scripture memorization is one that often seems unattainable. “It’s so hard!” we cry . . . and we’re not wrong. Scripture memorization requires time, diligence, and attention. In a world in which attention spans are growing shorter, memorization feels near-impossible. 

This hard work is also fruitful, though. We may think of the long-term fruit of memorization; I’m a former Awana kid and there have been many times that a verse I memorized over thirty years ago comes back to me in a moment of need. But Scripture memorization isn’t only planting seeds for a distant harvest; it also bears fruit as we memorize. There’s fruit that is ripe for the picking, even in the process.

In recent weeks I’ve experienced that fruitfulness in three areas that are key to abiding in Christ. Those three areas are what Matthew Bingham calls “a triangulated relationship between Scripture, meditation, and prayer.” He goes on to describe that relationship: “We hear from God through his word, we reflect on what we’ve heard in meditation, and we then respond to God in prayer.” Memorization has led to greater fruitfulness in all three points of that triangle.

Fruitful Hearing

This spring, our women’s and men’s Bible studies have been studying the book of James together. In preparation for the study, the women’s teaching team challenged one another to read the book daily. I began by listening to the book of James in an audio Bible app each morning. After a few days, I found that through repetitive listening, the words were becoming familiar. Even without conscious effort, I realized that the words were beginning to sink into my heart.

This realization led me to devote myself to memorizing the book of James. I started with James 1:1 and began to memorize a verse or two at a time. My method (learned from Andy Davis — see the resources linked below) has been simple, but effective: read the verse 10 times, repeat it from memory 10 times, and then review all that I’ve memorized so far. As I’ve continued to work my way through the book, my daily listening has been replaced by daily rehearsing. That rehearsing has led to a more fruitful hearing of the word. 

As I work to remember and recall the words of James, I find myself considering the connections between verses. For example, as I recite James 1:21: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls,” I ask myself, “What does James want his readers to do with the implanted word that they receive?” The answer is found in verse 22: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” 

Scripture memorization bears fruit in hearing the word. Memorization offers the opportunity to move from passive hearing to active consideration of the word. Memorization allows and encourages us to ponder Scripture more deeply, which is necessary for those who would be doers of the word and not hearers only!

Fruitful Meditation

As I rehearse and ponder the words I’m memorizing, I often seamlessly move from hearing the word to meditating on it. Meditation, the second point of the triangle, involves savoring and digesting the words of Scripture. Meditation isn’t content with merely hearing or reading the word. In meditation, we return to what we have heard — or more accurately, we don’t move on from it. 

A picture of hearing without meditation comes from my sister’s home. She and her family have two big Australian Shepherds and their dinnertime never fails to make me laugh. My sister pours a cup of dog food into each dog’s bowl, then we all stand back as they attack the food with such intensity that they practically chase their bowls across the floor. It seems they’re simply inhaling the dry food.

If I’m honest, I very often approach my time in the word with a similar mindset. I gulp down the meat of the word as if it is something to be simply consumed. The words of Scripture are so much more, though. They are “no empty word . . . but your very life” (Deut. 32:47). “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb” (Ps. 19:10).

Scripture memorization slows me down and leads me to meditation. Instead of gulping down my daily intake of God’s word, I savor it. I’m nourished by it. The words, written on my heart, are there for meditation throughout the day and when I put my head on the pillow. I can call them to mind in a quiet moment. The Spirit often brings them to my memory in a moment of application — a moment that calls me to respond by being “no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts” (James 1:25).

Fruitful Prayer

Hearing and meditating on the word should lead inevitably to prayer — responding to the One who is speaking in his word! Here, once again, Scripture memorization leads to greater fruitfulness in prayer. As I’ve memorized the book of James, I’ve found myself praying the words of Scripture more times than I can count.

For example, James 1:2-4 gives words to pray over a friend in an extended season of suffering. I can ask the Lord to give her joy in the midst of her circumstances. I can praise him for the evidence of steadfastness that I see him producing in her life. I’m stirred to worship the God who works in and through our suffering, using it to transform us into the likeness of his Son.

When I sit down to open my Bible, or when I get up after reading it, I pray James 1:22-25. I thank the Lord for the implanted word, which is able to save my soul. I ask him to grow in me a willingness to persevere in looking into the law of liberty. I ask him to work, by his Spirit, to make me a doer of the word and not a hearer only.

