Confidence is a funny thing. Not funny as in witty but funny as in peculiar. Semantically it’s got a range of meaning. Sometimes it’s a good thing and at other times it’s not. It all depends on the context. Spiritually speaking; self confidence is misplaced. It’s known as arrogance. And that’s bad. Jesus told a story to warn of the dangers of spiritual self confidence. It’s called the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It’s one of my favourites!
It was my privilege to speak to some of the pupils at Cranleigh School this last week, as part of their Lenten Addresses. It was essentially a school mission. This parable got more leverage than any other talk that I gave. I think that’s because it’s so unexpected. No one really thinks that God works like this. We assume that God makes friends with the religious types. But we may have taken for granted the wonderful surprise of the gospel.
Jesus told this parable because there will always be people confident of their own righteousness and therefore their own standing with God. He told a story about two men; one was an upstanding member of the community and the other was a disgrace. Both went to the Temple to pray. One returned home God’s friend and the other left as God’s enemy. But it wasn’t the way round that we’d expect. It was the man who’d made a mess of his life that walked away confident that God would accept him. Why is that?
It’s because there were three things that were true of the tax collector that were not true of the Pharisee.
1. He recognised his sin
The Pharisee thought much of his exemplary religious performance. Not so the tax collector. In his heart of hearts he knew that he’d lived life in God’s world without any reference to Him. He knew that he’d treated God with contemptuous disdain and so he couldn’t even approach him or even look up to the heavens. And he was right. In the same way, we need to recognise that we too are sinners. We’ll get nowhere in the Christian life until we own up to the fact that we have not lived the way that God would have us do. He’s not been number one in our lives. He’s not directed the way we live, the things we say and what we allow ourselves to think. Unless we admit this truth, Jesus Christ will never amount to much in our lives.
2. He relied on God’s mercy
The Pharisee prayed but didn’t think he needed anything. He was supremely self confident. Not so the tax collector. His plea was that God would not give him what he knew he deserved. What he deserved was God’s punishment for the way that he’d treated Him. But he threw himself at God’s mercy. In the same way, we need to rely on God’s mercy. But will we throw ourselves at His feet and rest on nothing else but His compassion. What other option do we have? How else do you propose we persuade God to overlook our sinful rejection of His rightful rule? Do you really want to rely on your good works? Do you really want to tell Jesus that he was wasting his time dying on the cross because you don’t need his help?
3. He returned home justified
The Pharisee left the temple God’s enemy. Not so the tax collector. He returned home justified. God decided to think of him ‘just as though he was Jesus’. That’s incredible. This sinful man who threw himself on the mercy of God was declared righteous. Every time God thought of him He thought he was morally perfect. Every time God looked at him He looked at someone pure and holy. He knew his life was a mess but God thought he was blameless. How? Is God stupid? No, but He is gracious. He gives us what we don’t deserve. And what we don’t deserve is Christ’s righteousness. But on the cross an exchange took place. Jesus took our unrighteousness and gave us his righteousness. God regarded Him as a sinner and punished him accordingly. God regards us as holy and treats us accordingly. When God thinks of us, even at the moment of our worst sin, He thinks of us as though we’re His perfect Son.
Conclusion
Jesus concludes his parable with these words, ‘For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted’ Luke 18:14. God will humiliate the arrogant but praise the humble. That’s the way it is. So what will you do? You’re of age; make up your own mind. How do you fancy your chances going down the merit route? Jesus says that there’s a better way; mercy. If we’re prepared to recognise we’re sinners and if we’re prepared to rely on God’s mercy then we can be confident that we’re God’s friend. Is that not the single best thing that you have ever heard in your whole life?
Friday, 6 March 2009
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Dear Friends - January
Dear Friends
Church has been cancelled. Not for ever; just February. And a bit of March as well. But why? What on earth could justify taking such a drastic step? Evangelism; that’s why! We’re so committed to helping enquirers get to grips with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that we’ll do what we can to get them to hear it. And so, as much as we love Sunday Evening Church, we’re prepared to suffer a bit of mild personal inconvenience just so that others might be able to join us.
