I'm a christian - Chapter 4

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Chapter 4 Church History

            No study of Christianity would be complete without some discussion of the history of the church and specifically the denominational branch that you belong to. Much of what we know about the history of the church comes to us from the earliest of writers of the Gospels, writers of Roman histories like Josephus, and the continuation of the historical writings throughout the ages. It all begins in Jerusalem around the Common Era period between 27 AD and 33 AD. Why the discrepancy? When the current calendar was established there was an error that could have been as much as 6 years. So year 0 in the current Gregorian calendar may have been as much as 6 years off from the start. We will assume for the sake of this discussion that the crucifixion which marks the starting point for this discussion occurred somewhere between 30 AD and 33 AD. That would set the stage for the Pentecost story in Acts in the years between 30 AD and 33 AD. Some believe that the date may be earlier than that based on the original calendar error. All of this to confuse you and yet make sure you have the facts when someone wants to argue dates with you. What is important is that after the death of Jesus, the early Christian movement took place primarily around Jerusalem and spread quickly from that point. It was in Jerusalem that the original remaining disciples received the Holy Spirit and began a systematic creation of the church. Some scholars suggest that James rather than Peter was its head, with Peter focusing on evangelistic work. Regardless of what you believe in that category, the first real test of the church comes in 49 AD at the Council of Jerusalem when Paul and Peter argue for the rights of Gentiles to practice their faith without the encumbrance of the Jewish law. They were successful and we were born. We know that they created writings concerning the establishment of churches, worship, and baptism and this work was known as the Didache. This is the earliest record we have of early church. It was during this time period that the original movement, simply called, “The Way” became known as “Christianity”. Most of the early Christians would have simply called themselves “followers of Jesus” or “followers of Christ”. All of the Gospels and the Revelation of John were written by 70 AD. The early Christian movement spread throughout the known civilized world of the Mediterranean, including all of North Africa, Middle East and the Roman Empire. Around 150 AD the historian Justin describes the liturgical worship of the church; centered on the Table focused on the original Hebrew writings we now call the Old Testament and the New Gospels that were prevalent in his day. During this time, three groups dominate the landscape, the Jewish Christians who practice their Jewish traditions while following Christ, the Gentile Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus without Hebrew restrictions, and the Gnostics who believe Jesus to be magical in his divinity. But all Christians suffered the persecution of the ruling bodies of the world and many of the earliest Christians met their death proclaiming their faith.

The first major schism comes from the arguments between the Gnostics and the Christian followers. The Gnostics flourished in what are now Egypt, Ethiopia and the Middle East. Their belief was that the soul was “of God” and therefore what the body did or did not do was of little matter. Christians believed that the essence of who we are is the soul. That is a pretty simple and limited discussion of the difference but should suffice for this classes understanding.

            The next major event that occurs is the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. At that battle Emperor Constantine and Emperor Maxentius on October 28^th, 312 fought a decisive battle over control of the Roman Empire. Constantine reportedly received a vision of God of a cross in the sky. He then commanded all his troops to carry that cross on their armor. Constantine’s mother was a Christian or at least followed the Christian movement in Rome. Constantine would have been exposed to Christian thought from an early age. He is victorious and credits his victory to God. Shortly thereafter he decrees that Christianity is to be allowed and accepted and becomes the religion of political choice. This is a major decisive point in church history because at this point the church becomes associated with the ruling body of Rome, has credibility and power, and begins to grow a life of its own. In 325 AD the Council of Nicea meets to discuss the idea of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus. From these meetings we have the Nicene Creed as we recite it today and the churches doctrine of belief is established. But it was not an easy thing; it would take seven councils from 325 AD to 787 AD for the final draft to become doctrine. It is also during this period that the bible as we know it also comes to be.

The first great split comes in 1054 AD when the Orthodox Church argues whether or not we should be subject to the concept of Papal supremacy. This concept focused the power of the church on the supreme divine right of the Pope to speak for God in the world. From this point forward we have two churches in the world, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Regardless of argumentative authority, these two are the only ones who can legitimately claim to the first church. As a side note in history, the Crusades start in 1095 AD.