When I feel jealousy stirring in my heart, James 3:14-18 calls me to confess and repent quickly. I ask the Lord to uproot the bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in my heart, leaving no room for the disorder and vile practices that follow. I remember as I repeat verse 17 that “the wisdom from above” is visible in the life of my Savior, Jesus. I ask the Father to transform me into Christ’s image, with wisdom that is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

These are fruitful prayers. They reflect the heart of God because they are the very words of God! I am praying back to him what he has already spoken to me in his word. And as I do, my heart is being aligned to his will. 

Conclusion

The discipline of Scripture memorization is just that — it’s a discipline. It requires work, time, and attention. But that effort is not without rewards. Memorizing the words of the Bible will bear fruit as you hear the word, meditate on it, and respond to it in prayer. It’s the nature of the word of God to give life and bear fruit — after all, it is the living and abiding word of God (1 Pet. 1:23)! 

Are you ready to begin practicing this discipline? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Commit to a simple method. Andy Davis’ little book, How to Memorize Scripture for Life will give you practical steps to begin memorizing longer passages or even entire books.
• Start with a text you’re already studying. If you’re in the James study right now, why not start with James 1?
• Memorize in community. Invite a friend, a family member, or your community group to memorize a passage along with you. (If you’re a parent, memorize with your kids! This podcast with Hunter Beless is a helpful and encouraging resource for families memorizing together.)

Finally, persevere. Don’t grow weary of doing good, but continue in this discipline. I’m speaking to myself here because my history with Scripture memorization has been filled with stops and starts. I’m asking the Lord to continue to develop and strengthen this discipline in me, and to give me joy in savoring his word. I pray the same for you as well. As the people of Providence, may God’s words and his commands be on our hearts! May we teach them diligently to our children, and talk of them when we sit in our houses, and when we walk by the way, and when we sit down, and when we rise (Deut. 6:6-7).

Leadership matters. Why? According to Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” Given the context of the chapter and the book as a whole there are many comments we could make about this verse. And yet there is one thing remarkably clear: good leadership is a blessing. A righteous ruler will seek to help his subjects; a wicked ruler will harm his subjects. People rejoice when a godly leader is at the helm; they groan, or mourn, when a godless leader is in power. In other words, a godly leader exemplifies Christ in personal holiness, love for the Lord, and service to people. A godless leader, on the other hand, will exhibit an unholy life, a love for self, and will abuse rather than serve people. In short, leadership is anything but trivial; it has the power to bring drastic consequences, both for good and evil. The importance of leadership shouldn’t surprise us; after all, God designed it and man distorted it. But by God’s grace, Christ has redeemed it.

Why do I bring this up? One of the great comforts we have from Scripture is that God cares about His people. Indeed, Christ cares for His Bride. Paul exhorts husbands in Ephesians 5 to “love your wives.” Why would Paul command such a thing? Well, because “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25). In other words, the blood of Christ proves both His love and commitment to His people. More fundamentally, it is the blood of Christ that forms His people in the first place (see Rev 5:9–10). All this to say, God is devoted to His people and He is so devoted to them that He has established leadership as a means to care for them. Our Creator-Lord has ordained an authoritative office in His church that is meant to be a blessing to the people of God. Indeed, this office should cause “the people [to] rejoice” (Prov 29:2). Who are these leaders? How might we label this office? The Bible refers to this leader as an elder.

Elder leadership is how God has designed leadership to be deployed amongst His people. Scripture uses several terms to refer to this office: elder, overseer, and shepherd/pastor (noun derived from the verb, to shepherd (ποιμαίνω); see 1 Peter 5:2). It is important to keep in mind that each of these terms communicate different facets of an elder’s responsibility as a leader; they are not distinct offices. Moreover, it is not a single elder who has leadership over the church, but a plurality of elders. Each of these elders is a biblically qualified man who has been appointed by God to lead. Indeed, Alexander Strauch puts it succinctly, “It is the Holy Spirit who sovereignly places an elder as an overseer to shepherd the church of God (Acts 20:28). With this appointment comes the rightful authority and Spirit empowerment to do the God-given work of leading God’s flock of people.” 

Now, what does a faithful elder look like? It is clear from the Scriptures how God has designed leadership, but how might a church member determine or, better yet, evaluate whether this is a righteous ruler who will cause “the people to rejoice” (Prov 29:2). Thankfully, God did not leave us without help! There are two places I want to briefly point you to as you consider what a faithful elder should look like. These two passages will promote two categories that are absolutely essential for faithful eldership and the health of the church. The two categories are character and competence. First Timothy 3:1–7 teaches the type of character any pastor should have in order to assume office. First Peter 5:1–5 describes the competence they should exhibit in order to assume office. 

