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From Arranging The Chairs
UNCONDITIONAL FAITH:
THE CONSEQUENCE OF UNCONDITIONAL FAITH IS MIRACULOUS
"Living a life where God is ARRANGING THE CHAIRS"
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WELCOME
Welcome to the faith wiki. This site is designed to be an "open source" repository of the doctrine (or teaching) of the Christian life of faith and how that life of faith is visualized and experienced today. This unique and genuine faith that Jesus, Paul and Peter taught and all the writers of the New Testament wrote about is defined as "unconditional faith."
Unconditional faith exists and is practiced when an individual places their total dependence on God because they believe they have absolutely nothing in person or possessions to offer God and therefore put no conditions on what God is going to do and be for them. It is at this place of nothing to offer that God reacts in miraculous ways.
The hypothesis of this site is that 500 years ago Martin Luther "got" it only half right. The half that he got right was that salvation is by faith and faith alone and not of human effort or works. There were true believers the thousand years before Martin Luther during the "dark ages" and probably many. But the reformation brought to light a spiritual truth that seemed to have been hidden from the hearts and minds of so many who lived a "religious" Christian life.
And now by the new millennium, 500 years after the reformation, we are quite good at explaining "how to be saved" by faith. But we stumble at how to live the Christian life by faith. Or maybe it should be said that we have long lists of "things to do" or "rules to keep" or "ways to live" the Christian life. The Christian community has become so good at "church" that we really don't need faith. The result of that is we "look and feel" just like the world. We dress like, talk like, graffiti our bodies like, work like, spend like, vote like, divorce like, church like and live like the rest of the world.
But the faith wiki's thesis is "the consequence of unconditional faith is miraculous." This miraculous is dramatized in the mental picture that God, who is sitting at the head table at the banquet, is directing who sits in what chair; and that he and he alone has the wisdom, power and inclination to to move the believer who in this unconditional faith trusts God to arrange the chairs for his exaltation. This arranging of the chairs is both humanly impossible and divinely miraculous.
The faith wiki is designed to both give a thorough doctrinal and theological basis for a life of faith and to assist the reader in experiencing the miraculous as God arranges the chairs of their life.
All Christian believers who know and experience this life of faith are invited and encouraged to contribute and edit this wiki site. If it be God's will, myriads of believers the world over will find here encouragement and and strength to trust God for every area of their life each day.
HOW IT BEGAN
Archimedes, the Greek mathematician and physicist reportedly proclaimed "Eureka!" when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose. It was at that particular moment that he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be calculated with precision, a previously intractable problem. It is said that he was so eager to share his realization that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.
The reader has probably had a “eureka” moment(s) too. Tom Fay had a eureka moment during the summer of 2009 when he heard a sermon preached[1] on the parable that Jesus taught in Luke 14:7-11. It is a short text quoted below:
"When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 'When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'”[2]
This passage is frequently taught as a lesson of humility i.e. we are not to “puff” our resumes, brag about our accomplishments, position to get in the front of the line, seek to gain advantage above others, try to be first, etc. In fact Jesus was teaching about the kingdom of God that he was ushering in and what it would "look" like. Throughout his three years of teaching, preaching, healing and performing miracles he was telling and living in front of them what this kingdom of God would look like and how the citizens of that kingdom would live. And that life in the kingdom was a life of faith in God.
Certainly in this parable Jesus is not teaching that we must be impotent or debased in the world. And obviously he wasn't teaching that if we humble ourselves before men of the world then we can gain some specific advantage. Nor of course was Jesus teaching a valuable lesson or homily about humility. The very nature of parables is that they have much broader lessons then the specific context or narrative. Jesus was teaching that the Christian life of faith actually culminates in his followers having an advantage in the world – through this faith.
That this parable teaches that in the Kingdom of God a Christian believer is to live day by day, moment by moment a life of faith (as illustrated in the parable by purposefully moving to a lower chair at the banquet and trusting the Lord to move you to a seat at the head table) and that the believer is therefore experiencing the consequences of that faith, as opposed to a more narrow point of view that to be humble is a virtue, is the proposition of this site.
INTRODUCTION
Thesis
The thesis of this site is that the consequence of unconditional faith is miraculous and the praxis of faith among believers forms an inimitable core-culture.
The use of the word “consequence” is as a noun as defined in the Random House Dictionary. All five definitions below assist in understanding the meaning of the thesis. The definition of the word consequence with its various subtle differences is as follows:
- the effect, result, or outcome of something occurring earlier;
- an act or instance of following something as an effect, result, or outcome;
- the conclusion reached by a line of reasoning; inference;
- importance or significance: a matter of no consequence;
- importance in rank or position; distinction: a man of great consequence in art;
The word “miraculous” is also defined in the Random House Dictionary and that is, “performed by or involving a supernatural power or agency.” For a Christian, God (Father-Son-Holy Spirit) is that supernatural power or agency.