Since my focus is on the history of the church in summary, the next great event for the church comes in 1517 AD. Martin Luther, a catholic priest argues 95 points of disapproval over doctrine and practices of the Catholic Church. Writings indicate that he never intended to start a new path, rather to create change in the existing path. Regardless, his thesis sets off a furor in the world we now know as the Protestant Reformation. From this point we see several denominations appear. First the Lutherans split and they move away from the Roman Catholic Church in 1517 AD. The Reformed church appears in 1520 AD. The Anabaptist movement appears around 1525 AD and they become the present day Amish and Mennonite faiths and certain Baptist faiths. Then in 1529 Henry the VIII wants to divorce his present wife. She also happens to be the cousin of the current Pope causing the Pope to refuse his request. Henry the VIII responds by creating the Church of England with himself as the head. We know this church by several names, The Church of England, The Anglican Church or The Episcopal Church. I have included some of the more well known denominations in the appendix to this chapter. A discussion of the Methodist movement will be in the next chapter. From the earliest breaks, numerous schisms or splits have occurred in every denomination as well as reconciliations and mergers. Present day denominational churches all hold their origins to the Orthodox or Catholic movement in and around Rome during the 1^st through 7^th centuries.  

Questions:

1.    How does the history of the church help you understand the differences, similarities in denominations throughout the world?

2.    How does the story of the Milevan Bridge change your view of Constantine?

3.    Do you feel that Henry VIII’s decision created a relevant church?

4.    History shapes the traditions of the church. How does our history shape our traditions and how the world sees us?

Do you believe in miracles

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 12/11/16
Audio deviates significantly from manuscript

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^NRS  Acts 3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon. ² And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. ⁴ Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk." ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

There is a song with the line, “There can be miracles when you believe, though hope is frail, It’s hard to kill!” This morning I want to ask you the question, do you believe in miracles? When I was growing up I used to watch the Preachers on Television heal people and I thought that was awesome. Awesome that is, until I learned that most of it was staged and a hoax. And yet, we know that God has the awesome power to heal, to move mountains and to do miracles in the world around us. 

I heard a story some years back about a woman who found out she was pregnant. The doctors told her that the baby inside of her had serious medical challenges and might not make it to full term. Some people may have considered other options at that point. Her pastor prayed over her that following Sunday. She went to her next visit to the doctor full of anxiety and fear and left full of hope and surprise. The illness that had been diagnosed the prior visit was no longer evident. This special baby would be born healthy and routinely kept our church entertained on Sunday mornings during our worship hour. His name is Brandon.

The reason that I share these stories with you is not to pull at your emotions though that definitely is happening, but to give you real world examples of God at work in our world. We should not be surprised when miracles happen. In fact, we should expect them. In the first century, the Hebrew people were not surprised by miracles. In fact, they anticipated that they would be in the presence of a God who brought miraculous healing. They had the stories of God’s awesome presence in the flame and cloud that led their ancestors out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. We know from the stories of the Old Testament that God’s presence was both real and profound. After Jesus death, the Apostles went to many places and performed miraculous healings. So here we are some two thousand years later and the great many of us struggle to believe in miracles.

Our scripture today is about Peter and John going to worship. It is as simple as that isn’t it? They had continued to follow the teachings of Jesus. They continued to worship as they had been taught to do. And on this day they came to the temple prepared to worship. Did you come to this place and this hour prepared to worship? Are you prepared now to be in the presence of God’s power, mercy and grace? Did you come anticipating witnessing the power of God in the people of the congregation this morning? Without any doubt, I believe that Peter and John approached the temple that day knowing that God was with them and that God would be present there when they got there. In their time with Jesus they had come to expect miraculous things to happen. Jesus had taught them to do powerful things in his name. I believe that they come to this place prepared to encounter Jesus in whatever way Jesus decided to present himself.

