A Church of Consistent Christianity

              

I think it is fair to call Ephesians the mountaintop of the New Testament.        

 This is one of Paul’s loftiest letters. What I just said is not intended to denigrate Paul’s other letters but to set Ephesians in place.  Here’s an analogy that might help. We can think of Galatians as “Christianity 101.”  Think of Romans as upper-level Christianity.  Think of Ephesians as graduate level Christianity.  Don’t misunderstand, I am not saying the new Christian should avoid Romans or Ephesians; but, if mastering Galatians is like learning to play the scale on the piano, mastering Ephesians is like learning to play a concerto. 

By the way, Paul’s authorship of the letter was not questioned until the eighteenth century.  I’ve examined the arguments and see no compelling reason for abandoning the traditional view.  So, I’ll be referring to Paul as the author.

      

      The letter was written somewhere between A.D. 61 and 66 when Paul was under house arrest in Rome.  A good number of scholars think it likely to have been written during the earlier years of that period.  It is one of “the prison epistles.”  Philippians and Colossians are the two other prison epistles.      

     

  Keep in mind: When we compare Ephesians with Paul’s other writings we notice that this letter is marked by some curious characteristics.    

      

--Ephesians does not seem to address any specific problems in the church.  First Corinthians and Galatians clearly address problems in those churches.  This is one reason some have suggested Ephesians was intended as a circular letter, a letter written to several churches in the region. 

    

--Ephesians used language that is seldom found in Paul’s earlier letters.  This suggests the letter may represent the fruition of Paul’s thought.  Still, Ephesians demonstrates continuity with and advancement of Paul’s prior teachings.  Nothing found in Ephesians contradicts anything found in Galatians.

 Keep in mind: Paul is writing to a congregation that is made up of both Jews and Gentiles.  But unlike similar congregations Paul has dealt with in Palestine, this may be one of the first to be predominantly Gentile.  This is why he will write so much about what God was doing in Jesus Christ.        

      

       What is Paul saying in this letter?  Here it is in a sentence:  Through Jesus Christ, a gracious God has created one new people to have fellowship with him and with each other as they live for him and work for him in the real world.

     

      As we explore Ephesians, we are going to find a wealth of material, ranging from hymns about predestination to warnings against drunkenness.

      

       It is a lofty book; it is a practical book.  I invite you to read with me Ephesians 1:1-2.

      

      

      

       Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God's holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.      

      

******

      

       Do you remember what the announcer called Tonto who traveled beside the Lone Ranger in all those radio and television adventures?  He was the masked man’s “Faithful Indian companion.”

                                                                                                                                                                    

       What do we call Yellowstone Park’s geyser that erupts with such regularity?  We call it “Old Faithful.”

      

       Do you remember the words of commendation Jesus is pictured as using when he speaks to those followers who had invested their lives serving him?  He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

     To be called “faithful” is one of the greatest compliments any Christian or church can receive.  When Paul called the Ephesian church “faithful,” he was commending them for their consistent Christianity.

In an age when complaints about hypocrisy still echo loudly whenever critics of the church gather, we need to pursue consistency in out life together and in our lives as individuals.

Our consistency in serving Christ is linked to the quality of our relationship with Christ.

      

       I

      

       WE MAY EXHIBIT CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY WHERE WE ARE

       

What kind of place was Ephesus early in the seventh decade of the first century?      

  --Ephesus was a proud, prosperous city.  It was known for its belief in the occult, particularly its worship of Artemis (the goddess of sexual drive; her temple dominated the city’s skyline).  Archaeologists have found hints suggesting some in the city worshiped a serpent-god. 

Add to this a reputation for materialism and political intrigue.  Acts reminds us that the worship of Artemis was one of the major source so revenue in the city.  Tourism was linked to her worship. But in the middle of the first century a threat to the dominance of Artemis appeared.

Here’s the story.