Therefore to amplify the thesis in a single sentence it would read as follows:
The thesis of this site is that the effect, result, outcome, conclusion and/or significance of exercising, practicing, experiencing faith is an event(s) that did not and could not have transpired in the normal course of events occurring in the physical world or world system, but that event(s) is performed by the true wise, just and loving God who created the universe and is willing, able and desirous to supersede the normal physical laws of the universe he created and arrange them differently for the benefit of the one who believed; and as faith is habitually practiced as a way of life in the church as the core, central and most essential part of day to day living an inimitable and unique subculture which sets apart the adherents of faith is formed within a society at large that both draws the believer and would-be believer and is nonsensical or seemingly irrelevant to the lost.
Signature Theme
So the message in Jesus’ words is that God is in control, and that our worldly efforts to gain position in this world will be fruitless. Jesus is teaching in the parable that they (we) should not trust their (our) own ability and to work within the confines of this world to find a suitable place at the table, rather he tells us that HE WILL ARRANGE THE CHAIRS. The belief that God will in fact in the future arrange the chairs is the act (or action) of unconditional faith. By seeking and purposefully moving to and accepting the low seat it is evident to all when we are moved to the head table that God is in charge, rewarding the humble and frustrating the proud, giving a gift (grace) to the humble. This parable is not talking about being humble, as we typically know it, because the antidote is in Jesus’ own words: “Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.” The conclusion of this parable is not the conclusion of a teacher who wants his students to live a life of humility. On the contrary, in this parable the teacher is teaching the students about faith. The lesson Jesus wants his students to get is that the consequence of faith is miraculous; and it is that type of faith that allows God to rearrange the chairs as the world has set them and to accomplish something that the believer is unable to do on his or her own.
Personal Aspects
The goal of this study is for the reader to reach the confidence that as they move in faith to the back seat by the kitchen door God is doing something entirely different (of which the reader won’t know – but in faith they will for sure be doing God's will) to put them in a place of honor; and that brings honor to his name. As the reader looks introspectively at their ministry and what God wants of their life, they will want it to be a life of faith so that God will arrange the chairs at their banquet of life and make room for them at the head table.
The reader is urged to come, move back to the chair by the kitchen door and join in the adventure of faith that will result in the greatest experience of their life – past, present and future – as they observe the miraculous take place all around them and within them.
THE PARABLES DESCRIBE UNCONDITIONAL FAITH
Jesus taught in much in parables. And most (or all) of the parables taught some aspect of the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God. One of the more frequent teaching of the parables was how to live a life of faith in the kingdom. In fact Jesus taught in parables so that the listener could not understand the meaning of the teaching.
THE CONSEQUENCE OF FAITH IS MIRACULOUS
It is imperative that I lay the foundation and develop my signature theme. I will do this by first expanding on the thesis. This will lead me into the way it ties into a broader perspective of our society and how we relate to it.
Jesus Quotes Proverbs 3:34
In the parable of the banquet Jesus ends the teaching by saying “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is his conclusion to the parable and it is a quote from Proverbs 3:34. The NIV translates Proverbs 3:34 as “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.” The Septuagint translates it similarly to how Jesus quotes it. Because of the word humble it is easy to think that Jesus is talking about humility, but when we think about the underlying message it is clear that he is talking about the consequences of faith. The subject and verb of the passage is “He mocks” and he “gives.” It is not about the proud and humble. Jesus is instructing what God is going to do. God is going to put down and God is going to lift up. This passage is about being lifted up and not being lowered or humiliated. This passage tells us how to get to the Head Table. And that comes through a belief/faith that God is able to arrange the chairs at the banquet. Humility is not an ability inherent in fallen, sinful man. We gain the ability to this through and only through faith. So it is the only point Jesus could have been making. In fact, if we simply humble ourselves, then our Christianity falls to a mere religion of “works” and we know how Jesus detested a religion of works as evidenced by his accusations against the Scribes and Pharisees. They had all the rules, but lacked faith. And their lives had none of the consequences of faith.
James and Peter Quote Proverbs 3:34
Peter and James also quote Proverbs 3:34. The James quote is found in James 4:6 and it reads as follows in context: You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
James now introduces a fuller explanation of this verse. He pits friendship with the world and its system against the spiritual world a believer lives in. The figure at the right shows this relationship. The entire universe belongs to God but in that universe is the world which is predictable and governed by the laws of nature represented by the green box. But there is also another world that is operational and more effective and productive for us. It is the “Christian” or spiritual or “Faith” world. This world does not operate like the world system that is currently powerfully influenced by Satan. This world is unpredictable by us, but predictable as to the love and blessings of God.
The only way to get into the faith world is by being born again by faith. We are born into the faith world as we are born into the physical world. John records the discourse that Jesus had with Nicodemus when he said, “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Nicodemus wanted to know how he could enter again into his mother’s womb, but Jesus explained that this birth was like the wind – you couldn’t see it, but you could feel it. It is there. It is real. Saint Augustine talks about the concept of two worlds as two cities: the city of God and the city of man in his book The City of God. Although there are some similarities in this discussion I have not tried to parallel Augustine’s teaching on the two cities. In fact Augustine’s city of God has a significantly different approach. I am not talking about heaven, but of an environment here on earth that we live in and have our existence. We are “in” the physical world, but not “of” the physical world. We are born into the spirit/faith world after our physical birth by a “recordable” spiritual birth (at least recordable by God as in the Book of Life).
