What the Local Church Provides for the Believer, Part 2: Fellowship

After a very long hiatus, here is the next part of my paper on the church.

The next practical necessity for a believer to grow spiritually is fellowship with other believers. Turning again to the example of the first believers in Acts 2 This is perhaps one of the most wonderful things about aligning with a local body of believers. But what is the basis for fellowship? Is it a common race, or a common interest? No! Rather, it is the new life we have been given in Christ when we were born again, with new desires and a new drive to please God. In this we can share sweet fellowship with people who may be our polar opposites or even former enemies, just as we have fellowship with God who reconciled us through Christ to Himself when were His enemies. It is this fellowship which we have in Christ that is the ultimate basis for our fellowship with other believers. John MacArthur writes: 

Anybody in fellowship with Jesus Christ is also in fellowship with anybody else in fellowship with Jesus Christ. This is our common ground. It is not social, economic, intellectual, cosmetic, or anything else superficial. Our common ground is that which is pulsing through the life of every Christian--the heartbeat of God (Whitney 149).

It is important here to distinguish fellowship from socializing. Fellowship is when we move past

the commonalities of everyday life in this world to speak of spiritual things, to talk about the 

things of God, perhaps discussing a matter of theology or even praying for one another. This 

fellowship is a means by which God richly blesses the life of a believer, giving him a unique joy 

and stirring up within him a love for his brothers and sisters in Christ. This fellowship which he 

shares with his brethren leads him into deeper fellowship with his Lord, building him up in

Christ.

A Window into Depravity

Throughout history, you can readily find examples which illustrate the absolute depravity of the human heart. The most obvious examples are Hitler, Nero, and many other genocidal world leaders. But in England the last several days, there have been loosely connected incidents which, though they may not have resulted in the number of deaths that the aforementioned examples have, are still a stark picture of the depravity of the human heart. What started as a peaceful protest on Saturday escalated into mindless violence and looting which continues to plague England even now. The culprits, who range in age but are mostly younger people, have been looting and burning down shops as well as attacking police and burning cars. The reason? As one young woman put it, “showing the police we can do what we want.” The same person at the time of the interview was drinking and recounting a night of fun when she and many others did what they wanted with no regard for anyone else. Many, including the rioters and looters themselves, are attempting to shift blame to others, like society or the government. To be sure, there is some blame to be laid on a culture and government that promotes a kind of moral relativism. Some blame must be assigned to the culture of entitlement that these kids have been immersed in. But, ultimately, Christians know that the real reason for this debacle lies in the heart. To put it simply, these youths did what they did because they wanted what they wanted. They looted because they wanted the stuff. They burned because they wanted the thrill of destruction. And the havoc that they wreaked because they blindly followed the desires of their hearts is staggering to see. But though the doctrine of total depravity is graphically illustrated by these events, this must not be an occasion where we marvel at the destruction and lack of inhibition that those involved display, but rather when we turn inward and see our own hearts, how we so often blindly follow them into sin. I know personally that “there but for the grace of God go I.” Do not mistake me, it is right to read about this and be angry, especially when you read about the violence done to anyone who got in the way of the wanton destruction. But it is also an occasion to be saddened by the darkness that so pervades the culture in Great Britain, all of Europe, and increasingly in America. It is an occasion to pray for missionaries to go into this darkness with the light of the gospel, and to pray for the youth in America who are growing up with some of the same attitudes that these British youth are. Total depravity is not just a doctrine formulated in the 17th century with no value for today. It is real, and is seen everywhere in the world. But that is why we need a Savior! We are all more depraved than we know, but if we are believers, then we put no confidence in our depraved flesh, instead putting it in a great Savior.

References:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/08/09/scott-stinson-if-the-london-rioters-were-protestors-they-wouldnt-look-so-gleeful/

Another helpful article from someone in England:
http://oakhill.ac.uk/commentary/11_summer/looters_them_or_us.html

How Free is Free?

