AAEVS - Putting Together a Christ-centered Community (Part 6)

(I am in no way skipping over Spiritual Warfare or the Spiritual Disciplines. I'm just saving them for last.)

 

Physical Welfare

The Apostle John told Gaius in 3 John 2, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." No, John is no prosperity gospel preacher. He did not ignore the trials and persecutions that godly men and women will face. (Matthew 5:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:12; James 1:2-4) But there is a sense in which godly believers who are faithful to their calling ought to be abounding in their health and wealth; so that being blessed in those areas, they may be able to offer themselves and their wealth in service to Christ and to others more effectively.

"But it's the spiritual things that matter." You may say. Indeed Paul told Timothy, "...exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (1 Tim 4:7b-8) But Paul did not contradict John; he did not brush off, like a Gnostic, physical well-being and exercise as wasteful. He simply prioritized training for our Kingdom Potential over worldly training for worldly glory. And if you notice in John's prayer, he implied that our souls should be in good order before God gives us physical prosperity. So we are not neglecting our spiritual pursuits when we add physical things to the equation.

In a community setting, we should share our joy and sorrow. "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." (Romans 12:15) This involves deep empathy and emotional investment into the physical and spiritual well-being of others, with the mortification of stoicism. Jesus set the perfect example when He was with the returned seventy (Luke 10:17-24) and when He was at Lazarus' tomb. (John 11:33-36) Putting this into practice will require the crucifixion of self-centerness and unnecessary busyness.

I don't think much needs to be said about applications. Other than that we need to mingle diligence and stewardship with our discussions of our well-being.

Christian Justice

 

That is, justice administered in the church. "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" (1 Cor 6:1-2)

Now Paul is not saying that the secular courts were unnecessary; God uses them to punish fraud and theft. (Romans 13:1-7) But they were not made to settle the disputes between individuals over offenses; the church has received that responsibility. This is entrusted to us because of the judgment of the world which was prophesied in Daniel 7:22, "Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." Paul says that since God empowers us to judge the world in His Kingdom, He gives us wisdom to handle the smaller legal cases that the brethren are engaging with themselves.

Let's illustrate a case study of what this might look like in our day. Suppose Brother Earl drove in our parking lot and swerved into Brother Larry's car, smashing the bumper off of it. The car will have to be totaled, costing Bro. Larry $3,500 to replace the vehicle. Our pastors advise Bro. Larry to not sue Bro. Earl in court but take it to the church. The case complicates matters for a business meeting so the church decides to do a formal court case where they evaluate the situation and decide the verdict.  

Bro. Larry claims that Bro. Earl was fully aware where he was going and slammed the car on purpose in anger. (Larry had insulted Earl's masculinity just two days before the incident) Bro. Earl claims that he was distracted and was not paying attention; moreover he inserts that he forgave Larry for the insult and was not motivated by revenge. Bro. Earl is hypothetically not our church's favorite member. He is a liberal who sees the conservative side of things and believes in the sovereignty of God over salvation, but still not fully convinced on every point. Bro. Larry is known to be one who is opinionated on various matters and has been very rough in his conversations with people, but he sees eye-to-eye with most of the elders' positions and is a faithful attendee.

How do we judge such a case? First we must judge from God's good, holy, and righteous law. We must glean from it the attributes of godly judges and know how to judge righteously. For example, judges cannot take bribes. If Bro. Larry or Bro. Earl say, "If you rule on my behalf, I will put more zeros on my donations;" we must say, "No, we will do this the right way, God's way."

Suffice to say, this will require a deep study of the law and wisdom of God. As our church grows in number, we ought to be thinking about how to deal with serious conflicts that may arise in the future.

 Questions:

 

 1. How do we glorify God in our daily care of our bodies without being idolatrous or wasteful of our time?

2. How do we use our health and wealth in service to God and others?

3. What does it look like to share our joy and sorrow?

4. Looking at our case study, what structure should the church use to handle the situation?
a.  What would it look like?

5. Imagine the case in its entirety with your own details. How should the church resolve the matter between these hypothetical brothers?

6. What principles from Scripture should be exemplified within us in cases like this?

7. Christian Justice can expand to local matters such as political and cultural decisions, how should the local church handle such matters?