Fanny Burney, born into a family of scholars, explorers, historians and musicians, wrote novels in 18th-19th century England. A national celebrity, she lived, visited and entertained with the upper classes.
A friend outlined some of the responsibilities attendant on her when she served as Assistant Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte—consort of George III. Such as: the ability to carry conversation beyond monosyllabic to detailed discussions; never coughing in her Majesty’s presence, even to the extent of choking instead of coughing; never sneezing in her Majesty’s presence, even if repulsing it meant you ground your teeth, even if stifling it caused you to burst a blood-vessel; never stir hand or foot in her Majesty’s presence, even if in pain, even if stifling it you bit your lips or cheek so hard you bit off a piece of flesh. And, of course, never spit in her Majesty’s presence, etc., etc., etc. So much for waiting on her Majesty. I wonder what she did when she had to sneeze or cough or scratch an itch! But nothing unusual in any government before or sense, especially among royals. Great Diaries, 377 Jesus faced such idiotic traditions in Israel. Rules that governed conduct, set limits on accepted activity, how far people could travel on the Sabbath, how they must ceremonially purify themselves and their utensils after being in public—and what constituted acceptable Sabbath day activities. With no reluctance Jesus deliberately broke every tradition that interfered with his ministry of grace, though he kept every command of Moses that related to duty! May we study to learn, until we know, the difference between form that exists to limit freedom and substance that frees us to live by God’s Spirit in grace.
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To recap. The term Lost Cause can never be applied to Christianity. It always triumphs, as Jesus made clear in John’s Revelation. Even as the Hidden, Personalized, Evangelistic, Camouflaged, Reformed, Restored and Ongoing Cause.
In this Finale, Christianity as the Triumphant Cause. Belonging to all those from history, the “great multitude that no one could count” Revelation 7:9. Those who are among the “blessed dead” of Revelation 14:13-14, whose rest encourages those still living to be faithful to Jesus. Those who, invited to God’s banquet, made themselves worthy by washing their lives by obedience and who wear “Fine linen, bright and clean” Revelation 7:14, 19:8. Those who, passing Judgment’s test by having their names written in the Book of Life, enter the New Jerusalem Revelation 21:1-22:5. Those who have come, as Hebrews 12:22ff says, to the “heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Living God”...to “thousands upon thousands of angels...to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven...to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant....” All of whom had previously in life prepared themselves by obedience to live with God in his world, as Hebrews 12:1-17 encourages. Heaven...a new city, new heavens and earth, new relationships, new body for believers, new minds for believers...glory, glory.... No other Cause has an Origin in God the Father’s Mind, God the Son as its Essence, God the Spirit as its inspiration, God the Father and God the Son as its eternal ruler. No divisions, arguments, differences of opinion, but redeemed human beings reveling in the newness of body and brain that creates multiple expressions of devotion to the Trinity not now possible in our human limitations, however varied! All this...only for those prepared to receive its benefits! Fini. Consider Christianity as an Ongoing Cause. The fractured body of Christ following the Reformation, and the fracture in the Restoration Movement, left a plethora of denominations representing Christ to the world. They replaced the monopolistic authority of the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic and Russian Orthodox Catholic churches. (Which allowed various movements within their churches so long as their leaders subscribed to the “Mother Church’s” doctrine.)
America, the land of free and individual thought, has particularly spread denominationalism to new dimensions. The church growth movement added a new wrinkle of confusion by hiding theology behind the vanilla name Community. In the old days (of this writer’s youth), you knew the doctrine of a church by the name: Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc. Today, where Community churches proliferate, you don’t know what the doctrine is. This writer had seen for years the name Wesleyan on a church building. Then, suddenly, the same church had Christian on the sign. He stopped in and asked if it was now a Christian Church? In name only, he was told. The doctrine was still Wesleyan. Then why not call it what it IS? Give the public the right to know what you ARE religiously. The Christian Church, of which this writer is a member of some 67 years, has never had to explain that we were Christian only by name, not doctrine. No, for we still preach baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sin—with solid scriptural reasons that he will discuss with anyone. And we still observe the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. And we still preach Biblically based and inspired messages each Sunday. However, all that aside, the very existence of numerous church associations today help keep God’s people honest. In Europe, England and Scandinavia—and in Roman Catholic countries as well—the organized state church has the buildings—mostly empty on Sunday, while independent congregations flourish in store fronts and schools with crowded services. Praise God that he made the church dependent on the lives of his people, not on government support. Thomas Jefferson at least had that right when he urged the state of Virginia to stop paying ministers from state coffers! Therefore, for all the criticism of fracturing the body of Christ into permanent fragments, God’s people are not silent, not intimidated, not politicized, not fearful, not despairing, not negotiating and not compromising the Gospel. End Part IX The Restored Cause followed The Reform Cause. With the fracture of fellowship between Luther and Zwingli, denominations began to proliferate, usually named after the founders, usually despite their appeal NOT to use their name.
