The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
Ephesians 4:1-16
One
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, 21 September 2014
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
To the saints who are… faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians
1:1b-2) Amen.
20Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all
that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
This
morning, we begin with an Amen. Yes, yes, it shall be so, he means. Today is a
day we thank the Lord for St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. My sermon text
is the Epistle for that occasion. In Ephesians 4, St. Paul builds on the
foundation of all that has gone on before in his letter to the church in
Ephesus.
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a
manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one
Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all
and in all. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the
measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, “When
he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
The Holy Spirit has called,
gathered, enlightened, and sanctified you, and keeps you and the whole Church
with Jesus Christ in the true faith. You are the baptized. God’s gracious
working in you has consequences.
Living in habitual sins is not
walking in a manner worthy of God’s call. Insisting on our own way is the
opposite of bearing with one another in love. Asserting human thinking or human
traditions, or political correctness over God’s Word is not how one maintains
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
What peace is there when people
disagree on the fundamentals of Christianity? Is Jesus primarily an example, or
first and foremost the Savior from sin, death, and hell? Is Jesus the
illegitimate son of a Roman solider, or truly begotten of the Father from
eternity, the Virgin-born Son of God? Was it all faked—the biggest cover-up of
human history, or was the tomb truly empty because of Jesus’ physical
resurrection from the dead?
Faith knows the difference between
the devil’s seductive lie and true Biblical history. Scripture is on our side. Secular
historical evidence is on our side. Archaeology is on our side. Leave it to the
modern and post-modern world to throw the faith in the trash.
Unity means something significant
in common. Tolerating false teaching alongside truth does not foster unity. Two
is not the same as One. How can the mainline denominations survive while there
are both Christians proclaiming the Biblical message, and also those who insist
on positions exactly opposite of what the Bible says: accepting and promoting
homosexual behavior, ordinations, and so-called “marriages”, demanding the
ordination of women as pastors, ignoring cohabitation, and replacing historic
worship with entertainment, spectacle, and psychobabble. St. Paul would shout,
“No!”
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a
manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and
in all. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the
measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, “When
he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
The unity our congregation enjoys,
the unity the Wyoming District defends, and the unity the Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod largely has, is a gift from God. Sadly, it is a gift some
in the LCMS don’t see as a gift.
9(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he
had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the
one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all
things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
the pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints [ ,
] for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature
manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…
The One message the Lord has given
to the Church in Christ, in the Word is proclaimed in these diverse ways. We
should heed the advice of our late Synod President Barry: “Keep the message
straight…Get the message out…”
11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
the pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints [ ,
] for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature
manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer
be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the
truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into
Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every
joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the
body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
St.
Paul calls for Christian maturity. We are to avoid “every wind of doctrine.” A
Lutheran radio host calls this the “Fad-Driven Church.” Pastor Todd Wilken
writes: The dictionary defines a fad as "a practice or interest followed
for a time with exaggerated zeal." This could just as well be a
description of congregational life of many Christian churches today. There is a
new book, a new program or a new emphasis every year or so. It’s all anyone can
talk about; it's all the preacher preaches about - for a while. Then, as
quickly as it came, it's gone. As eagerly as it was received, it's abandoned
and forgotten. Welcome to the Fad-Driven church.
At
first this might not sound like a problem.
Some Christians can remember when the Church didn't jump from bandwagon
to bandwagon every year or two. But for others, this is all they have ever
known. For them, it is hard to imagine what the Church would be like without
the constant ebb and flow of church fads. For them, the long list of church
fads represents their personal history as a Christian: Spiritual Gift
inventories, Spiritual Warfare, Promise Keepers, Weigh Down Workshop, The Prayer
of Jabez; the Left Behind Series, Becoming a Contagious Christian, a long
succession of evangelism and stewardship programs, and most recently, The
Purpose-Driven Life and 40 Days of Purpose. There are many Christians for whom
this list (give or take one or two) is Christianity. Some church fads come and
go, some come and stay. A few are genuinely harmless; most contain serious
theological error. All are popular - while they last In the fad-driven church,
“exaggerated zeal” has replaced "the faith once for all delivered to the
Saints."
Wilken
continues: In the course of hosting Issues, Etc. I've examined most if not all
of the recent church fads. I am always surprised - not by the fads themselves,
but by something else. I am always surprised by how uncritically churches accept
a fad, how enthusiastically churches embrace a fad and how carelessly churches
abandon a fad. That is why this article isn't about the fads themselves, but
about the kind of churches that accept, embrace and abandon fads.
Every
fad has a life cycle. The fad is first accepted, then embraced and finally
abandoned. For the fad-driven church, this life cycle is a way of life.
The
cycle begins with acceptance. The fad-driven church is practiced at this. Too
close an examination of the fad at the outset might raise too many questions.
"After all, this book is a best-seller!" "Thousands of churches
are doing it, how can we go wrong?" Accept first, examine later, if at
all. This acceptance may come through the pastor's active promotion or through
grassroots popularity. Either way, the fad spreads like wildfire in the
congregation.
