Transforming the World: Reclaiming Our Methodist Legacy, Part 2

by Dale Tedder
click here to read Part 1

Story #1

Our first story beings with Paul and his companions, who had just come from Philippi. In fact, they had just gotten out of prison there and had been escorted out of the city by the officials. Their next stop was going to be Thessalonica, which was about 100 miles away. On their way there, they passed through a couple of cities, Amphipolis and Apollonia, staying at each only to spend the night before heading out the next morning.

When they arrived in Thessalonica, Paul began his usual routine of going to the local synagogue of the city. Why did he go there first? Take a look at verses 2 and 3…

As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, [3] explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said.

 Paul was a Jew. His heart was for his fellow Jews. He loved them. So even though he was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, he just couldn’t help himself. He would always go to his own people first. What did he do with them? He reasoned with them. He taught and preached from the Old Testament. He used it to explain and prove that Jesus was just who he said he was… and that the prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Christ.

Furthermore, he showed them that Christ had to suffer and die on the Cross for the sins of the world – but that he had to also rise from the dead for our salvation. Paul proclaimed that Jesus of Nazareth was no less than the Christ – the Messiah of God.

Beloved, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ… the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel first calls us to turn away from our own sin – our fallen, broken, and selfish thinking, desires, words, actions, and attitudes.

It also calls us to trust in Christ alone to forgive us, to save us, to heal us, to mend us, lead us, and to make us holy. That’s the Gospel… and that’s what Paul preached and taught in Thessalonica… and people responded. Take a look at verse 4…

Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

 People responded. Lives were changed. Supernaturally speaking, disciples of Jesus Christ had been made.

But, as often is the case, some folks weren’t happy about this. In fact, where the Gospel is preached and where God is doing a great work of deliverance, there will often be opposition.

Take a look at verse 5…

But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

 You see, the Jews weren’t at all happy about this work of Paul and company… nor the message they proclaimed. So they got the meanest, toughest, nastiest folks they could find to stir up trouble for Paul and Silas and their newest converts. Thessalonica was something of a harbor town. There were plenty of drifters roaming around the market place with a lot of time on their hands. It wouldn’t have been a great effort to round up and “encourage” some of these folks to cause a little trouble for Paul and company.

And that’s exactly what they did.

But there was a problem. Paul and Silas evidently got word of this and got out of there. And so the mob did the next best thing. They grabbed Jason and a few others. Jason was one of the converts who was hosting Paul and Silas. It seems that Jason and some of his new brothers in Christ were guilty by association.

At any rate, I’ve now arrived at the whole reason I chose this text. Let me read verse 6 for you…

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here,

 Those who have “caused trouble all over the world”… have now come here.

That translation from the NIV is my least favorite. Here are a few other translations of that verse that help to capture what was being said…

These men who have upset the world have come here also; (NASB)

 These people are out to destroy the world, and now they’ve shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! (The Message)

 Here’s my favorite…

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, (ESV and KJV)

 What were they referring to? How could this little insignificant group of people do anything to the mighty Roman Empire? They weren’t even armed. Or were they?

They were indeed. They were armed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul tells us, is the power of God for the salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. And everywhere that disciples of Jesus Christ went throughout the Roman Empire, both Jews and Gentiles were being transformed into new creatures in Christ. Their lives were changing. Their values were becoming different. Their new beliefs were colliding with their old beliefs.

They were upsetting the established comfort zone. The kingdom of this world was being turned upside down with the message and order of a new kingdom.

Look at the second part of verse 7…

“They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”

 Do you see what their accusers were doing? The same charge that was brought against our Lord Jesus – namely treason against Caesar and the Empire – was now being leveled against Paul and Silas. They were accusing them of declaring that there was a new king, one called Jesus. They knew that was the way to get Rome’s attention.

Well, after the city officials decided that there was no reason to hold Jason and his companions, they basically made Jason promise that Paul wouldn’t preach anymore… or at least until they were out of office. Paul probably wasn’t happy about having to leave, but he seems to have honored Jason’s promise and left for a season. Of course we know from the two New Testament books, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, that Paul had an extended relationship with them. This doesn’t appear to be his only time there. That’s the first story I wanted to share with you.