Personally I’m very excited by the initiative to run Christianity Explored in place of Evening Church. The last time we did this, one of our elders got converted! What I mean is that one of our current elders, [who wasn’t an elder back then], came along on a Sunday evening, heard the gospel and was converted. Who knows what the Lord might decide to do this time? I’d love to see the same sorts of numbers of guests that came to the Bedford Carols at Christianity Explored, wouldn’t you?
I guess some of us might be asking, ‘what can I do to get ready for February 1st?’ Let me suggest that there are three ways that we can get involved so that we take part as a participant rather than simply as a spectator.
1. We can pray!
That great first century evangelist, the Apostle Paul, knew that the success of his missionary activity depended to a very great extent on the prayers of others. So in Colossians 4:2-4 he pleaded with his friends to pray. He wanted them to ask God to open the way for the gospel and to help him be clear in his explanation. He might have been in possession of the finest evangelistic course ever written and could have had the best gospel opportunities afforded to man. But that’s not enough. On their own that won’t produce a single conversion. He needed God to be behind his evangelistic endeavours. And so do we. Evangelism is ultimately God’s activity. He has chosen those whom He will save; we don’t know who they are. But He uses our prayers coupled with our evangelistic efforts to bring to saving faith those whom He has chosen. And so we’re partners with God in one of the most exciting responsibilities given to humanity. So lets’ pray; as a church, in our congregations, in our small groups, in our triplets and on our own. Let’s ask God to give His backing to our Christianity Explored project this year. In particular, why not think of two or three people whom you would love to invite so that they might follow Christ as you do. And pray for them every day.
2. We can pitch up!
The church remains the single best apologetic presence to challenge the sceptical assumptions of a secular world. In Matthew 5, Jesus said that we’re a city on a hill. And so it’s by looking at us and observing how we live that people will be drawn to the lifestyle with Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Christianity Explored provides a wonderful opportunity for our friends, colleagues and neighbours to come into the city of God, walk around and meet its inhabitants. They can chat to us, ask us questions about why we believe what we do and enter into lively debate about the big issues of life. But if we’re not there then they’ll assume the city is deserted and they’ll have no one to talk to. We’ll look like the Square Mile at the weekend! Of course, not everyone will be able to come every week. I imagine it’ll be problematic for some from the All Age Congregation to join us because someone’s got to bath the kids, do Bible story and put them to bed. But I suspect that some of us will be tempted to take a few weeks off. That’s human nature. The sinful bit! We need ‘all hands on deck’. There are lots of things that need doing even if none of our friends were willing to join us. And so, do come, I want my friends to meet my church family. Collectively we may not be that impressive but we are attractive. God has brought together a very ordinary group of people who love Him and love one another, and that’s powerfully persuasive to those who otherwise might normally be very dismissive of Christianity.
3. We can pull out all the stops!
In Matthew 25:26f Jesus berated the wicked slothful servant who’d done nothing with Jesus’ investment. He cast him out into the outer darkness to experience unparalleled torment. For my money this servant was a servant in name only. He showed what he thought of the Kingdom of God and its’ ruler, Jesus Christ in his refusal to do anything with Jesus’ investment in him. He went to hell because he didn’t belong to Jesus or believe the gospel. The Bible is clear that no genuine Christian is going to lose their salvation, so don’t panic. Our ungodliness will not undo the work of Christ in securing our salvation. But let’s not be functional unbelievers. Let’s not be guilty of doing nothing with the responsibility that Jesus has given to every single one of us to be using our resources, abilities and opportunities for the growth of the gospel. Of course none of us will go to hell for failing to bring anyone along to Christianity Explored. But imagine how wonderful it would be to hear from Jesus those words of affirmation and appreciation when he says, ‘well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’. So let’s really pull out all the stops. We may never have tried to invite anyone to church before but let’s get hold of an invitation, think about what we’re going to say, pray and then step out and see where God takes us. We may have had little success with our friends in recent months but let’s pray and give it a go once again. If we brought friends to Christmas events let’s see whether they want to follow up on that. Let’s invite everything that moves because the good news of adoption by the Father, forgiveness of sins through the Son and transformation of life through the Spirit is too good to keep to ourselves!