A pastor must be someone who is “above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” This list from 1 Timothy 3:1–7 is not meant to be taken exhaustively, as if sins like gluttony or anger are not to be taken seriously due to their absence (although one could certainly argue they are implied by these general categories). Nevertheless, Paul does give a standard. God’s leaders are to live exemplary lives, marked by marital faithfulness, sobriety, kindness, selflessness, and all the rest. In a word, an elder should have a life worthy of imitation (see 1 Cor 11:1). Paul continues to say that an elder should “manage his own household”, “not be a recent convert”, and “he must be well thought of by outsiders.” In order to lead God’s flock, he must prove that he can first manage his own family. There is a direct correlation between a leader’s natural family and his spiritual family. How could he lead the latter if the former is in question? Furthermore, an elder must be mature. You might say, though one must be careful not to equate time maturity with age, that a mature Christian is a seasoned Christian, someone who has walked with God for quite some time. Finally, what do non-Christians think about this person? What is an elder prospect’s reputation among the godless of this world? According to Paul, even those who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ should acknowledge the superb morality of an elder candidate. 

This text reminds us that godly character is not a negotiable factor in examining an elder’s qualification. Too often people are placed into the role of pastor/elder who do not have 1 Timothy 3 character. They might be a good teacher, beloved by the church, or even be filling a need on the elder-board. These are not necessarily wrong reasons to consider someone for the office, but at the end of the day Scripture is clear: the most important thing an elder must have is godly character. Elders who lack character will cause “the people groan.” Therefore, it is essential that an elder be marked by godly character if he would be found faithful. 

A faithful elder must also be competent. First Peter 5:2–3 exhorts the elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” To shepherd and exercise oversight takes a required skill in leading the people of God. John 10:2–4 observes a shepherd who “enters by the door”; “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out”; and “goes before them.” Each of these descriptions highlight the competence a shepherd must have in order to lead his sheep faithfully. Thinking of the pastor, he must be someone who teaches and counsels with godly wisdom and love. He must exhibit competence. A shepherd with competence blesses those in the fold while a shepherd who is incompetent brings much harm.

And yet one could easily look at this passage and notice the type of character that undergirds this skillful care: “not under compulsion, but willingly”; “not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering”. Even in 1 Timothy 3:2 one sees that an elder must also be “able to teach,” a crucial competency for the pastorate. All this to say, both passages display a beautiful picture for the church: a biblically qualified elder is a godly man who both loves the people of God and competently deploys the gifts God has given him for the edification and maturity of the church (see Eph 4:11–16). When godly men have Christlike character and pastoral competence, they are a blessing to Christ’s people. Truly, “the people rejoice” under godly leadership. 

It is good to conclude with the reminder that though the qualification for eldership is a high one, no elder is perfect. Certainly, if perfection were the standard there would be no leaders. We are not demanding our pastors to be perfect. We simply desire that they be faithful. This includes that when an elder sins, just like any Christian, they should repent and turn to the Lord. Of course, a sin may be biblically disqualifying for continued operation in the office. Nevertheless, all of us need the grace of God. All of us fall short of holiness. We must cling to the cross as our only hope. I would commend you, Providence member, to pray daily for your elders. Pray that they would be shaped after the image of Christ, continually equipped to shepherd us with competence, and that they would endure faithfully until the end. In the words of Paul, would we “strive together” in praying for Afshin, Weyland, Tim, Oren, Matt, Parker, and Josiah (Rom 15:30). Thanks be to God for imperfect, faithful elders.

Learn More:

• “Elders Caring for the Flock of God.” Sermon on 1 Peter 5:1–5.

One of the great privileges of my life is being married to my bride, Ariel. Sometimes I find myself reflecting on how great our wedding day was. The ceremony took place in an elegant chapel that cornered a wide-open, rustic ranch. Roaming the field was, you guessed it, a longhorn. It can’t get more Texas than that, right? We catered in mexican food for dinner, a personal favorite of mine. The dance floor was energetic and filled with all of the people we love. Finally, to end the event, our family and friends lined the exit with sparklers as we made our way to the getaway car, sailing into the Dallas night with our new life ahead of us. Indeed, our wedding day was, as they say, a memory of a lifetime. 

And yet when I reflect on what I treasure most from that evening, none of what I just mentioned makes the list. As thankful as I am for a beautiful venue, delicious food, and the opportunity to see family and friends, these are not the features that my heart is drawn to. For us, the most beautiful moment of the night was our vow exchange. We decided to write our own, detailing the personal ways that we would commit to each other during our lifetime. We have nothing against traditional vows. In fact, we did both! However, we wrote ours because we wanted to be as specific as possible when detailing our commitment. We each wanted to outline how the gospel would specifically empower our devotion to the other person. And that really is the beauty of the exchange — two Christians giving themselves to one another as a response to the Lord first giving Himself to them. In this way, the marital vow is the commitment that colorizes what is actually happening in a ceremony: covenantal union between a man and a woman. 