We’ll take a look at Story #2 tomorrow.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Transforming the World: Reclaiming Our Methodist Legacy, Part 1

by Dale Tedder
Based on a sermon preached February 27, 2011

  On the very first page of our United Methodist Book of Discipline, we are reminded of the mission of the United Methodist Church. Our mission is…

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

 That’s why we’re here. That’s why Southside United Methodist Church exists. Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God and we do that by making disciples of his Son who will change the world with his Gospel.

Once again, I love the way our Discipline puts it. It says…

The local church provides the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs. It is a community of true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by persons divinely called and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the world.

 Amen! I love that mission and the language used to express it.

And who could argue that our world is presently in serious need of redemption? In Egypt, Iran, New Zealand, Libya, China, and in our country – just to name a few – we find overwhelming sin, devastation, unrest, brokenness, war, death, and more. The fallen, sinful, broken human condition is on display for all to see.

If ever the world-at-large needed faithful disciples of Jesus Christ to bring redemption, it’s now.

But it’s not just “over there,” is it? It’s here in our own backyard. It’s our own lives, our families, our workplaces, our local community. Every sphere of our lives needs the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why we’re called to make faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

I want to briefly share with you two stories. The first is about an incredibly tiny and seemingly insignificant group of people who began turning the greatest empire in the world (at that time) upside down with nothing more than the Gospel. The second story takes place about 1,700 years later. It involves another small group of people who, armed only with that same gospel, helped turn England upside down.

We’ll take a look at Story #1, next time.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Christ’s Call

Powerful!!! Sobering!!! Convicting!!!

from Gospel for Asia

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Truth and the Christian Worldview, Part 1

The following comes from a paper I wrote about fifteen years ago. While I would perhaps want to clean up a few things here and there, I still stand by the substance of it, which is why I’m posting it now.

I. Introduction

In February 1993, a short debate-dialogue was published in my denomination’s magazine for clergy. The debate essentially dealt with the subject of salvation as it relates to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Maxie Dunnam represented the exclusivist position while John Cobb defended the pluralist position. Though it was not a long and detailed debate, both participants raised a similar issue at the beginning of their articles. Dunnam began his argument by suggesting that the terms of the debate biased it before it even began. He said, “To call my position ‘exclusivist,’ and that of my discussion partner ‘inclusivist,’… is already to bias the debate (especially since inclusivity with respect to culture and race are so clearly Christian, and by contrast ‘exclusivity’ must clearly be rejected on Christian principles). Therefore, instead of addressing the emotionally charged issues such as intolerance, discrimination and other cultural pariah, Dunnam suggested that the debate ought to center on the issue of truth. He said, “Where truth is concerned, falsehood and error must be excluded, regardless of culture or race. Truth by its very nature must be exclusive.” Dunnam rightly pointed to the necessity of truth’s relationship to any discussion over salvation, and the propriety of steering clear of subjective feelings and cultural winds. Carl Henry had this idea in mind when he said, “Truth is Christianity’s most enduring asset. When all other things – the picketing and the protesting – pass away, it is the question of the truth of Christianity that will ultimately determine its endurance.” Even in John Cobb’s defense of pluralism, he echoed a similar theme at the beginning of his article. He suggested that the greatest strength of exclusivism is its clear rejection of “sentimental forms of pluralism, which assumes that all sincere beliefs are each the same in value for those who hold them.” The question that this paper attempts to answer is: What is the relationship between truth and the Christian worldview?

To that end, the purpose of this paper is to show that Christianity, as a revealed religion, is objectively true, regardless of the existence of competing worldviews. This purpose will be accomplished by first attempting to reveal that in the early history of the Christian faith, the church insisted that its faith was actually true, and not merely preferable or “what worked best.” Secondly, this paper will briefly describe how the collapse of truth’s centrality in our culture has made its way into the church. The third component of this paper will show that the very nature of Christianity requires that truth be an essential element. That will be followed by an analysis of what a proper understanding of truth is and how that truth might be tested. Finally, this paper will conclude by briefly describing the central tenants of the Christian worldview and illustrating how they provide the necessary foundation for Christianity’s claim to be the one true religion.