With best wishes in Christ
richard
Church has been cancelled. Not for ever; just February. And a bit of March as well. But why? What on earth could justify taking such a drastic step? Evangelism; that’s why! We’re so committed to helping enquirers get to grips with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that we’ll do what we can to get them to hear it. And so, as much as we love Sunday Evening Church, we’re prepared to suffer a bit of mild personal inconvenience just so that others might be able to join us.
Personally I’m very excited by the initiative to run Christianity Explored in place of Evening Church. The last time we did this, one of our elders got converted! What I mean is that one of our current elders, [who wasn’t an elder back then], came along on a Sunday evening, heard the gospel and was converted. Who knows what the Lord might decide to do this time? I’d love to see the same sorts of numbers of guests that came to the Bedford Carols at Christianity Explored, wouldn’t you?
I guess some of us might be asking, ‘what can I do to get ready for February 1st?’ Let me suggest that there are three ways that we can get involved so that we take part as a participant rather than simply as a spectator.
1. We can pray!
That great first century evangelist, the Apostle Paul, knew that the success of his missionary activity depended to a very great extent on the prayers of others. So in Colossians 4:2-4 he pleaded with his friends to pray. He wanted them to ask God to open the way for the gospel and to help him be clear in his explanation. He might have been in possession of the finest evangelistic course ever written and could have had the best gospel opportunities afforded to man. But that’s not enough. On their own that won’t produce a single conversion. He needed God to be behind his evangelistic endeavours. And so do we. Evangelism is ultimately God’s activity. He has chosen those whom He will save; we don’t know who they are. But He uses our prayers coupled with our evangelistic efforts to bring to saving faith those whom He has chosen. And so we’re partners with God in one of the most exciting responsibilities given to humanity. So lets’ pray; as a church, in our congregations, in our small groups, in our triplets and on our own. Let’s ask God to give His backing to our Christianity Explored project this year. In particular, why not think of two or three people whom you would love to invite so that they might follow Christ as you do. And pray for them every day.
2. We can pitch up!
The church remains the single best apologetic presence to challenge the sceptical assumptions of a secular world. In Matthew 5, Jesus said that we’re a city on a hill. And so it’s by looking at us and observing how we live that people will be drawn to the lifestyle with Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Christianity Explored provides a wonderful opportunity for our friends, colleagues and neighbours to come into the city of God, walk around and meet its inhabitants. They can chat to us, ask us questions about why we believe what we do and enter into lively debate about the big issues of life. But if we’re not there then they’ll assume the city is deserted and they’ll have no one to talk to. We’ll look like the Square Mile at the weekend! Of course, not everyone will be able to come every week. I imagine it’ll be problematic for some from the All Age Congregation to join us because someone’s got to bath the kids, do Bible story and put them to bed. But I suspect that some of us will be tempted to take a few weeks off. That’s human nature. The sinful bit! We need ‘all hands on deck’. There are lots of things that need doing even if none of our friends were willing to join us. And so, do come, I want my friends to meet my church family. Collectively we may not be that impressive but we are attractive. God has brought together a very ordinary group of people who love Him and love one another, and that’s powerfully persuasive to those who otherwise might normally be very dismissive of Christianity.