But these miracles of Jesus are not the only examples of the faith world intersecting with the world. Indeed it is a daily occurrence (and I do want to emphasize daily) for all who are living in this faith world. The miracles are abounding all the time because God is constantly rearranging the affairs of the world, overruling the natural laws of nature, over powering the strong forces of Satan and his worldly system, and is rearranging the chairs at the banquet so we can sit at the head table and be honored in front of all. Peter also quotes Proverbs 3:34: Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
There is no logical reason to clothe ourselves with humility unless we believe that God does in fact give grace to the humble. Why would we cast our anxiety on him? It is because in the faith world he does miraculous events and shows them to us as he cares for us. And his care for us is indeed “first class.” God intervenes in the affairs of the world and takes care of us in the physical world when we live existentially in the faith world. Paul also echoes this same theme. Here is his personal account: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This is the message of the faith world: that “when I am weak, then I am strong.” This is the outcome of the faith world – “I am strong.” But that strength comes about because God rearranges the chairs and puts us at the head table and gives us honor. Although Paul does not quote Proverbs 3:34 I think it important to include here this same concept as quoted in Ephesians. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” Paul’s prayer was that we would experientially know the hope, riches and power. Belief (faith) yields the power of God – the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That is ours on a daily basis. This is available to all who live in the faith world.
More of Proverbs 3
In order to get a better understanding of why Jesus would quote from Proverbs 3 it might be helpful to look at that chapter in greater scrutiny. It is this chapter that contains the “life verse” of so many people, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight."
See again here that when we trust in the Lord (faith), HE will make our paths straight. And if you read that entire chapter you will see this theme over and over again – we trust and God changes the natural events in the physical world to benefit us or work in our favor and/or bring glory to God.
When we live a life of Christianity in the natural world we neither believe God rearranges the chairs nor do we experience it. But Matthew records an account that depicts how God intervenes into the world. When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith...” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
For good reason Jesus commends the centurion. The centurion was a commander over one hundred soldiers. When the commander says to one of his soldiers, “go over there” the soldier goes. The soldier knows that if he doesn’t go and disobeys his commander he may encounter death for the disobedience. This is also true with the natural world. Since Jesus is the creator, all of creation obeys him. When Jesus says to the banker, “give Tom a loan” the banker does it. When Jesus says to the policeman, “don’t give Tom a ticket” the policeman won’t give a ticket. When Jesus says to the policeman, “give Tom a ticket” so that he won’t speed anymore, the policeman will give a ticket (even though Tom hates it and even prayed for no ticket). When Jesus gives a command to his creation, his creation obeys his commands. That is why the centurion knew that Jesus didn’t actually have to go to his home and heal his servant – he could merely give the command in the same vein that the centurion gave a command and it was followed. The centurion could command one soldier to come and another to go. Interesting, that sounds almost like “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” Jesus said that he had not found that kind of faith in Israel. The question is, will he find it among us? Will we have the faith to believe he will arrange the chairs?
More About a Life of Faith
There are two other verses to consider that have a powerful meaning. The first says, “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” The second verse is found in Hebrews 11, the faith chapter of the Bible, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” The first verse makes it pretty clear that if believers are not living moment by moment in faith, they are sinning; and the second that believers cannot please him without faith. But just as interesting is the statement “he rewards.” That is another way of saying he arranges the chairs.
James teaches the same lesson that faith is required for blessing and that doubt produces nothing. And remember, James is not preaching to the lost, but to the believers. The faith of a believer is not a onetime event. It is a daily, ongoing, moment by moment, continuous action of trusting God to arrange the chairs and provide a miraculous effect through our lives in the world.
Understanding the Dichotomy
There is a dichotomy throughout the scripture when it comes to faith. On the one hand without our faith we cannot please God, but on the other hand it is God who gives us faith. This dichotomy seems to be explained best by the scene in the movie The Sound of Music when we see the marionettes dancing and singing on the stage. That is like our life when we view it. We take the seat by the kitchen door. But behold, eventually we see that there are people who are pulling strings to make them dance and sing. This is clearly seen in the passage below: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.” Notice the bold in these verses. On the one hand it is God who makes us stand firm, but on the other hand it is our faith.
