Save Yourself and Your Hearers?

 Nigel Cunningham

One of the aspects of the fourfold task agreed to by last year’s Synod is “to enable local churches to expand numerically, equip and nurture their members, and become the mother churches of as many fellowships and congregations as possible; and also to take further initiatives to create fellowships by penetrating structures of society with the gospel.”

This is an admirable goal, and one clearly based in the teaching of the Scriptures. Think, for example, of the Great Commission. We cannot rightly deny that we are commanded to go into the world and preach the gospel.

At the same time, though, we need to be careful in our pursuit of this goal. Our task is not merely to grow numerically, but also to work as hard as we can to maintain and improve our faithfulness to the Scriptures - “reforming continually”, as one of the others tasks begins.

To some people, these might seem like contradictory goals. They might say: “Surely we have to be willing to compromise some of our distinctives, going along with some things that we consider unbiblical, if we’re going to expand in numbers?”

I’d argue that we don’t necessarily have to. Let me first give an anecdotal argument, and then a scriptural one.

I myself came to Reformed convictions approximately 15 years ago precisely because I came under the ministry of a congregation that stuck unashamedly to their convictions and sought to reach out with the gospel at the same time.

I had become a Christian a few years prior in a Pentecostal church, but what I learned and saw in the ministry of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (“EPC”) in Christchurch (New Zealand) amazed me.

The congregation had two great pastors - godly men who lived the Christian life with great humility. It also had welcoming families. Sunday afternoons were often spent with other students in someone’s home. The members of that congregation had a heart for the lost - and I don’t just mean forlorn uni students! I still remember going door knocking while in that congregation, seeking to share the gospel with anyone who would listen.

If there’s one thing I think we lack in the Reformed churches, I think it’s this. In the 13 years I’ve been in the Reformed Churches in Australia and New Zealand, my wife and I have had sojourns in and visits to a number of congregations. I don’t want to say anything negative about any of them, but neither do I wish to get carried away extolling our praises. I honestly have to say that I’ve rarely felt as much a part of a loving, caring, covenant community as I did at EPC. Sometimes Michelle and I have admitted to each other that we don’t feel like we belong, like we’re not really welcome. Perhaps I’m looking at those days through rose-coloured glasses, but perhaps not. Could we be much more loving and caring - not to mention welcoming to visitors - than we are?

The other aspect in what amazed me about EPC was the teaching. It had a depth of substance and ‘fit’ with the scriptures that the teaching I’d previously heard couldn’t begin to match. I especially loved the fact that we had church three times on Sunday, the third time in a small lecture theatre on campus. It wasn’t that I was some sort of Bible nerd! No, it was what was said and done. Our meetings were called SNUF. Sunday Night University Fellowship. In that little lecture theatre, I first heard of TULIP. In that little lecture theatre, I became Reformed. I still look back on that period with the greatest of fondness. There I learned the true glory of the gospel; that it’s not primarily about my faith, my determination to live a godly life or my desire not to backslide. It’s not about ‘naming and claiming’ or speaking in tongues or gifts of prophecy. It’s not about me having ‘power’. The gospel is all about God’s love, grace and mercy, His covenant promises, His faithfulness to those promises, His wisdom and power and sovereignty by which He fulfills them and His dear Son in and through whom He fulfills them. It’s about Him, lavishing on us all of these wonderful gifts of His grace, with the result being that all we can do is say “Thank you!” in word and deed.

My own experience, then, reflects the fact that the two goals aren’t necessarily contradictory. A focus on evangelism can happily co-exist with strong Reformed convictions and the desire to continue to reform.

We can, however, say more than “they’re not necessarily contradictory”. We can show that they’re inseparable. In writing to a younger pastor, the apostle Paul exhorts Timothy: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim. 4:16)

Notice two things about that statement.

First, Timothy is told what he should seek to do: “Watch” - that is, “pay attention to”, “think about” or “consider” - his life and doctrine. It’s easy for us to go through life, not really thinking about about why we believe what we believe or why we do what we do. We live in a culture that focuses on appearance, not substance; on having money, possessions, not godliness and trust in Christ; on being entertained, not being made more and more Christlike. We keep ourselves too busy anyway. There is work to do, maybe an exercise regime to maintain, a computer to play on and there are tv programs to watch. We don’t get around to picking up the Bible or reading a substantial Christian book. But here, Paul tells Timothy to put the effort in to his life as a Christian. He’s to make what he believes and how that influences his life a priority. “The priority,” you might even say.