3. We can pull out all the stops!
In Matthew 25:26f Jesus berated the wicked slothful servant who’d done nothing with Jesus’ investment. He cast him out into the outer darkness to experience unparalleled torment. For my money this servant was a servant in name only. He showed what he thought of the Kingdom of God and its’ ruler, Jesus Christ in his refusal to do anything with Jesus’ investment in him. He went to hell because he didn’t belong to Jesus or believe the gospel. The Bible is clear that no genuine Christian is going to lose their salvation, so don’t panic. Our ungodliness will not undo the work of Christ in securing our salvation. But let’s not be functional unbelievers. Let’s not be guilty of doing nothing with the responsibility that Jesus has given to every single one of us to be using our resources, abilities and opportunities for the growth of the gospel. Of course none of us will go to hell for failing to bring anyone along to Christianity Explored. But imagine how wonderful it would be to hear from Jesus those words of affirmation and appreciation when he says, ‘well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’. So let’s really pull out all the stops. We may never have tried to invite anyone to church before but let’s get hold of an invitation, think about what we’re going to say, pray and then step out and see where God takes us. We may have had little success with our friends in recent months but let’s pray and give it a go once again. If we brought friends to Christmas events let’s see whether they want to follow up on that. Let’s invite everything that moves because the good news of adoption by the Father, forgiveness of sins through the Son and transformation of life through the Spirit is too good to keep to ourselves!
With best wishes in Christ
richard
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Advertising Christianity Explored
This is the text of the CE advert from last night's pub quiz. Feel free to cut and paste and use it with friends.
Christianity Explored is an informal course for people who would like to investigate Christianity, or just brush up on the basics. It explored who Jesus is, why he came and what it means to follow him.
I wanted to give you three irrefutable reasons to come. But I couldn't think of any. So let me give you three unanswerable questions to ponder!
1. what else is there to do?!
Sunday evening is dead time. It's an entertainment black hole. I chcked the schedule and the highlights are the Antiques Roadshow and Dancing on Ice. On the other hand CE promises to be an enjoyable and stimulating time of lively discussion. So prolong your weekend and come along.
2. What have you got to lose?!
The worst case scenario is that you come to the first one, decide it's rubbish and choose not to return. That's 90 minutes of your life you'll never get back again. That's about the length of a pants film and we've all made that mistake. We got over it! But this is a fabulous opportunity to investigate the single most influential individual in all of human history. And to do it by looking at one of the best preserved historical documents available to us. Most of us haven't done that as adults. But we can now.
3. What are you afraid of?!
No one's going to be manipulated or indoctrinated. We don't expect everyone to tow the party line. In all honesty if we all agreed it would be a pointless exercise. But this is a chance to chew over the big issues of life. All the bad bits of Christianity have been banished; the incoherent sermons, incomprehensible liturgy and ritual and the embarassing singing. This is Christianity stripepd bare so that we can consider it.
If you're keen to get to grips with who Jesus is, why he came and why he continues to be significant in a 21st Century world then come and join us.
Perks
Christianity Explored is an informal course for people who would like to investigate Christianity, or just brush up on the basics. It explored who Jesus is, why he came and what it means to follow him.
- You don't need to know anything about the Bible
- You won't be asked to read aloud, pray or sing
- You can ask any question you want
I wanted to give you three irrefutable reasons to come. But I couldn't think of any. So let me give you three unanswerable questions to ponder!
1. what else is there to do?!
Sunday evening is dead time. It's an entertainment black hole. I chcked the schedule and the highlights are the Antiques Roadshow and Dancing on Ice. On the other hand CE promises to be an enjoyable and stimulating time of lively discussion. So prolong your weekend and come along.
2. What have you got to lose?!
The worst case scenario is that you come to the first one, decide it's rubbish and choose not to return. That's 90 minutes of your life you'll never get back again. That's about the length of a pants film and we've all made that mistake. We got over it! But this is a fabulous opportunity to investigate the single most influential individual in all of human history. And to do it by looking at one of the best preserved historical documents available to us. Most of us haven't done that as adults. But we can now.
3. What are you afraid of?!
No one's going to be manipulated or indoctrinated. We don't expect everyone to tow the party line. In all honesty if we all agreed it would be a pointless exercise. But this is a chance to chew over the big issues of life. All the bad bits of Christianity have been banished; the incoherent sermons, incomprehensible liturgy and ritual and the embarassing singing. This is Christianity stripepd bare so that we can consider it.
