NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

While of the world, we thought and acted like the world, but now that we know Christ (and are known by Him) our habits are changing. You must be "transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12.2), an inward change which results in a new lifestyle.

Take the apostle Paul for example. After fighting tooth-and-nail against the Christian "sect" (as he saw them), Christ knocked him into the dirt and showed him how much he would have to suffer for Christ. Immediately he reversed course and began to publicly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, reasoning with any who would listen. One day he killed Christians; the next day he joined them.

So it is with all Christians—there is a definite change in our habits. One day we are of the "sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2.2); the next we are falling on our knees praying to Jesus as Lord and King. One day we wonder what "Christianity" is about; the next we cling tightly to our Bible, knowing it is the inspired and holy word of God.

Not everyone's conversion feels quite so dramatic, but we must understand the change involved in stepping from the world into the family of God.

One of the first signs of a changed heart is a converted mind. The proof of a reborn soul is an intense love for God's word as absolute, bedrock, divine truth. Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians:

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1.15–19)

Paul wanted the Christians to know certain things about God and about their salvation. How would they come to know these things?

...by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3.3–10)

Through the Holy Spirit, God made known to Paul the mystery of the gospel. Paul wrote it down, and he preached and taught that gospel. That is how God chose to continue revealing the gospel of His Son—through the reading and teaching of Scripture.

God put the church together in great part to give us an environment which fosters growth in the word.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, 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 into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4.11–16)

All those gifts God gave the church in verse 11 have to do with teaching and preaching—the passing along of God's word. Notice the benefits of staying in the word and continuing in a steady teaching / learning environment:

• You will be built up in Christ
• You will attain the unity of the faith
• You will come to know the Son of God
• You will grow up in Christ
• You will take part in the growth of the whole body of Christ, the church

Every Christian should habitually be in the word, whether it's listening to the Bible read or taught (by a competent teacher!) or reading and studying for himself. Is your life characterized by a love for the word and a continual hungering and thirsting for righteousness?

STAY IN THE WORD!

Am I happy because of the security and wealth I have? Am I happy because of the things I do, the pleasures I enjoy, the food I eat, the clothing I wear, etc.? All these things can make me briefly happy, but pleasure is fleeting.

Your definition of success greatly affects your happiness and contentedness during your short stint on earth.

The "American dream" is about money and comfort. Is that success? Our Constitution guarantees us the right to pursue happiness, but it doesn't bother defining it. Most seem to think owning property produces happiness; therefore, to maximize happiness you should maximize the amount of stuff you own.

Not true!

Just look at how many winners of life's lottery still suffer severe depression, anger, hopelessness. Substance abuse remains rampant among the wealthy, just as it does among the poor. Being filthy rich doesn't protect marriages, as many of the world's rich and famous are famous for philandering, cheating, and divorcing.

Since money obviously does not guarantee happiness, we shouldn't define success by riches. I appreciate Dave Ramsey on many levels, but he often seems to equate "winning" with the amount of cash a person has. "Cash is king." He encourages making major sacrifices now to have millions later. He talks of years of rice and beans, beans and rice; live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else. Change the family tree.

For what purpose? Will those millions make me or my family happier down the road?

Why should I change my family tree in this way? Why should I leave millions to my children? Is this really the focus and goal God has for me and my family?

On the one hand,

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. (Prov. 13.22)

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! (Prov. 28.19)

On the other hand,

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. (Prov. 13.7)

Better is a little with righteousness,
Than vast revenues without justice. (Prov. 16.8)

Better is a dry morsel with quietness,
Than a house full of feasting with strife. (Prov. 17.1)

He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage. (Prov. 11.28)

What if, instead of earthly riches, I give my family a strong work ethic? What if I teach them to love their neighbor as themselves? What if I teach them to take care of widows and orphans in their distress? What if I leave a legacy of peace and fellowship?

