Grace Blog
The Kingdom, the Community, and You, Part 2
In my last post, I made the case that kingdom of God should have preeminence in our lives and serve as the foundation for all we do in our lives. We should seek first the kingdom of God, pray for His kingdom come, and not look back when we’ve put our hands to the plow in following Christ. Because is pleased the Father to give us the kingdom, it should bring us pleasure to give God our hearts and lives in service to the advancement of His kingdom and glory, for to that we are called to live in a worthily manner.
With a kingdom perspective that prioritizes your life according to the things our King values the most, we should realize how good citizens of the kingdom are to relate to one another in community and to the larger community of unbelievers in the world around us. When Christ is king, we do not consider people for what they can offer us but rather how we can serve them. We are not looking to take advantage of them but rather take advantage of the opportunity to bless them. This approach to community is only possible as we appropriate the example of Christ by His Spirit who came not to be served but to serve (Matt. 20:28). At the moment when Jesus knew the Father had given all things into His hands, you would think such knowledge, power, and greatness would be encapsulated in the recognition of this fact by Himself and others in public praise, adulation, and worship. Yet, such a moment led Jesus to a towel and basin where he performed the most humbling of tasks in washing the feet of disciples (John 13:1-20).
True kingdom community is possible when we have the humble heart of our King who served others by giving His life away in loving sacrifice. Paul exhorted the Philippian believers this very thing when he wrote,
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus . . .” (Phil. 2:3-5)
Outside of Christ, no one is more significant than ourselves. Repentance in the heart where the kingdom of Christ is present deals continual blows against pride and self-centeredness in order to liberate our thinking so that we may have the mind of Christ which humbly considers others more significant than ourselves.
The Christian community is heaven on earth where the mind and heart of Jesus is expressed through His body being knit together in love. The church becomes a more visible sign of the kingdom when those subject to the King are being conformed to His will and pattern their lives according His commands - and do in the context of a broader community outside the kingdom whose attitudes and actions are daily challenged by the reign and rule of Jesus Christ among His people. This is where the presence of the kingdom spreads a passion for the advance of the kingdom. Only in community can we demonstrate the kind of humility, love, and sacrifice for others where our preeminent interest in the kingdom fuels our personal interest in blessing of others in kingdom word (gospel) and kingdom deed (service).
Labels: Community, Gospel, Humility, Jesus, Kingdom, Service | posted by TimBrister at 7:04 am | Categories: Community, Gospel, Humility, Jesus |
Holiness by Humility - A Community Project
In his amazingly helpful book, Humility, C.J. Mahaney writes,
“The pursuit of humility cannot be a solitary endeavor. . . . On our own, you and I will never develop a competency for recognizing our own sin. We’ll always need help. Never forget that others see what you do not. Where you’re blind to sin, their vision is often twenty-twenty. And by God’s grace they can impart clarity to help protect you from the hardening effects of sin. Others can exhort you, encourage you, and correct you. They are a gift from God in your battle against sin. And you never grow out of this need. Never.”
Every Christian should have a passionate pursuit of holiness. And yet, if we would be honest with ourselves, it is easy to have that passion fizzle and fade. God has so purposed the church that the passion to be like Him is fanned into a flame through the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, their words of encourage, exhortation, and yes, rebuke. When we do not live in community with one another, we divorce ourselves from one of the greatest means of pursuing holiness by humbly inviting and accepting correction from others. Mahaney rightly asserts, “Without others’ help to see myself clearly, I’ll listen to my own arguments, believe my own lies, and buy into my own delusions.”
Holiness is pursued with humility because none of us recognize our spiritual blind spots–the places where indwelling sin has yet to be exposed by the light of God’s Word. The Apostle John plain explains this to us when he wrote,
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:6-8
We need the light of God’s Word and the light of a holy communion of the saints to continue to expose the darkness. Fellowship with one another–true biblical community–is dependent upon walking (daily, continual lifestyle) in the light. Wherever darkness is found in a humble believer, he embraces the light which exposes that sin of which he readily repents. As Paul Tripp argues, our own spiritual perception is as accurate as a carnival mirror. When we humbly submit ourselves to the mirror of God’s perfect Word and also to correction from God’s people, your heart and life becomes fertile ground to grow in grace and knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Practically speaking, Mahaney offers these two suggestions:
1. Humbly recognize your need for others.
I’m convinced that left to myself, if I’m seeking to grow by myself, I’ll only be deficient in discerning sin within, and I’ll therefore experience only limited growth in godliness. . . . I need help, and so do you. You can’t effectively watch yourself by yourself; you need the discerning eyes of others.
2. Humbly and aggressively participate.
Don’t assume that by merely attending a group, by merely associating with those who are godly, you’re therefore satisfying God and growing in godliness. That is deception. We must pursue humble and aggressive participation, and that means consistently confessing our sin as well as inviting and welcoming correction from others, particularly when we’ve come together for that very purpose.
If you’re in a small group for fellowship and accountability, are you humbly and aggressively participating or merely observing? Are you actually hoping to avoid correction? Do you experience a certain perverse relief when your sin has gone undetected? Are you regularly informing others of your temptations and sins, or do you present to them a edified and flattering version of yourself?
Community groups do not exist for the sake of having community groups. They exist for the sake of biblical community–a community that requires active participation both in the giving and receiving of correction as we together pursue being a community of light in this world. As we passionately seek to become more like Christ, we will grow together and work together to reach a world in darkness for Christ!
Labels: C.J. Mahaney, Community, Holiness, Humility | posted by TimBrister at 8:10 am | Categories: Community, Holiness, Humility |