If you're keen to get to grips with who Jesus is, why he came and why he continues to be significant in a 21st Century world then come and join us.
Perks
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Christianity Explored
CCB is so committed to helping enquirers get to grips with Jesus Christ that we've taken the decision to 'cancel' Sunday Evening Church and run Christianity Explored instead! Not for ever, just for six weeks. We start on February 1st.
Christianity Explored is a hugely popular course used by churches up and down the country. You can find out more about it here. It's my preferred course for helping people keen to investigate Christianity. Using Mark's gospel, it concentrates on who Jesus is and why he came. Those are two critical questions when exploring Christianity!
In the way we run the course, there are six sessions in total
1. What is Mark's Gospel?
2. Who is Jesus Christ?
3. Why did Jesus come?
4. Why did Jesus die?
5. What on earth is grace?
6. Why did Jesus rise?
Within each session there'll be time for the following things
1. a look at a passage in Mark's gospel
2. a talk from the front by Perks, Pete or Alex
3. a time for discussion and debate in small groups
4. a chance to hear from others with interviews
We'll meet in the hall around small tables. One of the Knowing God group leaders will host the discussion and keep things moving along, though we all have a responsibility to make others welcome. There'll be no congregational singing and no corporate prayer. This is an evening for non-regulars.
It may sound a little radical cancelling church. We're not really cancelling church, we're just making some concessions. But rest assured, this is something that we tried, with great success, a few years ago in Wimbledon. We found that the great strengths were as follows
1. We were able to provide the large group setting that produced a great atmosphere for stimulating discussion and also allowed people to enjoy a degree of anonymity.
2. We found that people were more enthusiastic about coming out on the weekend than giving up a weekday. After all, have you seen what's on TV at that time?!
3. We found that it was helpful to be doing this together. There was real benefit to meeting one another's friends so that they could discover that Christians weren't the unhinged, brain dead bigots that they'd anticipated! But the different areas of expertise and different perspectives people brought to the discussion meant that the group times were hugely productive.
4. We found that we got very excited about Jesus Christ and explaining his significance to others. And that's no bad thing!
We start on 1st February. What can you do? Four things.
1. pray for its success - ask God to bring enquirers along and to help them find answers to their questions
2. invite your friends - this is a fabulous opportunity for people we hold dear to investigate things a little further
3. pitch up regardless - we need 'all hands on deck' to make the evenings work, please don't take six weeks off from church!
4. read Mark's gospel - we'll be looking at this together over the six week period
Christianity Explored is a hugely popular course used by churches up and down the country. You can find out more about it here. It's my preferred course for helping people keen to investigate Christianity. Using Mark's gospel, it concentrates on who Jesus is and why he came. Those are two critical questions when exploring Christianity!
In the way we run the course, there are six sessions in total
1. What is Mark's Gospel?
2. Who is Jesus Christ?
3. Why did Jesus come?
4. Why did Jesus die?
5. What on earth is grace?
6. Why did Jesus rise?
Within each session there'll be time for the following things
1. a look at a passage in Mark's gospel
2. a talk from the front by Perks, Pete or Alex
3. a time for discussion and debate in small groups
4. a chance to hear from others with interviews
We'll meet in the hall around small tables. One of the Knowing God group leaders will host the discussion and keep things moving along, though we all have a responsibility to make others welcome. There'll be no congregational singing and no corporate prayer. This is an evening for non-regulars.
It may sound a little radical cancelling church. We're not really cancelling church, we're just making some concessions. But rest assured, this is something that we tried, with great success, a few years ago in Wimbledon. We found that the great strengths were as follows
1. We were able to provide the large group setting that produced a great atmosphere for stimulating discussion and also allowed people to enjoy a degree of anonymity.
2. We found that people were more enthusiastic about coming out on the weekend than giving up a weekday. After all, have you seen what's on TV at that time?!
3. We found that it was helpful to be doing this together. There was real benefit to meeting one another's friends so that they could discover that Christians weren't the unhinged, brain dead bigots that they'd anticipated! But the different areas of expertise and different perspectives people brought to the discussion meant that the group times were hugely productive.