What if my family lives within their means but never becomes rich or powerful? Can they still find happiness?

What if I teach them to give away their money and trust God to take care of them and continue to fill their needs?

Jesus says:

"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fill, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12.32-34)

Success, for the child of God, is a life filled with hope, love, faithfulness, and quietness. A contented man is successful.

As a wise man once prayed:

Give me neither poverty nor riches--
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God. (Prov. 30.8-9)

Deacons are simply servants of the church. The church appoints these servants to fulfill certain tasks necessary to the working of the church. Early disciples in Jerusalem appointed these servants to take care of their needy widows (Acts 6), but their qualifications (1 Tim. 3.8-13) indicate they serve the church in more ways.

In Jesus’ teaching, the greatest of all is the least of all, and Jesus used διάκονος (diakonos) to describe us: And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9.35) “But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant…” (Mark 10.43)

God called the Roman government His διάκονος: “he [the governing authority] is God’s servant for your good” (Rom. 13.4).

Jesus Himself is a διάκονος to Israel: “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs…” (Rom. 15.8)

This word is used in many places throughout the New Testament. We understand by the context of 1 Tim. 3.1-13 that Paul writes of offices or positions in the church. The role of overseer / elder is an office of the church. Likewise (1 Tim. 3.8) there exists the role or office of deacon.

When addressing the Philippian church, Paul wrote “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1.1).

Those who serve their church in this official capacity should be tested and proven to be faithful before the church appoints them to this service. They not only serve the church; they represent the church (and, thus, Christ). Their qualifications differ from those of elders in several respects, but they are quite similar. We should look for men who are “dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Tim. 3.8-9). They should manage their children and households well and be the husbands of one wife (1 Tim. 3.12). Women servants “must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things” (1 Tim. 3.11).

Those who serve well (i.e., faithfully), “gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 3.13).

Isn’t it interesting that God requires men and women to be qualified before they serve the church in this capacity? These are not “advanced” Christians. They simply walk as Christians ought. They provide good examples to the flock, and they do not embarrass the church by shirking their responsibilities. They are faithful in their duties and faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

No wonder they gain confidence in the faith! Faithful service has that wonderful side-effect.

Are you qualified to serve?

Jesus said, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7.15–20). He immediately launched into a heavy message:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast our demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7.21–23)

The term “Lord, Lord,” indicates a perceived closeness, as if they considered Jesus a close friend. But Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you.” He surely knew who they were, but He did not know them as a friend; He never had a good relationship with them, despite their protestations. Why did He not know them? Because they did not do the will of His Father.

Do you say you believe in Jesus? Are you bearing fruits which prove your faith?

You see, God does not save people so that we might continue doing the works we have always done. He does not save us to leave us alone. He saves us to change us into something better, more glorious, more just, more kind, more loving. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5.17).

Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.22–24, which is: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Paul taught Christians to “continue in the faith, and...through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14.22)

If a Christian is ever unsure about his standing with God, 1 John is an excellent letter to read. Everyone should think about himself or herself as he or she reads the following:

1. 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. (1.7)
2. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1.9)
3. By this we know we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. (2.3)
4. Whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. (2.5)
5. By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He [Jesus] walked. (2.6)
6. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in Him there is no cause for stumbling. (2.9–10)
7. Do not love the world or thing things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (2.15)
8. Whoever does the will of God abides forever (2.17)
9. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. (2.23)
10. You may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him (2.29)
11. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (3.4)
12. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (3.9)
13. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. (3.14)
14. Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our hear before Him” (3.18–19)
15. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us. (4.23)
16. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. (4.2–3)
17. Whoever knows God listens to us [the apostles]; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (4.6)
18. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (4.8)
19. If we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. (4.12)
20. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (4.15)
21. And this is the commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (4.21)
22. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. (5.1)
23. By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and obey His commandments. (5.2)

Don’t get the wrong idea from this list, as if this is a to-do checklist of how you are going to prove to God that you’re a good person and on His side. That is not it at all! This is a list of PROOFS which will show YOU that you have, indeed, been born again.