Articles of Faith, whatever their final form, denominated Christians. The Creeds and Disciplines and Confessions codified what each group believed. While adhering to Christ’s Deity they carefully distinguished themselves from other Christians. In the early 19th century God called what history has labelled the Campbell-Stone Movement, A.K.A. The Restoration Movement. They wanted no Creed but the Bible, no Doctrine but New Testament teaching and...a new wrinkle in church life, sought Freedom in opinions. A remarkable event occurred when Alexander Campbell had to decide whether to sprinkle his baby. Knowing what his Presbyterian Church taught, but wanting to see if it agreed with Scripture, he made a detailed study of Baptism to determine its Form and Purpose. To his dismay he discovered Immersion for Forgiveness of sin only for believers the Baptism taught by the Apostles. When he discussed it with his father Thomas, he encountered powerful resistance. What Thomas had known as a Presbyterian had brought him comfort and he wouldn’t change. Nevertheless, when Alexander and his wife presented themselves for Immersion, Thomas and his wife, having studied the issue, presented themselves also. The Restoration Movement swept the country in the latter part of the 19th and into the early part of the 20th century. Then, second and third generation leaders divided: over the Deity of Jesus and the use of the Instrument in worship. The result was the Disciples of Christ—an increasingly liberal denomination denying the Deity of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament; the Bible-believing Church of Christ non-instrumental; and the Independent Christian Church, solidly Biblical and using the instrument in worship. Since both of the latter two groups hold sacred the Deity of Christ, with all that entails, great stride in re-fellowshipping have been made. End Part VIII God’s sovereignty preserved a strong remnant of Bible believers even with the Cause Camouflaged. ALL the while the Kingdom awaited the Reformed Cause.
Following a period of significant personal spiritual development, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, felt compelled to attack the abuse of indulgences in the Catholic Church. To debate the issues involved he posted 95 Theses—Points related to indulgences to be debated—on the church door at Wittenberg, Germany, October 31, 1519. Written in Latin, he wanted a debate with clerics. By God’s grace, an unknown German (God bless him) found the theses, had them translated into German and widely distributed. The Protestant Reformation had begun. (This writer wrote his Master of Arts thesis in History on Luther’s three Great Reformation Treatises. His Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520) encouraged German nationalism.) Luther made two seminal contributions to the freedom of God’s people. First, he created an awareness of Grace alone as the means of salvation. That replaced the works-ethic dominant in Christendom at the time. Second, in a six-week period, he translated the New Testament into the German language. That put Christ’s Gospels and Epistles in the hands of common people for the first time. That also energized nationalism in the heretofore competing German states. Many changes occurred in Europe as a result of Luther’s work. His break with Roman Catholicism, profiled in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, led other religious leaders to openly declare for a free church. That led, much against Luther’s desire, but often of his own making, to competing theologies. Roman Catholics decried the multiplication of personal beliefs while Protestants considered it the price paid for abolishing the tyrannical stranglehold the Roman Catholic Curia held over God’s people. End Part VII. The Kingdom of God in history remains intact, even when human accretions hide its innate Power and Glory. Like the many re-touches of Da Vinci’s Last Supper through the centuries, Christianity remained intact but with its pristine energy and attractiveness covered. That led to the Cause Camouflaged.
This blog mentions only one of many other practices that corrupted Biblical Christianity into a darkened, vain imitation of Christ’s blindingly brilliant FAITH! Replacing the universal priesthood of believers of I Peter 2:9 serving others with a limited priesthood assuming spiritual authority over bothers began the decline. The Savior’s exaltation of the 70 that he sent to preach in his name should have prevented an ordained priesthood. Indeed, he saw Satan’s fall in their success—not in the earlier success of his twelve disciples Luke 10:17-23. And, seeing verse 23 as the conclusion of his appraisal, the victory of lay believers being spiritual giants should have warned ambitious churchmen from assuming that only they could master the Christian life. The selection of seven disciples as deacons reinforced Christ’s earlier praise of laymen Acts 6:1-7. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians emphasized the local nature of leadership: deacons and elders/overseers/bishops—the latter three words referring to the same in function in a local church. This is but one departure from New Testament teaching that hid Christ’s persuasive excellence from view. Ends Part VI The mystery known always to God, but revealed to mortals only at his behest, has been revealed through Christ. That mystery is: Jesus Christ has come and all of God’s enemies will be destroyed Revelation 10:7, I Corinthians 15:24-28.
In previous blogs, then, God’s Hidden Cause became God’s Personalized Cause. This blog considers Christianity as God’s Evangelistic Cause, based on the book of Acts. Repeating what he had earlier said to the Eleven disciples in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus ordered the Eleven Disciples-Apostles to be his witnesses in “Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” Acts 1:8. Acts 2-5 record successful apostolic efforts in two of the four areas needing evangelism. Satisfaction supervened, as is often the case after any great numerical-growth period. Apostolic leadership inadvertently brought it. Who wouldn’t want to belong to an apostolic-led church with thousands of members having daily needs met, welcoming new members daily by baptisms, worshipping daily in ample temple courts with thousands of fellow Christians? Success stalled outreach and localized what God wanted universalized. God responded with an administrative change that became the catalyst turning Christianity from a local church of thousands in Jerusalem into mostly local-home churches across the Roman Empire. The alteration began in Acts 6 with the selection of seven deacons to serve daily needs of Grecian Jewish widows. One of them, the redoubtable Stephen, proved such a powerful presence in preaching and miracles that vested Jewish interests had him arrested. Which proved counter-productive for their cause since his charismatic preaching posed a threat they couldn’t correct and wouldn’t tolerate. His death led to the persecution Saul of Tarsus initiated, which led to Philip’s preaching in the third area and to the initial outreach into Africa. As Acts 11:19 records, it also led to the diffusion of Grecian Christians from Jerusalem into the wider Roman world. Which led to God’s eventual choice of Saul of Tarsus and Barnabas to ignite evangelism OVER ALL the Roman world. Which led to approximately 10% of the pole in the Empire being Christian in the final 65 years of the century. End Part V |
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