4. We found that we got very excited about Jesus Christ and explaining his significance to others. And that's no bad thing!
We start on 1st February. What can you do? Four things.
1. pray for its success - ask God to bring enquirers along and to help them find answers to their questions
2. invite your friends - this is a fabulous opportunity for people we hold dear to investigate things a little further
3. pitch up regardless - we need 'all hands on deck' to make the evenings work, please don't take six weeks off from church!
4. read Mark's gospel - we'll be looking at this together over the six week period
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Christmas Pub Quiz
A great pub quiz needs the right ingredients, and last week's CCB Christmas Pub Quiz had all of them. It was a resounding success. Here's the tried and tested recipe:
A good atmosphere
People wanted to win, and that was before they saw there was a stack of DVDs in the offing. The Blithe Spirit on Balham High Road gave us their whole top floor and we had well over 100 people, and at least ten teams of church regulars and friends who'd come along for the night. One team came off the back of a flyer, vindicating the hard work put into telling Balham about what the church is up to over Christmas.
A solid quiz
If the questions are too hard or the topics are too boring, everyone heads to the bar and a quiz will die on its feet. But the boys at QuirkyMotion put in a great effort, as always. Segments included Name the Fish and Match The Historical Figure To How They Died, along with the traditional quick-fire rounds on General Knowledge, History, Christmas and Arty Farty. Despite what some die-hard sports fans might say, there was general acclaim at the lack of a Sports round, given its irrelevance to real life.
A purpose
Senior Pastor Richard Perkins got up to invite people to the carol service in the Bedford pub the following Sunday. The outline: come along to hear about why Jesus is important. If we hate Christmas, we'll find out what's good about it. And if we love Christmas, we'll find out why it's far better than we thought.
The quiz was a resounding success. Lots of people came; they had a great time; they heard a little bit about Jesus; and they were invited to hear the really important stuff about Him. It couldn't have been much better than that.
Phil Craig
A good atmosphere
People wanted to win, and that was before they saw there was a stack of DVDs in the offing. The Blithe Spirit on Balham High Road gave us their whole top floor and we had well over 100 people, and at least ten teams of church regulars and friends who'd come along for the night. One team came off the back of a flyer, vindicating the hard work put into telling Balham about what the church is up to over Christmas.
A solid quiz
If the questions are too hard or the topics are too boring, everyone heads to the bar and a quiz will die on its feet. But the boys at QuirkyMotion put in a great effort, as always. Segments included Name the Fish and Match The Historical Figure To How They Died, along with the traditional quick-fire rounds on General Knowledge, History, Christmas and Arty Farty. Despite what some die-hard sports fans might say, there was general acclaim at the lack of a Sports round, given its irrelevance to real life.
A purpose
Senior Pastor Richard Perkins got up to invite people to the carol service in the Bedford pub the following Sunday. The outline: come along to hear about why Jesus is important. If we hate Christmas, we'll find out what's good about it. And if we love Christmas, we'll find out why it's far better than we thought.
The quiz was a resounding success. Lots of people came; they had a great time; they heard a little bit about Jesus; and they were invited to hear the really important stuff about Him. It couldn't have been much better than that.
Phil Craig
Monday, 17 November 2008
Dear Friends - November
In the early 1990s a survey of expenditure revealed that Americans spent twice as much on cut flowers as on overseas ministry, twice as much on women’s tights, one and a half as much on video games, five times as much on pets, one and a half times as much on skin care, seven times as much on sweets, seventeen times as much on diet related products, twenty times as much on sports activities, twenty six times as much on soft drinks and 140 times as much on legalised gambling [C.L. Blomberg, Neither Poverty Nor Riches, Apollos, Leicester, 1999, p19].
It’s unbelievable isn’t it? Who’d have thought they spend that much on diets! I may also have found new ammunition for my argument that Christians shouldn’t own dogs! But I’m aware that I probably come undone on the sports category.