             Scarcely two decades after Pentecost, Christian preachers arrived in Asia Minor.  Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila arrived to bring the gospel to those living there.  As a result of their work a church was established. 

A second visit from Paul and Silas, a while later, led to a great revival and many more entered the church.

Because of their consistency in serving Christ, that church began to impact the society.  As has often happened, the Christians not only made friends, they made enemies.  A man named Demetrius led a riot to protest the loss of revenue caused by the Christians.  Here’s the story as Luke tells it in Acts 19.

   

23 At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord’s Way.[a] 24 A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money. 25 Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:

Friends, you know that we make a good living at this. 26 But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia. He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. 27 Everyone will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!

28 When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in a riot….

      

       In First Corinthians, Paul speaks of “fighting wild beasts” in Ephesus. That’s probably not to be taken literally; Paul is likely saying his opponents were, like wild beasts, out for his blood.  Being a Christian in Ephesus wasn’t easy. Remember that Paul was writing to the church from prison. So, this was a letter from one Christian in a tough place to other Christians in a tough place.

It wasn’t easy living for Christ under arrest in Rome.  It wasn’t easy living for Christ in Ephesus.  But both Paul and the Ephesian church lived lives consistent with their professions.  They lived faithfully. 

      

Most Western Christians have never known what it means to live as a religious minority.  The Ephesian Christians knew.

Reading stories like this raises important questions.  How much threat does today’s church pose?  Does it threaten the profits of the pornographer, the drug-dealer, the unfair business? 

Don’t miss my point.  In the past few months I’ve talked with people who were boycotting Walmart and talked with people who were boycotting Target.  The funny thing is, each would shop at the other believer’s boycotted store.  Such boycotts probably have a place—I’m not enough of an economist to know how effective they are.  But what happened in Ephesus wasn’t the result of a boycott organized by the church.  The threat to the business of people like Demetrius resulted from lives changed by the gospel.  Do we understand the importance of the gospel to the church’s effectiveness?

Just as important, do we understand that if men and women could live faithfully in Ephesus, we can live faithfully right here, right now?

      

       II

      

      

       WE MAY EXHIBIT CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY

      IF WE BUILD ON THE RIGHT FOUNDATION

      

      The capacity of the men and women in Ephesus to live as consistent Christians was rooted in their relationship with Christ.  They were “in Christ Jesus;” Paul used the phrase “in Christ” as a synonym for a Christian. The term speaks of a vital and vitalizing union with Christ.

       It’s crucial to understand, before you can live for Christ you must be “in Christ.”

      

The experience of natural birth puts you “in Ephesus” (or some other geographical locale where you may live.  Only the experience of spiritual birth puts you “in Christ.”  This is what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus, “"Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water [experience human birth] and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Back in the day, I was an avid reader of Superman comics.  The myth has been tweaked from time to time but here is the story as it was told then.  Kal-el, the infant who would become Superman, was born on Krypton.  It was a planet with a red sun.  Kryptonians were brilliant people but did not possess super powers.   Kal-el’s scientist parents, knowing their planet was about to explode, sent their infant off in a rocket designed to keep him alive until it could reach a planet where he could survive.  Earth’s yellow sun gave the infant Kryptonian the powers that make him Superman.

Now, here’s an analogy.  Unless you are “in Christ,” you are still in the old world. You have no power to live consistently for him. Being “in Christ” brings you into a new world where everything is different.

Being “in Christ” carries a further implication.  It means both to be in communion with Christ and in the communion of Christ.

No Christian can live in a spiritual vacuum with out vital contact with other believers.  The believer who refuses fellowship with others cannot expect to live consistently for Christ. In the same way, the church with an impaired fellowship cannot expect to make an impact on its “Ephesus.”

Are you having trouble living consistently where you are?  Are you trying to do it alone?  Do you need to get into a fellowship of those who are “faithful?”