Timothy was not in a unique situation. Yes, he was a pastor. But these words are equally applicable to you and I. We may not preach God’s Word from a pulpit on Sunday morning, but we do preach, every day. We do so with our words and our actions to those around us - our children, our friends, other family, workmates - in everything we do. By what we say and how we act, we say something about our priorities, our hopes, our dreams... if we’re truly Christians, something about our Lord.

Timothy is supposed to think about what he believes and how he lives, and he’s supposed to do so with concern for the details - ‘closely’. Particularly interaction with other denominations and other religions, we’re sometimes led to consider the question “What’s the bare minimum you need to be a Christian?”, or to put it another way, “What are the essentials of Christianity?”. Here, though, Paul isn’t concerned that Timothy simply continue to meet a bare minimum. He encourages him to carefully watch the details, to treat every aspect of his doctrine and life as if it is important.

Every part of our life and doctrine is important too. If I fail to understand and believe the truths summarised in that TULIP acronym, I fail to understand and believe the very heart of the gospel. I therefore won’t give God the credit - the glory and honour and praise - that He should receive for all He does in my salvation. The doctrines of grace are not, therefore a peripheral issue. They are central, even though they are not necessary for salvation. Similar things could be said for our view of creation, of our understanding of God’s being and character, our view of Christ, the issues surrounding Christ’s return. Every part of our theology. Every part should be watched closely.  Taking an unbiblical view in one area undermines other areas, even if it’s not immediately obvious that this is the case.

Note also that Timothy is not charged with inventing new doctrines. He’s not supposed to follow what other people have made up. He must not cave in to the demands of the society around him or the whims of his hearers. Rather, Timothy’s calling is to persevere in what has already been delivered to him; to diligently carry on a tradition of faithfulness to God’s will and Word.

Naturally,  Timothy can’t do this by himself, and neither can we. As is always the case, he’s dependent every step of the way on the grace of God which is at work in him. Nevertheless, the command and the responsibility remain. Timothy must actively seek to persevere.

The second point to notice about that statement is the effect that persevering in his life and doctrine will have. It will “save both yourself and your hearers”.  Yes, it’s still true that we are saved by faith alone. But where does that faith come from? Romans 10:14 tells us: “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

If Timothy fails to maintain true doctrine, it won’t just affect him. It will influence what he teaches and preaches. He’ll no longer be preaching the gospel. If he’s not preaching the gospel, he and his hearers will be trusting in something other than Christ alone for their salvation; most probably their own works.

In a similar manner, if he still believes the gospel in all of its fullness, but is not living the gospel as faithfully as he’s able (again, depending upon the Lord) he’ll negate what he’s saying. He’ll be preaching one message with his mouth, and another with his deeds. That, too, will not benefit his hearers.

If we want to see our churches grow, we need - more than ever - to stick like glue, in word and in deed, to the gospel that has been delivered to us.

I say more than ever because we are surrounded by other denominations that aren’t persevering in faithful doctrine and life. They’re giving it away to focus on social action, or effectively becoming clubs, or not preaching the whole counsel of God. Other churches are succumbing to the Emerging Church movement, the New Perspective on Paul and various other distortions of the gospel. We can’t afford to follow them down these paths. We must, by God’s grace, continue to submit ourselves to God’s rule, and seek to preach, believe and live the whole counsel of God.

We need, by God’s grace, to have ever increasing knowledge and appreciation of the gospel in all its fullness and glory. As we gain that greater appreciation for the depths of our hopelessness apart from Christ and the unfathomable riches in of His grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, we’ll be better equipped and motivated to live the lives we’re supposed to live; lives that reflect gratitude in every aspect of who we are and what we do; lives that will be used by the Lord to adorn the gospel; lives that will lead people to ask “Why is your life so different, so much better than mine”

Our children will see it too. They’ll come to know and love the gospel like we do, and they won’t be tempted by the counterfeit ‘gospels’ out there because, like a bank teller handling the real thing all the time, they’ll see the fakes in an instant.

Likewise for those who come to visit. They’ll see the ‘fit’ with the Scriptures I described earlier, the increasing godliness in the members of our congregations, the way we love and serve each other as a covenant community. By God’s grace, they’ll see the depth and the glory that faithful, Scriptural teaching and living has, which the teaching and life they’re used to lacks. And they’ll want more.

Back to top
Back to August 2007 index
Back to 2007 Year Index
Return to Features Year Selector
 

All material on this site © 2004 Trowel & Sword

Privacy