The Christian's Inheritance (Part 3)

Major Malady – Missing the Christ-Hermeneutic

Humanism is ugly in any form. This anthropocentric tug came into force the moment Eve bit into the apple . It is man’s way of doing things his way. It is man’s way of remaining focused on man – this goes beyond the Tower of Babel even into Christian ministry .

God wants us looking to Him, for everything. In life and in death, in sickness and in health, in riches and poverty. Blessings and hardships – these are all God’s way of turning our eyes to Him.

And then, ultimately, God sent His only begotten Son. In surrendering His dignity, His status and His very life for our sins, Christ opened the Life Gate that All may go in. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice…. yet so many remain deaf, unwitting, un-appreciating.

And so too in the church, we get saved in a rush of heaven, and we fall in love. But our motive in this marriage can be as self-indulgent as many men on their honeymoon. And as time goes by, the selfish nature of our mindsets pervades into self-centered pursuits, where our new Life Partner is invited to bless, help, serve, love, but we remain the Lord of our own chariots.
In the modern world, many in the church are not so carnal as to merely use Christ for material Ends. But use Him we still can do. In this more ecclesiastical scenario, He is the empoweror of our Preaching, the planter of our Churches, the Enlarger of our Congregations, the worker of our Miracles, the definer of our Success-Identities, the vindicator of our Decisions.

I cannot give my life to these ends, no matter how noble or altruistic they might “feel” for a while (normally 10-15 years). The “Christ-hermeneutic” is more than a change of source of blessing (whether corporal, ecclesiastical or social); it is a change of heart, aim, ambition, power, destiny, Sovereign.

John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.

The threefold prayer of Paul for the Ephesus church – that they might know the hope, the inheritance and the power – all were prefaced with the chief prayer of “knowing Him better”...

• The key to prosperity is Christ, not a faith formula. Ps 16:5 “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.”

• The key to leadership is Christ, not training leaders. 1 Cor. 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

• The key to miracles is Christ, not atmosphere or music or a quest for miracles. Gal 3:2, 5 “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”

• The key to marriage is Christ, not marriage seminars. Eph 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”

• The key to church planting is Christ, not the right team or prayer. Acts 11:20-22 “Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.”

• The key to perseverance is Christ, not success nor psychology. Heb 12:2-3 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

• The key to rewards is Christ, not a focus on rewards, or trying not to focus on them. Phil 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.”

• The key to scripture is Christ, not another podcast. 1 Cor 2:16 ““For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”. But we have the mind of Christ.”

• The key to unity is Christ, not an insistence on unity. Eph. 4:15-16 “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

• The key to holiness is Christ, not principles for holy living. Col 1:22 “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation”

The key to our inheritance is Christ, for He is the sum total of our Inheritance.

It is true that leaders and ministers in a church scenario without Christ as the central gaze, become something other than pure channels of the gospel. to quote directly from Os Guiness, in his book "Dining with the Devil" (pages 69-70), leaders take on the form of one of the following caricatures (as more earthly inheritances than Christ are pursued) :

• Pundit – the one for whom everything can be known; everything can be pronounced on, centered professionally on the importance of information. Knowledge is more powerful than Christ’s Humility.

• Engineer – the one for whom everything can be designed, everything can be produced, centered professionally on production. Production and administration are more important than Christ’s Love.

• Marketer – the one for whom everything can be positioned, everything can be sold, centered professionally on consumer satisfaction. Impact is more important than Christ’s Truth.

• Consultant – everything can be better organized, everything can be better delivered, centered professionally on management. Efficiency and workflow are more important than Christ’s Life.

• Therapist – everything can be gotten in touch with, everything can be adjusted or healed, centered professionally on healing. Human need is more important than Christ’s Mission.

• Impresario – everything can be conveyed to advantage through the presentation of images regardless of any reality, centered professionally on public relations. Sensation and Corporate Experience are more important than Imitating Christ.

May ours not be the lot of these dead-end streets to "ministry"!!

In our final session, we will contemplate the Christian and his inheritance of the Two-Fold Blessing in Christ.

love

Nick