      

      

       III

      

       WE MAY EXPECT CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY TO BEAR RECOGNIZABLE FRUIT

  Though Paul is going to elaborate, the marks of consistent Christianity are summed up in two words: “grace” and “peace.”

      

What does “grace” involve?

It implies a willingness to confess our sins and accept forgiveness.  We might ask, “Who doesn’t want to be treated graciously, who doesn’t want to be forgiven?”  Those who are unwilling to admit wrongdoing.  But until we are willing we bear a weight of guilt.  Grace frees us from that burden.

Grace also implies a conscious dependence upon Christ for spiritual empowerment.  We cannot live consistently without his power working through us.

      

      

      

       How does “peace” fit?

      

Peace is a consequence of our new relationship with God through Christ. We know inner security because we have accepted the grace God has given.  We have abandoned the notion of earning God’s favor and simply accepted his acceptance.

     

       Peace gives us security as we face the threatening world around us; we have peace because we know God’s preserving grace in our lives.

Be sure you are in Christ, then you will know the grace and peace that allows you to live consistently for him in this world.  Become part of a church that maintains a vital relationship with Christ, a church that lives consistently for him.

     

      

       Conclusion

      

      There is a darker side to the story of the Ephesian church.

The Book of Revelation, written some years after this epistle, contains a brief message to the church at Ephesus.

In the message, Jesus commends the Christians for many things—their doctrinal purity, their moral lifestyle, their perseverance in the face of persecution.

      But all is not well.  Here’s what he says:

                                                                                                                                                                    

”I have this against you: The love you had at first is gone.”

      

Something eroded away the quality of their relationship with Christ and, consequently, with each other.  That threatened their very existence as a church.

Consistency must be consistent.  The once faithful church was failing to be faithful in the richest sense of that term. It was a church that many might have admires but it has lost something priceless—love.

Maybe this is why once effective churches are no longer effective.  They are busily acting religious but their activity is driven by tradition.  It is not driven by love. They have no appeal. They are not making a difference. 

But Jesus told that church, just as he tells us, there is a way to come back.  We can remember, repent, and return. 

       

Standing Firm

Legend has it that Thomas, the so-called “Doubting Thomas,” carried the gospel of Jesus as far as India.  Whether that is fact or legend, we do know that Christianity came to India centuries ago; we also know that Indian Christians faced incredible challenges as they attempted to live for Christ.

Although about three percent of the Indian population belongs to some Christian church, there remains considerable hostility toward these followers of Christ.  Efforts are being made to strengthen anti-conversion laws that would make it difficult for Christians to carry out the evangelism mandate Jesus left behind in the Great Commission.

Paul Marshall in his survey of religious persecution in the modern world writes,

“In recent years the smaller Christian minority has…become a scapegoat for many of the ills prevailing in Indian society.  While Christians are generally regarded as peace loving, they are still perceived by Hindu nationalists to be loyal to a ‘foreign religion.’  Systematic antiminority propaganda, fueled by the hate speech of right-wing Hindu nationalists, has unleashed a recent campaign of terror against Christians…” 

As recently as 1999 saw Christian churches and homes burned by mobs.

Christians in India know that following Christ calls for faithfulness, calls for them to stand firm.

The truth is, of course, following Christ anywhere involves special challenges.  Among those challenges is the challenge to stand firm while serving as an example or model to others.  [Please Note:  This sermon was part of a deacon ordination service.  This explains the several references to deacons.]

Modeling what it means to follow Christ involves standing firm.  With that in mind, let’s look at this story from John 6:66-71.  What does it tell us?

The church continues to need those men and women who will stand firm for Christ in a time when it is increasingly unpopular to do so.

 This was a turning point in the story of Jesus.  Until this time he had been riding the crest of a wave of popular acceptance.  Many of the religious authorities, feeling their positions threatened, opposed Jesus but the people seemed to have felt he was bringing a fresh wind of hope and change.  Some even wondered if he might be the God-sent leader who would restore Israel to its former glory.