Show Me Your Works
James Knows Works
I had always misunderstood the book of James and the relationship between faith and works. In fact Martin Luther thought that the book should not be part of the canon because it talked so much about “works” and he thought it could not be part of the Bible. But even Martin Luther missed what James was saying. I was always taught and thought that James was teaching that we are saved by faith and because of our salvation we are so grateful that we want to do the “works” for God. This is not the case. In understanding Jesus’ parable I now believe that is not what James was talking about either. The works that James is talking about are the “consequences of faith, which are miraculous.” The works are not the things we do because we are grateful, the works are the actual outcomes – the miracles that transpire – as a result of the faith we have in God. The faith is that God will arrange the chairs. The “works” James refers to is God actually arranging them. In light of Jesus’ parable you too can see how clear James makes that point. See the passage below: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Look at the “evidence” James gives about Abraham. This account of Abraham taking Isaac up the mountain to offer him is found in Genesis 22. But the verse that James quotes, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” is found in Genesis 15. This righteousness by faith is established even before Isaac is born. Abraham believed that God would arrange the chairs when he got to the top of the mountain to make the offering. The author of Hebrews says, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”
Abraham had total faith that God would arrange the chairs. Abraham was mistaken as to how God was going to do it. (And we usually are also mistaken as to how God will arrange the chairs in our life.) Abraham thought that Isaac would come back to life. That is not what God actually did. God arranged the thicket on the mountain and arranged to have a ram be caught by his horns. So what did Abraham call that place on the mountain? “God saved my face!” “God saved my son!” No, he called it, “The LORD will provide.” The consequence of faith is miraculous. He arranges the chairs at the banquet and arranges the shrubs on the mountainside. James gives a second piece of “evidence” with Rahab. It says that she did two things. First she gave them lodging and second she sent them in a different direction. James is not commending Rahab for fixing a nice meal and giving clean sheets for the night. No he is again giving evidence that when a person has faith God arranges the chairs. And this was certainly the case with Rahab. Consider these details. Did the spies go to Rahab because she was a prostitute? We don’t know and we don’t have to speculate, but it very well could be that God is using the most humble (and least likely) of all in showing that God takes care of the banquet details and that it is not our doing of works at all. So here now is the least likely individual to merit God’s favor, but she does. I think I have been in her “shoes” before. And as we read the entire story of Rahab, and her family’s salvation, and the walls of Jericho falling down, and the killing of every single living being, human and animal, in the city of Jericho we more than ever understand how God arranged the affair. So we have to come to the same conclusion that James came to, namely, faith without the activity (that is the “miraculous” activity) that evidences the faith is nonexistent. James closes the subject of faith/works with this statement: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” I like a bit better the way Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest translates the verse. He says, “For even as the body apart from breath is dead, so also the aforementioned faith apart from works is dead.” In other words, if you are not breathing, you are dead – you don’t exist as a living human being. In the same way, if you divorce faith and the effects of faith you do not have faith at all. (The reader may want to meditate on this a bit before reading on.) It has often been taught that the “works” in verse 26 is the doing of good deeds. But on the face of it, the reader can see that is not the meaning because an individual can do good deeds without having any faith. Non-Christians can do good deeds. Even the demons believe. So there is no linkage between faith and doing good deeds. Good deeds are not definitive evidence of faith. What the demons cannot display– even though they believe in God – is the working of God in changing the seating at the banquet – arranging the chairs – so that they are lifted up in honor. As the Israelites were walking (marching) around the city of Jericho for seven days they had no idea what was really going to happen other than what Joshua had told them, namely that God had given the city into their hands. They undoubtedly had faith in the God that he had brought them out of Egypt. There must have been recognition that God was amidst them since they submitted to being circumcised. They had just been weaned from the manna, which was a miracle effect provided each day. But exactly how strong their faith was we don’t really know. But the author of Hebrews says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” The effect of faith was not the “work” of walking around the wall for seven days. The effect of faith was that the walls fell down and the Israelites ran into the city from all directions and killed every living creature in Jericho except for Rahab and her family that were also saved by faith. Again I say, our works are not doing things for God no matter how noble. Our “works” are the miraculous consequences of our faith that God performs. I have taken extra time to explain this relationship between faith and works because it is intrinsically linked to how we view our Christian life. From now our life will have to be guided by faith. I do know the effects of that faith will be miraculous – and that excites me (you too?).
Experiencing the Power
My thesis is that the effect of faith is miraculous. And the word miraculous assumes and/or indicates that there may be extraordinary power involved to bring about the miraculous. And this is true. The Christian who walks in true faith requires this extraordinary power on a daily – moment by moment – basis. And we do find this consistent throughout the New Testament. Below is a section from Ephesians 1. Paul prays that these believers in Ephesus may know (in an experiential way) “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. This power for our lives is frequently associated with the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as it is in the passage above. But this is not the only passage that links Paul’s desire to know the power of the resurrection. We find it also in Philippians 3:10-11, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Knowing Christ in a personal, intimate and experiential way necessitates knowing in a personal, intimate and experiential way the power of the resurrection. The consequence of faith is miraculous.
Entering the Rest
Although it can truly be said that living a life of daily faith is not based upon emotions or feeling, but a life of faith does produce a feeling. That feeling is best described as “rest.” The following are some synonyms of the word: break, breather, breathing space, calm, calmness, cessation, coffee break, comfort, composure, cutoff, downtime, doze, dreaminess, ease, hush, idleness, interlude, intermission, interval, leisure, letup, lull, motionlessness, pause, peace, quiescence, quiet, quietude, recess, recreation, refreshment, relaxation, relief, repose, respite, somnolence, standstill, stay, stillness, time off, tranquility. We commonly use the word peace, and it is a good word, but I like the description encapsulated by the word rest.