The
cycle continues with enthusiastic embrace. By "enthusiastic" I don't
mean excitement or emotion, although those things may be involved. What I mean
is that the fad-driven church embraces its latest fad with creedal intensity.
While the fad has currency, it is an article of faith. Belief in the fad
becomes a mark of loyalty to the church. During this phase of the fad's life
cycle, critics of the fad may be dismissed as unloving, judgmental or
unconcerned for saving souls. At the very least, they are viewed as
troublemakers and obstacles to the church's mission. During this phase, in some
cases, the fad may dictate what is preached, the content of bible study or even
the focus of congregational life.
The
life cycle ends with the abandonment of the fad. Some fads have a built-in
expiration date... most simply linger until something better comes along. The
fad-driven church may cling with a martyr's fervor to the fad while it lasts,
but everyone knows that its days are numbered. Sooner or later it will have to
be abandoned. Accept the fad, embrace the fad and abandon the fad. This is the
life of a fad-driven church. There are
exceptions to this life cycle. In a few cases a fad doesn't die; it grows into
something bigger than a fad. It grows into a movement... [Pastor Wilken says,] I
have often been critical of church fads at the height of their popularity.
After several encounters with fad defenders, I noticed something. The seasoned
member of the fad-driven church will defend his fad today. But he will happily
abandon the same fad six months from now. I realized that the fad itself is
inconsequential; everyone knows that it will be forgotten sooner or later. Christians
caught in the cycle of church fads must defend a particular fad, because by
doing so, they are defending their willingness to accept, embrace and abandon
fads in general. They are defending their fad-driven-ness.
The
need of discernment in the Church is one of the most frequent admonitions in
Scripture. Paul's warning to the Ephesians is typical: We are no longer to be
children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but
speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in all aspects unto Him, who is
the head even Christ.
The
church is supposed to stand immovable against “every wind of doctrine." By
contrast the fad-driven church is a windsock. If you want to know which way the
wind is blowing, the latest teachings, the newest programs or the most current
methods, just look at the fad-driven church. If you want to know what the
fad-driven church will be doing next, just walk through your local Christian bookstore
or page through a Christian publisher's catalogue.
In the
fad-driven church, books, programs and seminars are evaluated primarily by
their sales, popularity and attendance records, rather than on their
theological merit, "False teaching? Why would so many churches be reading
this book if it contained false teaching?” Can millions of Christians be wrong?
Yes, they can. [End Quote.]
Therefore,
it is important for Biblical Christians to be ready to speak / the truth / in
love. Our sharing is done with gentleness and respect, having a
good conscience. We share the truth in love, that is, lovingly and out of a
loving motivation. We're not about winning arguments. We're not about shoving
religion down someone's throat. Being obnoxious or pushy is out of line.
We show respect by asking questions and genuinely caring
about their answers. We want to find out about them, their hurts, concerns,
needs. And we bring the Word of God to bear upon those hurts, concerns and
needs to bring about healing, understanding, and reconciliation with God.
Finally, we do all of this out of a good conscience. We
speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God! We
don't sugar-coat the truth. We don't rewrite the truth to fit what they want to
hear. We don't add to God's Word or cut anything out. All of those actions
would be lying, and unloving.
And it doesn’t hurt to be proud of our congregation—in a
godly way—rather than be embarrassed. If you are ashamed of Immanuel in some
way, then that is something that 1) needs to be confronted in yourself, so that
you may be better conformed to the Word, rather than what any human being says,
and/or (possibly both) 2) it may be an area were healing, reconciliation, and
forgiveness is essential between you and a fellow Christian who is here or not
here. Both actions are part of the good conscience mentioned in our text.
So, we are to be prepared. And eat our Wheaties. And by
Wheaties, I don’t mean the cereal. And I’d like to speak especially to the men.
If you don’t eat your Wheaties, you won’t have strength to serve, either your
family or congregation. One must be fed before he can feed others. Word comes
first, then comes service. If you try serving before or instead of being fed by
the Word, you will, I repeat, will burn out and get discouraged.
If we are to be prepared to share our hope in Christ, we
ourselves should know of that hope and be comforted. That takes time in the
Word, individual prayer and Bible Study, family devotions, Bible Classes, time
reading good Christian books or articles, and time each Sunday at the Divine
Service and Sunday School.
Telling the Good News about Jesus is not a burden, but a
privilege. Consider yourself. Someone told you about the hope they had in
Christ Jesus. That Word took root in you and the Holy Spirit brought about the
fruit of faith. You believe because someone told you the good news about Jesus.
You may have heard this Word from infancy. It may have happened later in life.
You may have fallen away and then returned. Whatever the occasions God used to
draw you to Himself through His Word and Spirit, He used someone who was
prepared to share Christ's hope with you.
Therefore…walk in a manner worthy
of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one
Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all
and in all. Amen.
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with
love incorruptible. (Ephesians 6:23) Amen.