After hearing Jesus’ speech following the feeding of the 5,000, many of these people concluded they had been mistaken and had abandoned him.

With the departing crowd still in sight, Jesus turned to his closest disciples—The Twelve, to use the term which John first uses here—and asks if, they too, plan to leave.  The way Jesus structures his question seems to imply he expected them to give a negative answer, expected them to affirm their allegiance to him.

I don’t know why Jesus structured his question the way he did.  I doubt if he was merely playing a mind game, hinting at the answer he wanted.  Maybe this was his way of affirming that he saw a different quality in their commitment than was to be seen in those who had joined the cause because of a few miracles.

Still, the question was a challenge.  They could have announced their intentions to leave him, to look elsewhere.  Peer pressure is a powerful force.  Among those walking away from Jesus that morning may have been men and women they knew and respected.  Some of the disciples were from Capernaum; they may have even worshipped in the synagogue with some of those who were abandoning Jesus.  It might have been very tempting to join them when they said, “You know, I can agree when he says, ‘Love your neighbor’ or tells some of the Pharisees to repent, but I draw the line at that ‘Son of God’ talk.”

We live in an age when many openly mock Christian faith, suggesting that anyone who would believe its fundamentals has abandoned reason.  It’s tempting to want to be counted among the enlightened and educated.  Many have opted for that honor.  Others have abandoned the faith of their childhood, taking, instead, a watered down version of a sanitized Christianity.  To paraphrase Niebuhr, they embrace a God without wrath who brings men and women without sin into a Democracy without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.

At such times the church needs those who will stand firm for Christ in a time when it is increasingly unpopular to do so.

Peter, along with his fellow disciples, was such a person.  As sometimes happened in the other Gospels, Peter took the role of spokesperson and declared the group’s convictions about Jesus.  

“Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life,

and

we have believed,

and

have come to know that

You are the Holy One of God.”

In that statement, Peter became a model for those who stand firm for Christ in the face of opposition.

 He became a model for the kind of person the church always needs to have. 

The Church Always Needs Those Who Will Faithfully Affirm the Character of Jesus’ Words and Work.

Peter said, “…You have the words of eternal life….” That statement was an acknowledgement that Jesus’ words possessed an eternal significance.  How we respond to his words determine whether or not we will participate in the eternal life God offers. 

What Peter had to say was no more politically correct in his day than it is in ours.  You see, the force of Peter’s words is such that they imply that Jesus alone offers such teachings.  One modern translation captures this, "Lord, to whom we would go? You alone have the words that give eternal life.”

What got the first Christians into trouble, especially in the Roman world, was not their affirming that faith in Jesus could bring them eternal life.  It was their affirmation that eternal life could be found no other way.  The Roman religious philosophy was basically “the more the merrier.”  They didn’t care what the peoples they conquered believed so they generally left local religions alone.   They simply asked the locals to add the emperor to their list of gods.  (Special laws regarding the Jews only show the expediency of their policy.)  In other words, they were saying, “Practice whatever faith makes you comfortable but keep in mind that the State is the real Savior.”

The Christian position was found in its earliest creed, “Jesus is Lord.”  Those words not only affirmed their belief that Jesus was God in the flesh; they affirmed their conviction that Jesus alone was to be worshipped and trusted as Savior. 

It wasn’t easy for them to hold onto that position, it isn’t easy for us.  The earliest gospel preachers sometimes took the road that began with acknowledging that their listeners possessed a commendable spiritual hunger; then, that road became more difficult as they pointed out that spiritual hunger, however commendable, could not satisfy if they did not come to the Bread of Life. 

Those who speak on behalf of Christianity today have to walk the same road, the road of respectful confrontation.  If we really believe Jesus has the words which will lead to eternal life, we will stand firm in proclaiming those words to a world which so much needs to hear them.