But I wonder what an analysis of our spending patterns would reveal. What do we do with our wealth? And what should we do with it? Given the current financial position of the church and the current economic climate you can understand why we need to address the issue of what we do with our wealth.
There are, I think, three broad principles to bear in mind.
1. We need to learn to be content
On the whole scripture has a positive view of wealth. It’s a covenant blessing that comes from God, often through the means of human effort (Deut 29:9, Job 1:21, Prov 10:4). The Apostle Paul reckons that if we’ve got food and clothing then we’re sorted (1 Tim 6). He doesn’t quite put it in those terms, but that’s his drift. What he does say is that ‘there’s great gain in godliness with contentment’. And he’s right on the money! If only we believed it. We’d then be liberated from our relentless pursuit of acquisitions that so often drives our working ambitions. The Bible also puts it the other way round when in the Ten Commandments God says ‘Do not covet’. Coveting things or experiences is the opposite of being content with what we have. We’ll never know what it is to be happy until we learn to be content with what we have. God would rather we live within our means than spend our time dissatisfied with what He’s given us. He’s given us what we need. If He thinks we need more then He’ll give us more. He isn’t sovereign for nothing! And so we ought to pray like the writer of Prov 30:8 who said, ‘give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God’. That sort of contentment is a rare and precious thing. And we need to learn it.
2. We need to learn to be thankful
Wealth is a gift from God and because of it we’re able to do so many things that our predecessors on this earth could only dream of. We have a more comfortable sofa, a better TV, a softer bed, a more permanent house, better transport, more interesting places to visit and so on. Compare our standard of living compared to that of our parents’ generation, and it’s astounding. It’s not simply that we’ve financed a life on easy credit and that they were more frugal than us, though there may be something in that. We live in wealthy times. And for that we ought to thank God. We’re immensely wealthy compared to people in former times and compared to people in other parts of the world. We have much to be thankful for. We ought to be overflowing in thankfulness for all the things that God has given us in this life. We should thank God for all the material blessings that we enjoy. We must never be ascetic. Scripture doesn’t condemn the use of our money for relaxation, entertainment or the consumption of luxuries. The denial of physical pleasures is demonic and so should be resisted at all costs.
3. We need to learn to be generous
One of the remarkable things that characterised the early church was their radical generosity and extravagant compassion (Acts 4). Paul tells us that one of the fruits of repentance is willingness to contribute to the needs of others (Eph 4). The wage we earn, the savings we’ve amassed, or the property that we own is simply part of God’s creation that He’s entrusted to us. It’s under our control but He expects us to use it responsibly. And one of the things He wants us to do with our wealth is give it away; to others, for their benefit. Phillip Jensen once told his congregation, ‘it’s about time we saw our abundant wealth as a resource for addressing needs rather than for increasingly enslaving our lives to the meaninglessness of materialism’ [P.D. Jensen, ‘A Reason to Work’, By God’s Word, (Kingsford, Matthias Media, 2007)] But how generous should we be? At one level it’s a crass question but for people new to the Christian faith it’s a reasonable question to ask. Churches sometimes encourage people to think in terms of the Old Testament tithe. Though it’s nowhere mandated by the New Testament it seems a sensible place to start. In the Law of Moses, God placed on His people the obligation of a 10% tithe. It’s not repeated in the New Testament though there’s loads of material on the subject of financial contribution. In passages like 2 Cor 9:7&8 the emphasis is on generous, voluntary and cheerful giving. It’s hard to believe that God had in mind that we’d lessen the response to His redemptive grace shown in Christ and so the tithe is the starting point. So what’s a good ball park figure to start off with? Let’s say 10% of our gross income [the one they promised to pay you when they hired you!].
Wouldn't it be a terrific thing if, with the wealth that God has given us, we were genuinely content, really thankful and sacrificially generous?
Other Credit Crunch articles here, here and here.
It’s unbelievable isn’t it? Who’d have thought they spend that much on diets! I may also have found new ammunition for my argument that Christians shouldn’t own dogs! But I’m aware that I probably come undone on the sports category.
