The Theme of Murder in Scripture, For Example

Looking again at murder, (or the killing of human life in general) what theme do we see? Well, if you see what I see, God has created humanity in His likeness and called it good. But sin entered into world, followed by death, marring justice and introducing murder into the human race. To His chosen people, God gave His holy and just law on Mount Sinai, condemning murder yet giving war and self-defense as a means of protecting human life.

Various Posts from the 2013 GCC Bible Reading

This last year, some of us read through the whole Bible in an online community setting. Unfortunately, not too many people participated on Faithlife as I had hoped. But we did have some good discussion, and I'm putting most of it on here so it won't get lost. Here's several questions and observations that I initiated:

Luke: "What do you think the phrase referring to Enoch "and he was not" means?"

>Ryan: "As near as I can tell, looks like that phrase is implied from the Hebrew word "Laqach," which means, basically, "to take." That word is translated "taken" in 2 Kings 2:10, right before Elijah is miraculously taken up in the flaming chariot. In Heb. 11:5, Paul makes clear that Enoch also had a similar experience. So, I think "he was not" likely means what Hebrews 11 shows – that Enoch "was not found" among the living."

>Mike: "I think Brother Ryan answered well. Dispensationalists use this as an example of what they believe will happen on a mass scale at the rapture--millions of Christians will simply go missing. Others will be left behind."

AAEVS - The Assurance behind Evangelism

“We proclaim that His victory will be complete when the nations bow before Him and every sphere of life demonstrates His Lordship. This will happen before the resurrection of our physical bodies. We desire to evangelize with this assurance of success, an assurance based on Jesus’ statement of His possession of all authority and His continued presence with us.” Evangelism Paragraph 2f-h

"And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~ Matthew 28:17-20

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

Here we are at the final section of this series, at the encouragements that God gives to His soldiers in the faith. We have discussed the mission and the means to fulfill it, but why should we care? What motivates us to leave our comfortable living for possibly long millennia of sacrificial evangelism and discipleship? The reason why is because of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His Resurrection was the future of the whole creation made manifest in the Anno Domini and the hope of the Christian proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In His Great Commission and in His Scriptures, Jesus gave us exceeding great and precious promises regarding His successful reign at the right hand of the Majesty on high, offering us numerous encouragements throughout the entire sacred canon of Scriptures.

AAEVS - The Mission of Evangelism (Part 2)

First, we have a vision: what is our goal and how do we go about pursuing it? Jesus our Lord put it into perspective when He taught us to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Our goal then is to provoke people in every land to revere the holy name of God in repentance and discipleship, that God would be all in all. How do we embark on this quest? By making a commitment to make manifest the victory of Christ in our lives and in our world. We do this by remembering the second half of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." We seek the provision of God, His forgiveness and our forgiveness of others, and His protection from the wiles of the devil.

Second, we have an aim: what are we trying to accomplish and how do we get there? We have from the Great Commission our calling, to teach and baptize nations. We aim that they would share and enjoy our fellowship with the triune God and with one another. We wish that they would rejoice in the doctrines of grace, the principles of the Protestant Reformation, and most importantly the mysteries of the gospel of Christ. We start by seeking the establishment of churches that love Jesus Christ and worship Him in spirit and in truth; then we seek to teach them in the Scriptures from which thirsty and hungry souls are nourished by the Holy Spirit.

AAEVS - The Mission of Evangelism (Part 1)

“Our vision is to be a church dedicated to the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world. Our aim is to make disciples of the nations and establish worshipping communities like our own. Our evangelism is joyous proclamation: we announce the victory of Christ over His enemies and the rescue of His people. By this means, we seek to bring every area of life under the Lordship of Christ.” ~ Evangelism Paragraph 2a-e

"For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;" ~ 1 Thessalonians 1:8-9

"All of Christ for All of Life for All of the World" ~ Motto of Canon Press

Now we arrive to the last article of the Elders' Vision Statement. First, we talked about the centrality and warfare of the Kingdom; second, we talked about the attributes and systems of a church community; third, we talked about the importance and expression of worship; in this section and the next, we will go over the mission and assurance of evangelism.

If we're honest, we don't evangelize as we like; we are caught up daily in our own worries and complaints that we ignore the global vision of the Kingdom of Christ in our community and in the world at large. We know we ought to be salt and light, but we are afraid of what the people around us would think of us; we know that God says that the fear of what people think of us is a trap, but we fear the loss of our privacy and dignity from our peers. Nevertheless, it seems the reason why we don't evangelize much is because we lack a passion for evangelism.

AAEVS - Having a Long-Term Commitment to be Faithful

"Our vision is multi-generational. We realize that the advancement of God’s kingdom is a long-term process, therefore we desire to be examples of faithfulness that future generations would desire to follow." ~ Community Paragraph 3g-h

"His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." ~ Matthew 25:23

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" ~ Deuteronomy 7:9

Here we come to the last portion of the Elders' Vision on Community, which is focused on the long-term perspective of the Kingdom and how we contribute to it. Looking at where we are right now, it does not look like we as Christendom are close to consummating the Kingdom in our lifetime. It even looks like that we as a church are not going to be able to engage our community until the next generation arises up who are not comfort-centered and/or culturally-compromised. This can be discouraging and demoralizing to our enthusiasm. But God did not mean for us to complete the His work in the earth in ten to fifty years; He means for us to do what we can in advancing the Kingdom and leaving a godly legacy. Then when He calls us home into His heavenly presence, we will watch as Christ uses our legacy in history to transform the world. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

So what does a long-term advancement of God's Kingdom look like? It looks like believers being examples of faithfulness to the word of God. But what does it mean to be faithful?