Admittedly, some bringing the gospel to another culture made mistakes.  They sometimes equated wearing western style clothing with being “Christian” but that has largely changed.  Like Patrick of Ireland, they realize Christ saves people within a culture, not necessarily from a culture.  The message that “Jesus is Lord” remains unchanged but the messengers depend upon the Spirit to shape the expression of that message from culture to culture.

The Church Always Needs Those Who Will Faithfully Affirm the Identity of Jesus.

Peter’s response to Jesus doesn’t end with his affirmation about Jesus’ words.  He goes on to make a key statement about the identity of Jesus. 

 Peter uses the pronoun “we” in his statement, reminding us that he was not alone in his opinion.  I can imagine the disciples talking while sitting around a fire, perhaps when Jesus was absent on one of his periodic times of concerted prayer.  The conversation turns to Jesus.  Who was He?  Oh, they knew he was supposedly the son of a carpenter in Nazareth but that didn’t explain all they had seen.  Perhaps those who had been followers of John the Baptist repeated what he had said about Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God.”  Perhaps those well-versed in the Old Testament prophecies pointed out how much he resembled the long-awaited Messiah.  Others, the pragmatic among them, may have argued that the miracles were evidence that Jesus was no ordinary teacher.  I’m sure some of them must have prayed for insight.

In any case, they wrestled with the evidence and came to a significant conclusion about Jesus.  Peter’s second affirmation expresses that conclusion:  “We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

The words imply that this is no hasty conclusion.  Their belief is the product of reflection and careful consideration. 

Yes, they would waver after the crucifixion but the Resurrection soon revived their conviction. 

I believe the church must make a special effort to make known the biblical picture of Jesus Christ.  We live in an age that would reduce him to a mere teacher, a shaman, or a traveling magician/healer.  As such, his voice becomes just one of a thousand others clamoring for our attention.  The biblical portrait of Christ must be central to our preaching and teaching.

This is because the message of what he has done is so closely related to the message of who he is.

Meeting the Challenge to Stand Firm

How should a church respond to the challenge to stand firm for Christ, affirming the character of his words and his identity?  One way is to find individuals who are willing to model what it means to stand firm.

This morning we are going to be ordaining a deacon.   To some degree, the act of ordination sets deacons apart but, in another sense, the language used to describe deacons reminds us that they are to be examples of traits and behavior every Christian should exhibit.  If only deacons were “sincere,” sober, honest, faithful to their marriage vows, or good parents to their children, the average congregation would be a pretty bleak place.

Those traits describing deacons come from Paul’s First Letter to Timothy.  He adds another trait we sometimes pass over in our discussions.  He says that deacons are to “keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.”   In part, Paul is saying deacons—like all Christians—must stand firm in upholding the fundamental truths of Christianity but that deacons ought to be at the forefront in making such affirmations.

Certainly the Bible’s teachings about Jesus’ identity and what he has done for us are among those fundamental truths.

In our church, the deacon ministry usually focuses on caring for individuals and families, especially as they face spiritual, emotional, or physical crises.  Yet, the time may come when we will look to them to help us stand firm for the truth of Christ’s Person and Work. 

Pray that our deacons might be faithful in the face of that challenge for all they may do to bring comfort to those facing difficulties is based on who Christ is and what he has done for us.

Pray especially for this brother as he joins our other deacons in serving our church.  Pray that his ministry might be effective, carried out in Christlike love.  [I’ll add a couple l notes at this point.  The church was ordaining a man who was from India; his family had been Christian for several generations. His family had moved to America a few years before and had begun attending our church.  This explains why I made reference to Indian Christians at the beginning of the sermon.  On a further note, my book The Place Accorded of Old (available through Amazon) gives further details about the Biblical view of deacons and explains why I believe both men and women may serve in the role.]

And, remember, as this brother makes himself available to serve as a deacon, his willingness to serve is a reminder that Christ would have each of us make ourselves available to serve the church, even if that service involves taking a stand for Christ in an age when it is unpopular to do so.