II. Truth, Pluralism and the Early Church

It seems as though Americans today believe that this age is the first time a pluralist society has existed. Furthermore, the conclusion drawn from this assumption is that truth-claims and exclusive appeals to one’s own faith are outdated and bigoted concepts. However, this modern-day chauvinism is grounded upon a false assumption. Alister McGrath points out that the “Christian proclamation has always taken place in a pluralist world, in competition with rival religious and intellectual convictions.” In fact, many books in both the Old and New Testaments were written as polemics against the competing religions that Israel and the early Christian community faced daily. McGrath comments:

“Ancient Israel was acutely aware that its faith was not shared by its neighbors. The existence of other religions was simply a fact of life for the Israelites. It caused them no great difficulties, in that they believed that theirs happened to be right, whereas others were wrong. The same pattern emerges in the New Testament. From the first days of its existence, Christianity has recognized the existence of other religions and the challenge they posed. …Christianity was born amid religious pluralism…”

The early church faced the lions, became burning torches in Nero’s garden, and other such fates, because they actually believed the truth of what they were proclaiming. Therefore, they proclaimed that the Christian message was true and rejected false teachings. David Wells asks:

“Why were [the early Christians] so adamant about the preservation, appropriation, and propagation of this doctrinally framed teaching? The answer is that it is the ‘truth’ (2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15; Tit. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Pet. 1:12; James 1:8; 3 John 4) It is only by coming to know this ‘truth’ that one comes to know God, for he can be known only through Christ who is the center and object of this teaching (Tit. 2:4; Heb. 10:26; 1 Pet. 1:22; cf. 2 Tim. 3:7).”

In The Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments, C.H. Dodd “showed in a convincing way that the apostolic preachers all followed a broadly accepted outline of key facts concerning the life and ministry of Jesus Christ when they presented the gospel to unbelievers.” Furthermore, this content-filled faith which proclaimed that Jesus Christ alone was the truth, was proclaimed “in the midst of a world that was more religiously diverse than any we have known in the West until relatively recently.” Is it not therefore arrogant to suppose that our modern-day culture is the first to deal with the issue of pluralism? It is important for Christians to maintain that “the faith once delivered” was a faith in what “really happened” in time-and-space history. It would be a destructive revision of history to suggest that early Christians were bringing to the world, a subjective philosophy or worldview based on what they “wished” had happened. “It would be a remarkable example of cultural chauvinism if we supposed that our faith about what really happened, shaped as it is by our cultural perspectives, must necessarily displace that of the immediate witnesses.” Yet on what basis can Christians proclaim that they have “truth to tell?” On what foundation can Christian truth-claims be made and defended?

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Truth and the Christian Worldview

Stand Firm,
Dale

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Being Salt, Part 2

From the series, Kingdom Discipleship: Faith for Every Sphere of Life
The following is taken from a sermon series I preached back in June, 2003.

Jesus calls us salt and light and commands that we go out and live as salt and light. Today we’re going to take a look at the first one – what does Jesus mean when he calls us the salt of the earth. Let’s look at verse 13:

Matthew 5:13 – “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

 “You are the salt of the earth.” What does that mean? Well, to understand what Jesus meant by salt we’re going to need to learn a little bit about salt in the first century. But first – notice something. Jesus said that we already are salt. He’s not telling us to go out and be something that we aren’t. We’re to go into the world and be who we already are.

This is familiar language in the Bible. We are holy, and we’re called in the Bible to be holy. Jesus tells us to go out and be who we are. Let those who see us in the world see who we are – may it reflect who Jesus tells us we are. That’s the point. Now, back to salt.

In the ancient world, salt was used primarily as a preservative. Since they obviously didn’t have deep-freeze refrigerators, the people used salt to preserve much of their food. That’s not a totally foreign concept for us today. There’s a traditional delicacy in South Africa known as “biltong” which are small thin strips of meat that have been salted and dried – maybe like our Beef Jerky I suppose. Long-distance travelers in past generations had carried biltong with them. In fact, it was so well preserved that it didn’t even need a “best-eaten-by” date.

The point is pretty clear here, don’t you think? We “get” what Jesus is saying. But the application is, as I said last week, radical and costly. What Jesus is basically saying is – that “apart from his disciples, the world turns ever more rotten.” It’s continually decaying without proper preservatives. Our influence on the world – the effect we’re to have on the world as salt – is that of delaying – of slowing down – the moral and spiritual disintegration. If our lives as his disciples conform to the Beatitudes in verses 3-12, then we can’t help but be an influence for good in our culture. Without the influence of the gospel, society will suffer moral decay and become putrid, unfit for the consumption of good men and women.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of Being Salt

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