AAEVS - Practicing Discipleship (Part 3)

Education

As parents are being saved by God's grace, the Lord brings children under their provision and instruction. The purpose is so that the children may challenge the cultural and political status quo and advance the Kingdom where the previous generation would not. (Psalm 127)

We see in Ephesians 6:4 that fathers are to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The Greek word for "nurture" is 'paideia' which basically means the cultural formation of children. The Kingdom has a culture with Christ and His word at its center. It has a set of ethics found in the Sermon on the Mount and other places in Scripture. It has accounts about how God works throughout history to redeem His people for His glory. It has a vision for the emancipation and restoration of creation from hopelessness and perversity of sin to joyful and beautiful holiness.

Christ: The Definition of a Life

From the Rebelution website:

http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2013/04/christ-the-definition-of-a-life/

How much are you willing to jettison in your heart for Christ to shine His glory in your homes, churches, and social groups? How much faith do you have in the promises of God concerning eternal righteousness, peace, and joy from the Holy Spirit?

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot

AAEVS - Our Focus and Our Strength (Part 2)

Seeing that we are dependent on His grace to advance the Kingdom in ourselves and the world around us, we must walk in the power of His Spirit. Which means we must submit as Joshua Harris puts it, “to the direction, agenda, values, and priorities of God’s Spirit, as illuminated through Scripture.” (Not Even A Hint, Page 56) So what is it like to be in the Kingdom according to the Spirit? Let’s expound a little upon Paul’s description of Kingdom Life in Romans 14:17,

Righteousness: Which is not our righteousness but Christ’s. We live out this righteousness through the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin and encouraging us to trust and obey gladly.

Peace: The Holy Spirit assures us that we are justified by His grace, having no condemnation. He tells us that God is in control of History, and that our Kingdom labor is not in vain.
    
Joy: The Spirit reminds us that since we are saved by grace and that Christ is victorious over His enemies, which will be recognized in the end, we should be full of joy.

AAEVS - Our Focus and Our Strength (Part 1)

"Our vision for the kingdom of God is not dependent, however, on us acting on our own. This kingdom is the project of the Almighty Lord. He has revealed to us that it will be overwhelmingly successful in history—in this church-age dispensation—and in human culture. God has ordained that it transform the world. We desire, therefore, to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that His power working through us will advance kingdom purposes." ~ The Kingdom of God Paragraph 3

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

"Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;/Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:/Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;/Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,/And He must win the battle." ~ A Mighty Fortress is Our God by Martin Luther

Here we are at the second section of the series on the Elders' Vision Statement. We've gone over the paragraph about having a Kingdom-oriented perspective by which we arrange our decisions and activities around. Since then, you may have thought of areas that we could put in subjection to Christ. Perhaps you are motivated to expand the Kingdom into every area of life. But a problem arises, there is sin present within us and within the pre-Christian world that opposes the work of Christ. That fact can make our Kingdom vision look rosy and unrealistic. If we are not careful, we could get discouraged to the point that we become hardened and stagnant. However, we can glean some things from this paragraph in the Elders' Vision; we cannot of ourselves fight our indwelling sin and the pre-Christian world, we must put our trust in God’s promises and call upon Him to aid us in our battles. We must let the Holy Spirit speak to us through His word and be our strength in our war against sin.

AAEVS - Prioritizing our Lives and Desires around the Kingdom

"Our vision is for our church to reflect the centrality of the kingdom in every area of life. We desire that our decisions and activities revolve around the fact that we are part of the kingdom God has established. We want to recognize that this kingdom is God’s instrument for His reclamation of the world. Therefore, we desire to be a church with a vision for Christ’s growing kingdom. We rejoice in the events that brought about the kingdom of God incarnation of Jesus Christ, His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to rule and reign at the right hand of the Father) and seek to be an active part of its growth, primarily through preaching the gospel." ~ The Kingdom of God Paragraph 2

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Corinthians 10:5

Here we come to the first of the series on "Analyzing and Applying the Elders' Vision Statement". Here I'll attempt to encourage you to take the challenge and privilege that our Elders have set before us. It is a challenge because we have to make changes, changes that push us out of our comfort zones, and constantly put to death our sinful natures that oppose the working of the Spirit. It is a privilege because we have the promises of God to assure us of the blessings we receive when we put these things into practice.

AAEVS - Introduction

Lord willing, I'm going to start a series of posts titled "Analyzing and Applying the Elders' Vision Statement" to give some ideas how we as a church could move in the path that our elders have set out for us. Hopefully it will be a blessing to you and an encouragement to pursue excellence.

They'll go in this order: (they will probably have different titles)

The Kingdom of God

• Prioritizing our Lives and Desires around the Kingdom
• Our Focus and Our Strength
• Seeking Fellowship with other Believers

Community

• Putting Together a Christ-seeking Community
• Practicing Discipleship
• Having a Long-term Commitment to Faithfulness

Worship

• The Importance of Worship
• Preparing for Worship
• Expressing our Worship

Evangelism

• Expanding the Kingdom with Joy
• The Eschatology of Evangelism