A. God Rested
In Heb 4:10-11 the author says, “for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” We will look at the context and deeper teaching of this passage in a moment, but in general the author is saying that in six days God created the heavens and earth and on the seventh day he rested. This is indicative of our life without faith. We work, work, work, fret, worry, stress, doubt, etc. But when we stop our working and start believing, then we enter into God’s rest. Let’s take a look at the larger passage this comes from and the powerful statement the author makes that the Hebrews lived in the desert for forty years and were not able to enter the rest because of unbelief. The reader should also note the connection between disobedience and unbelief. The author seems to use them almost interchangeably. Paul makes this connection also when he says, “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Unbelief and disobedience go hand in hand. 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. 4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5 And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath — rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
B. Faith Gives Peace
One of the synonyms used for rest is the word peace. Peace is used frequently in the New Testament including that of a greeting. It is not my goal to give a thorough analysis of the word peace and its use in the Bible. But I do want to point out that peace in our soul and being is a longing that everyone wants and that peace is available to the believer in Jesus Christ through a life of faith. I particularly like this passage in 1 Peter 5:14 from the Amplified Bible, “To all of you that are in Christ Jesus (the Messiah), may there be peace (every kind of peace and blessing, especially peace with God, and freedom from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts). Amen (so be it).” “Freedom from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts” has got to be a goal for every citizen of the twenty-first century. We long for it so dramatically and passionately. We seek for it in so many ways and places and activities. Yet for us who are in Christ Jesus it should be visibly evident and front and center in our life. Peace is our bailiwick. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The key phrase here is “as you trust in him.” Both the joy and peace comes as a result of trust (faith). And God, the God of hope, gives them to us when we believe so that we may overflow with hope. What a glorious full circle of blessing! Now why is it we have unbelief in the God who gives us the miraculous consequences of faith? When we look at it that way, it is hard to imagine why we don’t believe and experience those miraculous consequences of faith.
Why Do I Worry?
One of the psychological plagues we experience as human beings is that of worry. It is not new to mankind and it is not going away soon. Jesus taught against it on the Sermon on the Mount. These days we have changed the word a bit to give it a more acceptable impression. We call it “stress”.
The Pagan’s Way
In order to Matt 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”</nowiki>
understand post-modern culture we must first have a meaning for modern
VI. Comparison of Cultures
I want to introduce a new word and concept in this paper. It is core-culture. The core-culture is the culture that the church, the “called out” believers, should be practicing and living out in the world today. I refer to the definition of core as “the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.” In this section I want to diagram the different approaches to culture as I see it, and to diagram core-culture and show it to be a viable alternative to the way we view the society in which we live. It is not my goal here to discuss all the theories of culture. There is also a diagram in Appendix D which shows the relationship each of these cultures have with the world based upon the Greek prepositions. Space does not allow me to expand on these relationships. There are other theories of how a Christian should live within their culture such as outlined by Francis Schaeffer in his book How Then Shall We Live. Schaeffer understood how important culture is to the way we live when he wrote, “Culture and the freedoms of people are fragile. Without a sufficient base, when such pressures come only time is needed – and often not a great deal of time – before there is collapse.” It could be argued that those pressures are here now and that we as a society in America are very close to collapse. I do believe that there are tremendous pressures on our culture today and the post-modern culture is not sufficient bear the burden of the pressures. This study of culture and faith is also of extreme importance. King Solomon says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” The inner core of thought or philosophy of how one thinks of himself or herself in relationship to the world around them is the basis of the actions they take. As Christians we come into the church with a core thought that is opposed to the teaching of God. We spend a lifetime rejecting God, and only because the Spirit of God compelled us to come to faith did we come – and some of us came “kicking and screaming.” So it is absolutely imperative that the inner thoughts of our heart be changed and conformed to thinking as God would like us to think. Paul tells us “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Truly a whole paper could be written on this verse but I quote it to show that becoming a Christian is not like changing affiliation of a political party. It is not losing an argument and changing your position. It is not being persuaded that something else is better. No, this is a transformation – a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar that changes into a beautiful butterfly. This transformation of thought results in what I call core-culture. This illustration of metamorphosis is also used in Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. Willard talks about transforming the mind or the thought life and our feelings; the will (heart or spirit) and character; the body; our social dimension; and the soul. Although Willard makes both true and wonderful points, this is not what I am referring to. I am referring to all of our maneuvering within this world being in faith. Paul said, “We live by faith, not by sight.” We make decisions based not on what we see, but in a belief that God is actively arranging the chairs. The author of Hebrews states this same concept, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” As we have our being in this physical world, our demarche is that we will not obey it, follow it, live like it, mimic it or trust in it. Our demarche is that we will trust in the creator of it all, the one who has the power to raise Jesus from the dead and the one who has both the authority and power to arrange the chairs.
Modern and Post-Modern Culture
In order to understand post-modern culture we must first have a meaning for modern culture. It should be noted that modern and post-modern are terms that relate to more than just culture. In fact these terms predate culture. They began in art, literature, music and science before entering into the culture at large. But in my discussion I am applying it only to culture. I am defining modern as follows: Modernism is a philosophical belief that “there is a stable, coherent, knowable self that is conscious, rational, autonomous, and universal. This self knows itself and the world through reason, or rationality, posited as the highest form of mental functioning, and the only objective form. Science can provide universal truths about the world, regardless of the individual status of the knower. The knowledge produced by science is “truth,” and is eternal. The truth produced by science will always lead toward progress and perfection. Reason is the ultimate judge of what is true, and therefore of what is right, and what is good (what is legal and what is ethical). Freedom consists of obedience to the laws that conform to the knowledge discovered by reason.”