This leads to another important point: enveloped in this promise of commitment is also the pursuit of communion. The pronouncement of husband and wife is also the commencement of two people sharing their lives together. Indeed, to commune is to share. To commune is to enjoy relationship. So, a wedding day is beautiful not only because there are two Christ followers uniting to one another, but it is in this very commitment they look to one another with inexpressible excitement that they get to do life together! This joy can be manifested in a number of ways, but I’ll just say from my own life: I love spending time with my wife! I love talking to her, hearing about her day, taking walks and sharing meals together. I’m united to Ariel in marriage, but I also get to commune with Ariel for as long as the Lord allows. What a joy! 

Why do I bring this up? Well, I think this is a framework for understanding the great joy we having of communing with Christ. When I use the phrase, abide in Christ, what typically comes to your mind? For some, you might immediately think of actions you must do: prayer, reading the Bible, fasting, evangelizing. For you, to commune with, or abide in, Christ is fundamentally an act you must perform. Abiding is primarily viewed as activity. For others, abiding in Christ brings up warm feelings of intimacy and connection. But is that what it means to abide in Christ? Is communing with Jesus merely about doing certain things or experiencing certain emotions? 

What I would I like to contend is that communion with Jesus is more fundamental than an act though, eventually, it will involve actions. And it is deeper than human emotion though, certainly, emotion is involved at some point. To truly understand what it means to commune with Christ we must first understand one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith: our union with Christ. 

Sinclair Ferguson says, “Our union with Christ is the source of all spiritual fruitfulness in our lives.” In other words, before we can wrap our minds around things like reading the Bible, praying, and evangelizing, our spiritual activity, we must first recognize who we are as Christ followers at a fundamental level. Pauls writes in Colossians 3:3, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Romans 6:3–4 he adds, “Do you not know 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, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” In other words, Paul is highlighting an existential transformation that took place in the lives of these believers: through faith in Christ their old, sinful man has died and they have been made new in Christ. At another point, Paul describes them as “new creation” (see 2 Cor 5:17). But notice the key phrase: in/into Christ. What is the source of their spiritual transformation? It’s being united to Christ. Indeed, their union with Christ has completely changed everything.

And yet nowhere in the New Testament do we see that this transformation leads to stagnant living. Actually, Paul says a couple of verses prior in Romans 6, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” In other words, if you are united to Christ, and thus a new creation, why would you think that it is okay to live according to your former way of life? Logically, that makes no sense. Biblically, that is impossible. New creations live new lives. Truly, Paul summarizes this well, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8). As one who had been united to Christ, Paul simply wanted more of Him. Because of his union with the Lord Jesus, all he could think about was greater communion for the rest of his days.

This is where the doctrine of union with Christ creates and conducts our communion with Christ. Union with Christ creates our communion in that it would not be possible had the Lord not accomplished salvation in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. We could not experience the joy of relationship if we were not first brought into saving relationship by God’s grace. But it also conducts our abiding. What do I mean by that? It means that this doctrine frames the way we understand all of our Christian actions. First, our Christian efforts are an overflow of our union with Christ. We cannot conjure up Christlikeness. We do not have that power reservoir in ourselves. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we could ever produce spiritual fruit in our lives (see Gal 5:16–26). Second, our union with Christ points all of our efforts — reading Scripture, praying, sharing our faith — toward this primary goal: knowing Christ (Phil 3:8). Every step of obedience, every activity, is an overflow of who we already are in Christ and an intentional channel to know Christ more intimately. What a gift it is to commune with our Lord!

In closing, this brings me to the image that I began with: marriage. In marriage we see a commitment, symbolized by marital vows in a ceremony, but also a sneak peak at the lifelong communion a husband and wife get to joyfully share in. And yet this human union symbolizes something far greater and more glorious that we have in the gospel: union with our Lord. Through faith in Christ, our old man has died and the new man has been born. It is in this moment that a fundamental transformation has taken place and a door has been opened for intimate communion with our Savior. Would we be a people who, like Paul, in all of our Christian efforts — Bible reading, prayer, evangelism, Sunday worship — exclaim with great joy, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Throughout 1 Peter, a letter written to give hope to a people in exile, Peter calls Christians to live holy, godly lives. It’s a direct call in the very first chapter — “As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15) — and a theme that continues throughout the letter. The holy lives that Christians are called to live reflect the holy life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). He is our example and even more, our substitute, for “he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds [we] have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).