If these fruits are not in your life, the solution is not to simply start doing them. The problem is that you do not know the Lord, you have not been born again! But if these fruits are present (even in embryonic stages), you can take heart in your relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

If you believe you do not have a relationship with the Father based on this list, what should you do? Go back to the top and focus on the Gospel message. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Why was He crucified? To pay for your sins, to take your sins upon His own shoulders on the cross, and to make a great exchange with you. Sink your teeth into 2 Corinthians 5.14–21:

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

The great exchange is right here. It is just as it sounds: Jesus took something from us and gave us something else in return.

Jesus took our sins: “not counting their trespasses against them.”

Jesus gave us righteousness: “so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

A changed man, a new man, lives now not for himself but for the one who died for him and was raised for his sake. He is a new creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2.10).

Praise God for His awesome work through Jesus Christ! Let us live for Him always.

Christians are not always the brightest bulbs, but we do shine in this dark world. We obstinately refuse to disagree with God, even when we don’t completely understand the how or the why. A scientist insists gravity is the law that makes things fall. It’s nothing special, he says; it’s just the way it is. The Christian enjoys the fact that God made the apple to fall down and not up. Why should it not fall up, after all?

Christians love reality. God paraded all the animals before Adam and told him to name them, and man has not stopped naming God’s created things. “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out” (Proverbs 25.2). A Christian understands categories and design, and he knows the Designer. Reality reflects the Creator, and the Christian revels in what is, not in what he wishes or hopes it were.

Satan is the father of lies (John 8.44); he lies because he hates the truth, and he hates the truth because he hates what God loves. Christians love what God loves. Enemies of God deny truth and speak against reality. They seek not necessarily to define things differently than God but to rid the world of definitions altogether because definitions recognize limitations, and God’s enemies hate limits.

Christians recognize and love God’s limits. “Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out of the womb…and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” (Job 38.8–11). Oh, how the world hates God’s “Thou shalt nots”!

The mega church down the road advertises their teen program: “Limitless.” I’d really like to hear the rationale on that one. Are they really teaching their teens they have no limits in Christ? No boundaries? What?

Matt Walsh has become famous recently with his bombshell documentary, What Is a Woman? The single point of the entire program centers on defining the word woman. It’s not that the current culture can’t define it—they refuse to because they realize giving a definition boxes them in. They don’t want to be confined to the reality of what a woman is, so they refuse to speak. Likewise, Jesus asked the chief priests, scribes, and elders of His day, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” He challenged them to define John’s baptism. They refused, specifically to avoid being trapped by their answer (Mark 11.27–33). They were not interested in reality; they were interested in getting their own way.

Because Christians seek to define terms, to categorize things properly, to accept reality, enemies of the cross hate us for it.

We say, “Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman, as designed by God.” We say, “A man cannot change into a woman, nor can a woman change into a man.” We say, “A human baby is a life inside the womb, and killing him is murder.” We say, “A father should live with, provide for, and protect his wife and family.” We say, “A man will reap what he sows, and if you do not repent, you will die in your sins.”

In none of these things are we forcing a person to do or not to do something. We are simply recognizing reality as God designed it and giving voice to the truth. But don’t you know that silence is violence? And words are also violence. Everything is violence, and if God’s enemies don’t like what a Christian says, that gives them the moral green light to slander, malign, and even physically attack the Christian. They simply redefine violence to fit the need of their hour.

It has always been thus. They hated the Shepherd; they will hate the sheep. They hated the Master; they will hate the servants. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5.11–12).

Dear brothers and sisters, do not be surprised by abuse from Christ’s enemies. We cannot stop speaking the truth and recognizing reality because that would dishonor the Word and Designer. Speak the truth in love, keep your head up, and see what the Lord works through your faithfulness.