Part of the reason we no longer see miracles when they happen, is that we have programmed ourselves into a state of denial. We justify prayer being answered by arguing that it is science, or coincidence or just plain luck. We argue that God is no longer present with us in the world today. This story of Peter and John is to remind ourselves that we need to prepare ourselves. Peter and John prepared themselves to go to the Temple that day and see God, feel God and experience God’s presence. They did not know how that would happen, but they prepared themselves for it to happen. They followed Holy Disciplines, like constant prayer, daily Bible reading and fellowship. Maybe the problem we have experiencing miracles is that we don’t prepare ourselves.

Let’s look at the passage again. When Peter and John approach the temple they encounter a man lame from birth. Friends or family had laid him at the gate to collect money from those going to the temple. And when he saw Peter and John approaching he begged them for alms. Peter said to him, look at us. We have neither silver nor gold to give to you. But what we have to give you is the power of the one who died for your sins, gave his life to give you eternal life. Stand up and walk! And the lame man did just that. Peter and John have come prepared to meet Jesus. They met Jesus in the lame man. They used the teaching and training they had received from Jesus to prepare them for this moment. They provided the lame man what he really needed, not necessarily what he was expecting. Are your prepared to meet Jesus face to face today? Have you prepared yourself to be the instrument of his power and grace to someone you don’t even know? Peter called upon the power of Jesus name and told the lame man to get up and walk. The lame man believed and did just that.

There are two significant things in this passage for us to see. First, that Peter and John prepared themselves to be in the presence of God. They do not know how they will encounter Jesus. But they prepare themselves to do so. And it is with this anticipation that they come to the Temple. And they second thing is that they have prepared themselves to be used as the instruments of God’s power. Are you ready to see a miracle? Are you ready to be used as God’s instrument to perform a miracle? Do we truly believe that God might use you to do wonderful and powerful things in the world? Maybe it is little things like smiling on a day when no-one feels like smiling. Or maybe it is throwing change in the Salvation Army pot as you pass by or taking one of those Angel Tree children for Christmas. I remember years ago asking God to help me with public prayer and witness. I found myself on a plane from Erie, PA to Pittsburgh, PA. One of those little puddle jumpers that they wind up the rubber bands and you can only go so far. The young man that set beside me seemed troubled so I asked him if he was ok. He said that he was traveling home, having been away a long while. He went on to say that his mother was dying and they were estranged. That he was on the way home to reconcile things and was worried that he would not get home in time. We walked off the plane and I asked him if I could pray with him. He and I bowed heads and prayed. Imagine my surprise when we finished the prayer and most of the passengers and part of the flight crew was there praying with us. God can and will use us, as broken as we are. 

Recently a woman, a nurse, who has a heart for mission, learned of a great need in Haiti for medical supplies and medical assistance. And she set about gathering the supplies and making plans to go there to assist in the effort to deal with the Cholera outbreak. But she needed $ 31,000 in order to get all the supplies plus pay for the travel for her and two other nurses. Well she contacted churches in her area and began to collect donations. After several weeks she had $ 4,000, far short of her goal of $ 31,000. She was telling one of her patients about her desire to achieve her goal. Imagine her surprise the next day when a check arrived for $ 27,000. Now this was a great gift. This man stepped up and performed a miracle.

I wonder how many of us come to this place believing that they will experience something exceptional. The real difference between modern day ministry and the early disciples is that they came expecting to see God do incredible things every time they encountered God’s people. Sometimes God calls on us to be the instrument of his mighty power and grace. Sometimes God brings miracles into our lives. Truth is we must prepare ourselves just as John and Peter prepared themselves.