But I wonder what an analysis of our spending patterns would reveal. What do we do with our wealth? And what should we do with it? Given the current financial position of the church and the current economic climate you can understand why we need to address the issue of what we do with our wealth.
There are, I think, three broad principles to bear in mind.
1. We need to learn to be content
On the whole scripture has a positive view of wealth. It’s a covenant blessing that comes from God, often through the means of human effort (Deut 29:9, Job 1:21, Prov 10:4). The Apostle Paul reckons that if we’ve got food and clothing then we’re sorted (1 Tim 6). He doesn’t quite put it in those terms, but that’s his drift. What he does say is that ‘there’s great gain in godliness with contentment’. And he’s right on the money! If only we believed it. We’d then be liberated from our relentless pursuit of acquisitions that so often drives our working ambitions. The Bible also puts it the other way round when in the Ten Commandments God says ‘Do not covet’. Coveting things or experiences is the opposite of being content with what we have. We’ll never know what it is to be happy until we learn to be content with what we have. God would rather we live within our means than spend our time dissatisfied with what He’s given us. He’s given us what we need. If He thinks we need more then He’ll give us more. He isn’t sovereign for nothing! And so we ought to pray like the writer of Prov 30:8 who said, ‘give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God’. That sort of contentment is a rare and precious thing. And we need to learn it.
2. We need to learn to be thankful
Wealth is a gift from God and because of it we’re able to do so many things that our predecessors on this earth could only dream of. We have a more comfortable sofa, a better TV, a softer bed, a more permanent house, better transport, more interesting places to visit and so on. Compare our standard of living compared to that of our parents’ generation, and it’s astounding. It’s not simply that we’ve financed a life on easy credit and that they were more frugal than us, though there may be something in that. We live in wealthy times. And for that we ought to thank God. We’re immensely wealthy compared to people in former times and compared to people in other parts of the world. We have much to be thankful for. We ought to be overflowing in thankfulness for all the things that God has given us in this life. We should thank God for all the material blessings that we enjoy. We must never be ascetic. Scripture doesn’t condemn the use of our money for relaxation, entertainment or the consumption of luxuries. The denial of physical pleasures is demonic and so should be resisted at all costs.
3. We need to learn to be generous
One of the remarkable things that characterised the early church was their radical generosity and extravagant compassion (Acts 4). Paul tells us that one of the fruits of repentance is willingness to contribute to the needs of others (Eph 4). The wage we earn, the savings we’ve amassed, or the property that we own is simply part of God’s creation that He’s entrusted to us. It’s under our control but He expects us to use it responsibly. And one of the things He wants us to do with our wealth is give it away; to others, for their benefit. Phillip Jensen once told his congregation, ‘it’s about time we saw our abundant wealth as a resource for addressing needs rather than for increasingly enslaving our lives to the meaninglessness of materialism’ [P.D. Jensen, ‘A Reason to Work’, By God’s Word, (Kingsford, Matthias Media, 2007)] But how generous should we be? At one level it’s a crass question but for people new to the Christian faith it’s a reasonable question to ask. Churches sometimes encourage people to think in terms of the Old Testament tithe. Though it’s nowhere mandated by the New Testament it seems a sensible place to start. In the Law of Moses, God placed on His people the obligation of a 10% tithe. It’s not repeated in the New Testament though there’s loads of material on the subject of financial contribution. In passages like 2 Cor 9:7&8 the emphasis is on generous, voluntary and cheerful giving. It’s hard to believe that God had in mind that we’d lessen the response to His redemptive grace shown in Christ and so the tithe is the starting point. So what’s a good ball park figure to start off with? Let’s say 10% of our gross income [the one they promised to pay you when they hired you!].
Wouldn't it be a terrific thing if, with the wealth that God has given us, we were genuinely content, really thankful and sacrificially generous?
Other Credit Crunch articles here, here and here.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Christmas Gift
For those of us able to contribute to the 1% Christmas Gift you'll find this an easy way to go about it.
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