Post-modernism then “appears when the idea of certainty or objectivity is abandoned. Everything is set into flux. Philosophy becomes ‘nonfoundational.’ All language is interpretation of other language, and there is no one set of correct rules for such interpretation. Diversity is appreciated, or at least accepted, as ultimate. All beliefs are understood to arise out of particular socio-cultural-economic historical contexts.”
One of the outcomes of rejecting a knowable self that is rational, conscious and universal is the experience of fragmentation and alienation that many post- modern people suffer. This is even true among Christian believers today. The post-modern thinker does not reject the super natural or that God may intervene in the affairs of the world, they would just say that it is good for you, but not for them – as they seek another spiritual way.
The diagram to the right illustrates my view of how the post-modernist believer lives within the world system. The non-believer looks at the Christian and says, “That’s nice. I’m glad for you.” When the believer has a post-modern philosophy they look just like the world. They are barely distinguishable from any other person in society. Evidence abounds that post-modern thought invades the Christian belief system, leaving Christians perplexingly statistically indistinguishable from non-believers, e.g., the divorce rate among Christians is the same as the rest of society. We are as “crooked” as the rest of the world. We are indistinguishable. We dare not stick out and be different. I will even go a step further and say that the post-modern thought among believers comes close to negating the need for evangelism. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The post-modern believer and non-believer believe that Jesus is “a” way, truth and life. Since he is “a” way, the need for a real born again conversion is not necessary. We are comfortable with inviting the non-believer to our church and they may in fact enjoy the service. But many a service does not have an alter call. In fact the service does not have any kind of request or call for action – except to help with church activities. The “audience” is not asked to give all of their possessions to feed the poor and go follow Jesus.
B. Cross-Culture
The diagram at right shows the relationship of the believer practicing cross-culturalism. Their faith does distinguish them from others in the world, but they go into another culture and seek to live like them, except they maintain their Christian practice. The study of cross-culture ministry was a significant part of the MAGL program. The underlying basis of cross-culture study is that by identifying with an individual in a different culture they have a better opportunity/chance to win them to Christ and to communicate with them both the gospel and the way of life that is reflected in the Bible. It is this identification that brings an element of trust to the relationship. The listener trusts the “preacher” because they are comfortable with the setting of the message. One of the problems with the study and implementation of cross-culture today is that proponents come up with statements as follows: “A congregation must become a place where members learn to function like cross-cultural missionaries rather than being a gathering place where people come to receive religious goods and services.”
C. Contrast-Culture
Although the contrast-culture study was a small part of the whole Masters degree program, once I learned about it I looked at most of the things we studied through that prism. Most of what I read regarding counter-culture was from Gerhard Lohfink. Lohfink’s intent was to show that God pursued community in the Old Testament, Jesus’ ministry, the Epistles and the early church. I found this much less exciting and important than the lesser point which is how that community acts with society at large. He uses the term “counter-society” and “contrast-society” as a description of that community. He believed this community was to be culturally subversive. It is this point that most intrigued me as a way of life for us in our society and in the church today. Lohfink quotes Tertullian when he says, “Nothing is more foreign to us than the State.” Today some might say the church in fact acts as if “nothing is more sacred to us than the State.” The church in America literally “glories” in the fact that our leaders are cohorts with the State’s leaders and as if it were making them one and the same. Today our churches honor the flag, soldiers, war, a President (now a past president), and country with outright abandon. We are not practicing the contrast-culture today in the United States as the early church practiced it. The contrast-culture was most evident during the first couple of centuries after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Lohfink the early Christians practiced a culture that stood in contrast to the culture at that time. There does seem to be merit in this approach to contemporary culture in that it did change the world at that time. Is it viable today to think that Christians will live in contrast to their culture? In my opinion I don’t think so. And it is not really totally necessary either as I will explain later. Lohfink magnificently explains the concept of contradiction and why it is important in the scope of winning the world to Christ. “The idea of church as contrast-society does not mean contradiction of the rest of society for the sake of contradiction. The only thing meant is contrast on behalf of others and for the sake of others. Precisely because the church does not exist for itself, but completely and exclusively for the world, it is necessary that the church not become world, that it retain its own countenance.”
God’s purpose for establishing a contrast society is to demonstrate, through the lives of a community, the holy characteristics of God so that the world may know God. “Disciples of Jesus, engaged in such service of compassion and social justice, do so in the spirit of Christ so that their acts of service become the good news of the reign of God that point unmistakably to Jesus as the source, to whom disciples openly bear witness.” (Gibbs: 45) The diagram to the right illustrates how the believer stands in contrast to the world. They are apart from the world. Their life is clearly different from the world.