We are in the season of Advent, a time of preparation and anticipation. A time when the world truly encounters the living God more fully than any other time of the year. It is a time when we celebrate the greatest miracle of them all, the birth of a child to a young maid who had never known what it is like to be with one you truly love in a human way and yet she is bringing a child into the world like no other child in the history of the world. Yes, today we celebrate a season when miracles happen, when things that are unseen become real and walk the earth just as you and I. It is a season when we encounter a loving God who gives us the greatest miracle of all. The question is, are you ready for a miracle?

I'm a Christian - Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 - The Holy Spirit, the Trinity and Grace

The Holy Spirit - Reveals

The subject of the Holy Spirit can lead to great discussion, primarily centered not on whether or not there is a Holy Spirit, but when did the Holy Spirit come to exist. So in order to put that question off the table, let’s deal with it early in the discussion. There are a number of references to the Spirit of God in the Old Testament, beginning with Genesis 1:2. (See also Exodus 31:1-5; 1 Samuel 10: 6-9; 2 Samuel 23:2; Isaiah 59: 19-21; Micah 3: 8; Matthew 1:18; Acts 2: 1-4) From our scriptural evidence, the Holy Spirit has been around since the beginning. We will discuss the Trinity when this whole concept may become clearer.

            So the second part of any discussion about the Holy Spirit is about how do we define the Holy Spirit? One definition that seems to work for most folks is that the Holy Spirit is the personification of God that interacts with humanity. In other words, we do not often get the full presence of the creator in our daily lives. If we read the biblical story, we are certainly not as clear about the personification of God that interacted with Moses, Jacob, David and the prophets. But suffice it to say that the Holy Spirit was certainly involved in some of these encounters. So what we can determine as a simple explanation is that when we encounter God, more often than not, the personification of God that we encounter will be the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our teacher (John 14:26), our advisor (John 14: 16-17), our transformer (1 Samuel 31:1-5), and our advocate (John 15:26).

            The final part of the discussion is more difficult to answer than any other. How do we encounter and/or interact with the Holy Spirit. The answer to this question is as diverse as there are people in the world. Again if we go to the scriptures for an answer, we see the Holy Spirit interacting in the world through dreams, voiced conversations, visions and many other ways. “The Holy Spirit’s power enables us to become holy; in other words, to love and serve God as we were intended.”[i] From this quote I understand that through the Holy Spirit we receive discernment of God’s will and it is through the Holy Spirit’s power given to us that we can become healers, prophets, and apostles. The Holy Spirit is responsible for revealing the nature of God through the scriptures, through other writings and interaction with others. I believe that the Holy Spirit gives us strength and courage to walk a different journey than the world suggests. And it is in the community of believers that the Holy Spirit provides that strength through accountability, nurturing and support. We find the Holy Spirit speaking to us through our daily reading of the Bible, though our prayers, through other people acting at the direction of the Holy Spirit directly with us and through the writings and meditations of others.   

            So if we again try to simplify our understanding, then we can say simply that the “Holy Spirit reveals.” When we look at scripture we see that the Holy Spirit reveals the world at creation. It is the Holy Spirit abiding in the Apostles that allows them to reveal God to the people around them. And it again is through the power of the Holy Spirit that God is revealed in our sacraments.

The Trinity

This is one of the concepts that define us as Christians and as Methodists. We believe in a triune God. This is so important to our understanding that without we cannot call ourselves Methodists or align ourselves with the majority of Christian denominational beliefs. We believe that there is God. And God is creator, redeemer and sustainer. We encounter God in different personifications. We encounter God the creator each time we pay attention to the world around us. God is often compared to the Potter and we are the clay (see Jeremiah 18: 1-6; Isaiah 45:9). There is scientific evidence that we humans are pre-disposed to believe in God. If we look at our world and creation we realize the need for God. Even scientists now understand that creation required a third party to provide the spark that we know as creation or “The Big Bang.”  The second personification is of course, Jesus. Jesus is the human interacting force of God that walked the earth, to teach us and show us by example what it means to walk as one of God’s children. And then we have the Holy Spirit who interacts with us in our daily lives. Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer! Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Our belief is that God exists as three personifications in one being or one essence. There are some that believe that Jesus was simply a man, a prophet who walked the earth. But we believe differently. Some might teach this concept by using water as an example. At one point in temperature water exists simultaneously in three states, liquid, solid and gas. I like the idea of personification of God in three states. But whatever you use as an example, we believe that:

Grace

Our final topic in this chapter is Grace. There is one Grace, the Grace of God. In order to fully appreciate that concept, we must first understand our own humanity and the human need for divine grace. “Human beings are sinful and without God incapable on their own of being righteous, however they are not irredeemably sinful and can be transformed by God’s grace.”[ii] As Christians, we believe that we are born into a sinful nature where we desire to exert our will over the will of God. We spend our life fighting this nature where we each fight for control of our lives rather than relinquishing that control to God and seeking discernment for our lives through the Holy Spirit. In that inescapable nature our doom is assured except for the intervention of God. Humanity cannot bridge the sinful gap between our own humanity and God. Because of that it was necessary for divine intervention in the death of Jesus. John Wesley summed up our depraved nature in his sermon on the New Birth said:

“And in Adam all died, all humankind, all the children of men who were then in Adam's loins. The natural consequence of this is, that every one descended from him comes into the world spiritually dead, dead to God, wholly dead in sin; entirely void of the life of God; void of the image of God, of all that righteousness and holiness wherein Adam was created. Instead of this, every man born into the world now bears the image of the devil in pride and self-will; the image of the beast, in sensual appetites and desires. This, then, is the foundation of the new birth, -- the entire corruption of our nature. Hence it is, that, being born in sin, we must be "born again." Hence every one that is born of a woman must be born of the Spirit of God.”[iii]

Without divine intervention we would be incapable of redemption and so God provides the means through Jesus, his life, death and resurrection.

This now brings us to the concept of Grace. “While the grace of God is undivided, it precedes salvation as ‘prevenient grace,’ continues in ‘justifying grace,’ and is brought to fruition in ‘sanctifying grace.’”[iv] Our lives are a journey from birth to death and then resurrection that allows us to share in the grace of God given to us through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We are all in need of repentance, our own desire to seek forgiveness for our sinful nature, whether before our new birth or after. We seek to restore ourselves to God’s favor through our prayers for forgiveness, our participation in Holy Communion and our witness in the community of believers. This act of repentance is played out in the world daily individually and in communion with others. Prevenient grace is with us from conception to our grave. It is God’s love that flows through us even before we know God. It is God striving to bring us into relationship. Some refer to this point in the journey as that time in our lives when we have a yearning for something greater or deeper even if we do not fully know what that yearning is.

Justification is the act of forgiveness given to us by God for our sinful nature and our sins against God throughout our lives. It is a place in the journey of grace of God according to John Wesley, given through the cross and resurrection. “In justification we are, through faith, forgiven our sin and restored to God’s favor.”[v] When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about “being born again” he was referring to the regeneration of our spirit, that moment when we are renewed inwardly in the image of Christ. It is this moment that John Wesley speaks of as the moment of our “new birth’ when we are reconciled to God. After this moment which may come through a journey of faith development with the Holy Spirit or a spiritual awakening from the Holy Spirit we strive to achieve perfection in our lives. For many, this is the time when we would profess our faith publicly or privately.

“Sanctification is that renewal of our fallen nature by the Holy Ghost…”[vi] This is the time in our journey when we completely submissively surrender our lives to the will of God. John Wesley believed that we are on a journey to perfection and that perfection is possible in our lifetimes. That we were created to be holy as God is holy. The example I have most often heard and used is the example of the house, the porch, the front door and upstairs. We are justified when we enter the front door and continue our journey to the upstairs of the house where we are completely at home with God. For many of us this does not happen in our physical lifetime, but rather after we complete the spiritual journey. 

