Ecclesiology/Soteriology #n

“As a new Christian, Drew seemed to have an insatiable love for the things of the Lord. He could not find enough Bible studies. He got as many Christian books as he could get his hands on. He took copious notes during every sermon. His presence seemed to open and close every gathering of his church.

Now five years later, Drew seems to be a different man. The sermon notebook doesn’t accompany him to worship anymore. He seldom attends the gatherings of his small group. He barely has enough time to have a brief moment of worship before he starts his day. 

What happened to Drew? The same thing that happens to many believers. Drew came to Christ as a lonely young man. Although he did not know it, his enthusiasm for the gospel was not about the grace and glory of Christ. No, in the church, Drew found the circle of friends he had always longed to have. In the church, Drew had found a family. And while that is very good, the spiritual problem was that the end (a love relationship with Christ) had functionally become the means to another end (acceptance with a family of people). Big kingdom glories were a way to experience little kingdom treasures.

And these relationships with sinners proved to be flawed, as they always will be this side of heaven. Eventually, Drew’s growing lack of enthusiasm for the gospel revealed that his excitement about his newfound faith was simply was kingdom of self dressed up in the costume of the kingdom of God.”

– Paul Tripp, Chapter 6 of A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger than You

Ecclesiology Revisited #13

“None of us ever gets to be in a relationship with a finished person [read: Jesus]. God’s redemptive work of change is ongoing in all our lives.

…

When I fail to worship God as Savior, I am too casual about my sin and too focused on yours … When you are sinned against, you will be impacted by the weaknesses and failures of that other person. When this happens, you need to allow God to use you as an instrument in his redemptive hands, rather than seeking to make changes in the other person yourself.”

–Tim Lane, Chapter 6 of Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

“Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it.

…

Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together.”

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Chapter 1 of Life Together

Ecclesiology #14

It is through the messiness of relationships, and not in in spite of, where God works. Idols are exposed and people change.