As Memorial Day draws to a close, we would do well to consider just what kind of freedom the men who have served and died for our country have bought us, so as to honor them as we use it. In America, does one have the freedom to do whatever he or she wants? If you think so, just try to steal a car or something else of just about any value. If caught, you will be prosecuted and your freedom taken away. So we don't have the freedom to steal other people's property without paying for it. It is the same with murder, as well as small things like traffic laws. So our freedom is not total, we cannot do whatsoever we please at the expense of others. Our freedom is not lawlessness, it is regulated. But history and common sense tell us that this is the best kind of freedom, one that is regulated for the good of the society. Lawlessness is a bondage in and of itself. It is the same with the believer's freedom in Christ. But the Bible tells us that we are slaves to Christ, you may say, how can we also be free? The Bible speaks of both, and both are true. In a sense, slavery to Christ is freedom. Think about it, going back to the example of the civil law. Are Americans free? Yes. Are we under law? Yes. They are not contradictory. So it is with the Christian and Christ. Are we free? Yes, from the law of sin and death (Romans 7:2). Are we under law? Yes, the law of Christ found in His Word. Paul had to deal with this in many places in Scripture. After speaking of the free grace of God, Paul often had to deal with the question: "Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?" To which he replied in the strongest vernacular, literally: "God forbid!" We are recipients of the free grace of God, but we must not use this as an excuse for lawlessness. Peter says it well in 1 Peter 2:16: "Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God." So then, the Christian is free, but not lawless. Christ did not die so that believers could continue to live for themselves, but for Him, and that means being obedient to His Word as a loyal and joyful slave. So as we remember the price that American men through the years have paid to make us free to exercise our freedom within the confines of the civil law, let us also meditate on the free grace of Christ that frees us from the tyranny of sin and frees us to obey Him as joyful slaves!

A lowly fellow slave of Christ,

Alex

Poem on Mortification

This is an allegorical poem that I wrote for Literature. It tells a story that every true Christian can relate to. Read these verses before you read the post so you can better understand it: Proverbs 5:3-5, 7:24-27; Matthew 5:29-30; Romans 8:12-13; Colossians 3:5-7; Psalm 19:8-10

The Friendly Foe

By Alex Long

The path I trod was straight and narrow.

I knew the prize that lay at the end,

But fatigue had begun to drive it from me.

Suddenly there stood before me a beautiful woman,

Whose lips dripped honey as she spoke,

Enticing me to come away with her

To a place of rest and pleasure.

So enraptured was my weary heart,

That little resistance did I make,

And no sooner had I followed,

Than the harlot led me to a palace.

A place like this I had never seen,

Where all my desires and lusts,

Could all be satisfied in one place.

Rich meat there was, and pleasures abundant,

And I saturated myself until

I could no longer endure,

And falling on the rich pillows

Sank into deep drugged slumber.

Fitful sleep was mine that night,

Until with a start I awoke.

To my horror, I sat in a dank cell

Surrounded by rotting corpses.

“Surely,” thought I, in disturbed wonder

“These were also the harlot’s victims.”

“How I had been the fool!”

“A wise man had warned me of her

In the Scroll that was my guide,

But I did not listen. Woe is me!”

“Surely I cannot escape from this place!”

Despairing, I remembered the words written

In the Scroll by the father of that wise man

When he spoke of a similar plight:

“He drew me up from the pit of destruction.”

I knew that the deliverer he spoke of

And He who had given to me the Scroll

Were one and the same, And He

Had turned me again to it when in direst need.

As I cried out to Him, my shackles, though iron,

Were cut like twine, and the thick doors of the dungeon

Were thrown open like a screen door.

Fleeing into the light, I raced toward the path,

Remembering the admonition of the Scroll to

“Flee also youthful lusts,”

But as I approached the path the harlot appeared.

My eyes were opened , though, and she appeared

Now as a serpent, dripping venom instead of honey.

Filled with disgust and loathing, I unsheathed the Scroll

And slew with merciless brutality the serpent,

But in the process lost one of my hands.

But that was of no consequence now,

I knew it would be restored on that Day

When battles would cease and rest ensue.

As I walked, the thought came to me:

“What will replace the pleasures that sin gave?”

It was then I remembered the words of the Scroll

In which it was described as “sweeter than honey

From the comb,” and taking it I ate and was satisfied,

And went on my way rejoicing.