D. Core-Culture
So far I have looked at four views of culture: modern, post-modern, cross and contrast. This signature theme of culture has been included in the course work because it is important to the believer’s responsibility of reconciling the world to God. Culture is not some nebulous academic concept. It is a real world application that directs the way we lead our life and governs the choices we make on a moment by moment basis. It is not something that we simply study for the purpose of knowing, it is something we study because it is the dividing line between spiritual life and death. I also want to make certain that the reader understands my position that becoming a Christian is not an “add-on” to an existing lifestyle or belief system. We cannot be “saved” by being a good person and also believing. The Bible makes it very clear that salvation is by faith and faith alone. When “works” are added to the mix of salvation, then faith is negated. When we are humble to impress man or God, we are not acting in faith as God longs for us to do. I personally believe that our churches are filled with members that don’t really believe that salvation is by faith alone. Studies by George Barnum and the Pew Organization bear this out with their research studies also. The result is a lack of power within the church, and worldly condemnation of the saved, not an uplifting or encouraging experience for the condemned! Sometimes we stray from the things we intrinsically know and believe. For example, any of us who have a solid knowledge of the Bible know that any plan, program, principle, message, method, etc. for propagating the gospel (for example) will not be nearly as effective as a divine intervention. The divine intervention on Pentecost was far more effective in winning the 3,000 converts than anything the disciples could have devised on their own. The spread of Christianity into Ethiopia certainly could not have been planned any more effectively by Phillip. Yet our modus operandi suggests something different.
The MAGL program at Fuller Seminary had an entire class on Leading a Missional Church but there has not been required coursework on Leading in Faith. But we intrinsically know that leading a church in faith – complete faith – will win more individuals to Christ and salvation than all the teaching and praxis of being a missional church. I do believe that we need to know how to lead a missional church.
The next question by the reader probably becomes, “Is it possible to have entire culture believing and practicing faith?” My answer is emphatically “yes” and furthermore not only is it possible, but it is God’s plan from the beginning. It is only by the church living and practicing a faith core-culture that it lives out in the world the testimony that it was designed to give to the world. That is the “transformation of Romans 12:1-2. The figure to the right depicts living in a core-culture within the world. The world is able to see a difference in the way the Christian lives their life. And that core-culture supersedes and blocks out the world’s culture wherever it may be: at home or on the mission field. The pagan recognizes that God is arranging the chairs and is either drawn or repelled.
V. The Culture of “Arranging”
In this section I want to move beyond the realm of core-culture being merely an idea and develop a roadmap of what this culture might look like in the world. A core-culture of faith will develop only when many believers are practicing a life of faith and experiencing its consequences. Hopefully whole churches and denominations and mission organizations will practice this core-culture. Maybe new ones will arise as God desires to counter the culture of the world today. We can only pray and believe.
A. What Core-Culture Is Not
Before I go further I need to make it clear what the core-culture is not. First, the core-culture is not “faith healing” as we know it today. I went to a “good” evangelical church in Atlanta once and during the service the pastor asked all those who were in need of prayer for healing to stand and be prayed for. I looked around and saw a group of individuals standing that were decidedly overweight and obviously had not exercised in decades. This is not core-culture. The pastor would have been wiser to ask them to confess their sin of mistreating the “temple” of the Holy Spirit; leave the service and walk around the church property seven times; and then go home and empty our all the “bad” food in their kitchens. I am not against faith healing because I have personally laid hands on a cancer patient and in faith believed that they would be cured – and the cancer did disappear. So I know firsthand about healing and how I felt when the cancer left (I’ll never forget that feeling). But what a mockery of faith when we blithely pray for the sick and they have no “deeds” to back up their faith. Nor am I talking about “speaking in tongues” or a “prayer language” as evidence of a core-culture. These generally are simply learned responses and have nothing to do about faith. The consequence of faith would be to speak in an actual language. God would be speaking through you so the recipient understands this “miracle” and it and the Word that is preached causes them to come to faith. We in the core-culture should expect this to happen. Nor am I talking about believers giving testimony about some “African” being raised back to life by a television evangelist/missionary. It is believers giving testimony about the miracles that take place in their life on a daily basis when God arranges the chairs at the banquet and brings them to the head table of honor. In other words it is not about the other person – it is about you! It is about God intervening in your life – each and every day; evidenced by the experience you’ve had when you got up and walked to the head table in front of everyone else. Core-culture is not praying to find your lost keys or God providing a parking space. He may do these things for some glory, but this life of faith is about believing God to do things we are unable to do by ourselves. If we look we can find the keys and if we drive around we will find a parking space. The things of faith are the things we cannot do by ourselves. Finally the core-culture does not look like pathetic people who sit around waiting for God to answer prayer. No, these are people who expect things to happen and are out and about doing activities as if they are going to happen in response to the prayers of faith. To the core-culture “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
B. The World Without a Core-Culture
So what does the world look like without a core-culture? Well just look around – that’s it! It is characteristically lacking of the miraculous activity on God’s part. The lack of miraculous activity is not just a phenomenon in the US today. It was also missing when Jesus walked the earth. Matthew gives an account of such an occurrence that seems to have frustrated Jesus greatly because the disciples lacked faith. “When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ‘Lord, have mercy on my son,’ he said. ‘He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.’ ‘O unbelieving and perverse generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.’ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” “Because you have so little faith” was the Master’s response to the disciples being unable to cure the world, or a little part of it. A loving marriage, a generous and giving Christian, a happy and smiling believer, and/or a “missional” life or church is the by-product of having faith as small as a mustard seed. I spent close to 30 years living in the front range of Colorado. Coloradans know their directions. We know them because the mountains are always in the west. It is predictable to us. We don’t get lost during the daylight because we can always find the mountains and know which way is west (and therefore north, south and east). That is akin to living life without core-culture – nothing out of the ordinary changes. But that is not the life Jesus taught for his disciples. Jesus would have us know through faith that the mountains might get moved, but the direction we head is always the right one, if we have faith that they are where God put them! Just as he taught that faith allows God to rearrange the chair, he taught in the passage above that faith also rearranges the mountains: “You can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.” In a world without a core-culture we would expect to know where the mountains are. But in a world with a core-culture we should expect the mountains to move!