As Christians, we live holy lives as part of our “spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1), offered to our God, who has redeemed us. But in God’s economy, he takes our good conduct and uses it to accomplish even more. God uses the good conduct of Christians to testify to the truth of the gospel and to the power of the Word and the Spirit that has transformed us.

Peter has this in mind throughout his letter; it’s like he’s saying to Christians, “Somebody’s watching you!” And indeed, Christians in the first century were under observation. In Acts 17, Christians are described as those “who have turned the world upside down,” so of course, their lives were under the microscope, as others looked for any reason to malign or call them evildoers (1 Pet. 4:4; 2:12). What more effective witness could there be, then, than godly lives? 

If we look back at the early centuries of the church, we find the writings of those historians call “apologists.” These writers were offering an apologetic (an argument that defends) for Christianity against those who were maligning the faith and persecuting Christians, even to death. The charges that were leveled against Christians seem ludicrous today — for example, Christians were called atheists because they didn’t worship the gods of Rome. They were accused of cannibalism, the sacrifice of infants, incest, and orgies, just to name a few of the charges. Even the name “Christian” was derisive — “little Christs,” they were called.

The apologists argued for Christian belief and practice within the church, but what’s especially interesting in reading their arguments is how often they argued on the basis of Christians’ good conduct. Their arguments prove Peter’s point again and again: the godly lives of Christians are a powerful apologetic witness!

For example, the anonymous author of the Epistle to Diognetus (circa 150-310 AD) describes Christians in ways that sound a lot like Peter’s exhortations:

“They are obedient to the laws that have been made, and by their own lives they supersede the laws. They love everyone and are persecuted by all. They are not understood and they are condemned. They are put to death and made alive. They are impoverished and make many rich. They lack all things and abound in everything. They are dishonored and they are exalted in their dishonors. They are slandered and they are acquitted. They are reviled and they bless, mistreated and they bestow honor. They do good and are punished as evil; when they are punished they rejoice as those who have been made alive. They are attacked by Jews as foreigners and persecuted by Greeks. And those who hate them cannot explain the cause of their enmity” (6:10-17).

 Tertullian of Carthage (160-212 AD) also echoes Peter’s call when he writes in his Apology, “If we are enjoined, then, to love our enemies, as I have remarked above, whom have we to hate? If injured, we are forbidden to retaliate, lest we become as bad ourselves: who can suffer injury at our hands?” In other words, our suffering Savior has called us to suffer in his likeness, so you have nothing to fear from us!

In the early church, the Great Commission was carried out as ordinary men and women lived lives of simple faith in the message that was folly to the world but the power of God to those who believed (1 Cor. 1:18). To those who were watching, Christians’ transformed lives and good conduct testified to the life-changing power of the gospel message.

What Peter had to say to Christians in the first century is just as true today: “Somebody’s watching you.” We live in a world that’s skeptical of the claims of Christianity and all too aware of the hypocrisy of those within the church. And yet Peter doesn’t call us to retreat or huddle away from the view of those watching eyes. Instead, he says,

“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Pet. 3:14-16). 

As John of Chrysostom wrote in the fourth century, “A pure life will have abundant power to stop the mouth of the devil himself” (Homily 6 on 1 Corinthians). 

As we seek to make a defense for our faith to the world around us, we must not underestimate or neglect the apologetic of our lives. Peter offers us several scenarios in which this witness is effective.

• For those living with unbelievers — your spouse, your parents, your siblings, or your children, for example — there is the hope that they may be won without a word by your conduct (1 Pet. 3:1-2). When their ears are closed to the gospel message, their eyes may be open to its transforming power. 
• For those whose life post-salvation looks radically different from life “BC” (before Christ), your conduct may lead to you being maligned, but those who malign you will have to give account for their response (1 Pet. 4:3-5). Your life, along with your words, is a testimony.
• For every believer whose life aligns with the gospel message, we may be given opportunities to give the reason for the hope that is in us (1 Pet. 3:15). In those moments, let’s seize the opportunity to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).

May our lives indeed be Christian lives — the lives of “little Christs.” May we live in such a way that a watching world sees the character of Jesus Christ in us. May our fellowship as brothers and sisters within the body of Providence Church show that we are Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35), and cause others to long to be part of this family. Above all, may our lives bring honor to the name of Christ and open doors for us to share boldly the living hope that we have in him alone!

Learn More:

• Providence’s 1 Peter Sunday Sermon Series.
• Epistle to Diognetus.
• Tertullian of Carthage, Apology.
• St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Frist Corinthians. 
• Steve McKinion, Life and Practice in the Early Church.