Questions

1.    When did the Holy Spirit appear

2.    What are the names given to the Holy Spirit? (Hint: See handout)

3.    How does the Holy Spirit differ from Old Testament to New Testament and what is the significance of the spirit in the Pentecost story (Acts 2: 1-4)

4.    When do we see the Trinity for the first time? (Genesis 1:26 or Matthew 28:19- . . . )

5.    How would you describe the Trinity?

6.    Why is the concept of a Triune God important to our understanding of God?

7.    Some of these terms, repentance; justification; regeneration; and sanctification may be new terms to you. Is your understanding of these terms clearer now than before and what does this whole concept of Grace mean to you?

---

[i] Garrett, class notes from PT752

[ii] Garrett, Daniel Rev. Dr., Class notes from PT752 – United Methodist Doctrine, Polity, and History, School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Winter 2005 and Spring 2006

[iii] Outler, Albert and Richard Heitzenrater, Editors, John Wesley’s Sermons, An Anthology, Abingdon Press, TN 1991, page 338

[iv] Smith, Judith E., ed., The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church 2008, (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2008), page 45-46

[v] Smith, page 46

[vi] Smith, page 66

John Wesley on grace

            One of the tenets of Wesley’s is the concept of the three points in the journey of the Grace of God that begin before we are born and continues all our lives. Let us begin this discussion by first discussing the concept of a lifelong journey. What we enter into with the Holy Spirit and with God is ultimately a lifelong journey where we move through the ups and downs of life, carrying our religious beliefs and traditions with us. More importantly, we have come to understand that our journey becomes not a collection of remembered worship services, Sunday school lessons and Bible studies, but rather we begin to understand the Bible and our journey as a relationship with God. When we suddenly understand that what our life is all about is having relationships, then it opens a whole new explanation of what Christianity means.

            The first point in the journey is Prevenient Grace. Think of Prevenient grace as the porch on a house. On this porch come the people who enter into your life, stepping up onto the porch in order to meet you, get to know you and ultimately to enter into a relationship with you. God’s grace is real and available from the moment that you are born. When we read in Jeremiah that God knew Jeremiah before he was born, we should be able to make the leap then that he knows all of us before we are born. What we know as Prevenient grace is that love that comes from God who desires to enter into a relationship with us from the day that we are born. Before there was you in the world, God was already working for your salvation and his grace was already permeating all of the life around you.

            When you finally come to know Jesus Christ and accept him into your life, then Justifying grace kicks in. Imagine with me for a moment that house we used in the second paragraph. When you are born you are standing or stepping up onto the porch. When you come through the door (Knock and the door will be opened to you (Matt 7:7 NRSV)) by accepting Jesus Christ into your heart, your life has been justified. At that moment, the moment of a public profession of faith, you announce your desire to enter into a relationship with a living God. This is how we understand the second leg of God’s grace to be, the moment of justification for our own salvation that comes from belief. Paul and James, both who wrote about salvation and justification agreed on one aspect, that being that it is the moment of believing in Jesus Christ that is the moment of salivation. It is the belief in Jesus Christ as savior and as the Son of God that sustains us for the eternal reward that we have been promised.

           John Wesley believed that maybe two people in his life achieved the pinnacle of Christian life, a women in London he knew and Francis Asbury. This final stage is known by Methodist people as Sanctification. Sanctifying grace is the result of what James describes when he says that faith without works is dead. When we enter into a relationship with Christ, we begin a lifelong journey that changes us, some would say transforms us. We find that the worldly desires become less and our desire to be better people, better friends and partners and our desire to reach out in Christian love becomes a central focus of our lives. When we use Jesus as the example of how we are supposed to live and then imitate his life we find ourselves on the road to sanctification. It is a life filled with service, prayer and love for one another. The nuance of this is that when we reach sanctification, we are not aware of it. In fact, if we think we are sanctified, we are not, because in order to be completely sanctified we would have to be completely humble with no self ego present.  Sanctification is not a life without sin, rather, it is being a relationship with God that when we break the will of God we immediately know and immediately pray for repentance.