C. What Does This Culture Look Like?
The reader may be wondering if I am advocating a dismissal of everything we have learned in and about the church since the reformation. The answer is “no.” But it does mean there is a new gestalt (I agree,Jed Snyder, but this gestalt must be adequate for the poorest and richest, the most educated and the illiterate, the old and young, the male and female, the dull and intelligent. You have captured something of its essence. In this section you must “bring it home” “make it work”.) which results in how we look at spiritual things. In my lifetime we have had “theological tangents” every few years. We studied them in seminary. I believe “missional” and “emergent” are a couple of those fads. When I was a young man the word/fad was koinonia. No one talks of that anymore. But faith is core. The core-culture must be centered on faith. We are united by faith. That is how we got here and that is what binds us together – we share a common faith. This common faith is universal throughout ages and across cultures. Paul said, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” So faith, hope and love must permeate this culture – these three remain. But we see even a love that has to be described as miraculous. By that I mean, how one does realistically love their enemies? That too is the result of a miraculous occurrence. This is the display of God at work. This core-culture must have correct doctrine. Fully half of Paul’s doctrine were either teaching correct doctrine or correcting heresies. This must be our responsibility too. The church cannot afford to move into Gnosticism or ignorance. So we see the full operation of the spiritual gifts, including pastor and teacher. The core-culture practices the sacraments of the church. We continue to baptize and marry and take communion. We derive strength from these. We settle disputes and try to keep from taking each other to secular courts. We try to stop gossiping and backbiting. We put out the sinner from our church. This core-culture feeds and clothes the poor and takes care of the widows and orphans. They visit those in prison. We have koinonia, community and are “missional.” We evangelize and build churches –all sorts of churches in all kinds of places including home churches and mega churches where the pastor leads the congregation in knowing and loving God and experiencing the power of Christ’s resurrection.
VI. Conclusion
Even though I personally have experienced over many years the consequence of faith many, many times in my life, it has only been by researching and writing this paper have I felt comfortable in being able to explain what I was experiencing. Over the last couple of years my business partner and friend have been living – out of necessity – what I have been writing about. We have seen God arranging the chairs in our company and have marveled at the miraculous things God has done. So I have not written about theory or speculation, but out of real life experiences that prove again the infallibility of the Word of God and it’s teaching about the “real world” application of faith in our daily lives. Never did I imagine that this study would be so meaningful to me. I hope it has been to the reader also. But each time an individual learns something meaningful in life the responsibility to internalize it and practice it in a daily walk cannot go away once the paper is submitted. No, this has been a “life changer” for me. I hope never to be the same. Pray for me as I seek to watch with great amazement and humility the consequences of my faith. Now, let’s go and move some MOUNTAINS!
Here from Jed N. Snyder are some suggested statements to “nail on the door,” like a modern day Martin Luther. Here are some ways our God “arranges the chairs” of our lives. 1. Faith in our wonderful God opens the door to supernatural living. 2. Faith teaches us to humble ourselves before Him and each other. 3. Faith expects the impossible because it is supernatural. 4. Faith energizes risk-taking love to our God and our neighbors in the Holy Spirit. 5. Faith compels us to help the hopeless, seek the lost, support the weak, cleanse the dirty, and forgive the repentant, 6. Faith sees what God reveals. 7. Faith goes where humans cannot go. 8. Faith causes us to give without expectation of temporal return. 9. Faith brings joy and peace. 10. Faith turns frustration to thanksgiving.
For a bit more detail you can go on over to Jed's page and see an amplified discussion of faith-core culture for individuals and for the universal body of Christ, the church.
APPENDIX A GREEK PREPOSITIONAL DIAGRAM
References
- ↑ http://www.firstpresaugusta.org/article199901.htm
- ↑ Luke 14:7-11 New International Version
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Augustine. The City of God. New York: Random House, Inc. 1993 Gibbs, Eddie. LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2005.
Heylighen, Francis. Principia Cybernetica Web. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/POMOFRAG.html. 1999. Klages, Mary. Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed. New York: Continuum Press. 2007
Lohfink, Gerhard. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. New York: Fortress Press, 1984
Strong, James. New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary Seattle: Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc. 1994, 2003, 2006
Roxburgh, A.J., F. Romanuk. The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Schaeffer, Francis A. How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. Wheaton: Conway Books. 1976.
Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002.
Wuest, Kenneth S. The New Testament: An Expanded Translation. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1961.
