Each Tuesday we meet for an hour of Bible Study and prayer, in an informal setting.  All welcome.  This week, 1st June, will be on the theme of praise and thanksgiving.  Come prepared to rejoice in the goodness of God.

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Because the Bible nowhere commands us to get regular exercise, does that mean that God is not interested in it?

Except for the general principle that our bodies belong to God (1 Cor 6:19-20), the Bible gives almost no specifics as to how we should take care of our health. In light of that fact, the following questions are significant:

1. On what basis do we adopt practices as being required by God (such as bodily exercise) when there is no direct command in Scripture? Does the presence of a direct command make the practice more urgent or important? Seventh-day Adventists would argue for a host of health practices that are nowhere mentioned in Scripture. Alcohol is mentioned, to be sure, but not always as total abstinence. Tobacco and drugs are nowhere mentioned. Exercise would be in that same category. How does a commitment to God come into play in such instances?

2. Even though part of the Adventist tradition favors practical labor over games and other athletic endeavors, does the fact that Paul frequently refers to athletic imagery (cf. 2 Tim 2:5; 1 Tim 4:7; 1 Cor 9:24-27; Phil 3:12-14) mean that games may not be quite as negative as the Adventist tradition might suggest? The following paragraphs are from Alden Thompson’s book, Beyond Common Ground: Why Liberals and Conservatives Need Each Other (pp. 160-161). They explore some of the tensions involved with the sports issue:

An Illustration of Life-style Complications: Sports

I should say at the outset that part of the challenge in dealing with life-style issues in the church today stems from the fact that most mainstream Adventists have little feel for the stark conservatism that has marked much of Adventism in its early years. That is particularly true with reference to sports and recreation. Can you imagine the president of a modern Adventist college or university giving the order to convert the athletic field into a farm? Yet that is exactly what happened at Battle Creek College in 1897. President E. A. Sutherland “got out a plow, Dean Magan drove the team, and a 225-pound J. G. Lamson sat on the beam as they plowed the recreation grounds of the college and planted them to potatoes.” – Merlin Neff, For God and C.M.E. (Mountain View: Pacific Press, 1964), 63.

That kind of conservatism may help explain why Christians, in general, and Adventists, in particular, have done such a poor job of addressing life-style issues, especially as they relate to “inspired” counsel. In conservative religious circles in general, for example, a popular saying clearly works against any effort to encourage thoughtful evaluation of biblical counsel: “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.” Adventists have our own version in “Sister White says….” That appeal to raw “inspired” authority has often led to one of two unhappy results representing opposite ends of the spectrum: 1) preparation of random and highly selective lists of approved and forbidden acts, or 2) ignoring “inspired” sources completely.

In Adventism, for example, boarding schools have banned chess, checkers, and cards (because Sister White says so), but have allowed Rook and Monopoly to take their place, games that are potentially just as deadly. From my own study of Ellen White’s comments about recreation and games, I have concluded that one of her key concerns is the danger of addiction, qualified in a number of instances by the phrase “in the minds of some,” or something similar. That is an important qualification. I know of an Adventist professor, for example, who could learn his Hebrew vocabulary while watching football on television. That’s impossible for me: I am glued to the screen. Another professor does the family ironing while watching football on TV. Another impossibility for me. If I am going to watch, I must watch. Radio is different. I can multitask and do something useful like clean the basement while listening to a game. That doesn’t work with TV, at least not for me.

But even if radio allows me to multitask, radio sports still represents a deadly distraction from the things I want to do and the person I want to be. Others, like my two TV-watching colleagues noted above, have quite different experiences. But I have to be honest and admit that my tendency to be fully absorbed by any kind of competitive event can seriously detract from my ability to treat others as I want to treat them, as Jesus would treat them, as Jesus would want me to treat them. If I am engrossed in any kind of competitive event, I ignore other people, give them the cold shoulder, speak abruptly. To be perfectly blunt, Jesus’ second great commandment simply disappears from my horizon. That’s why during peak sporting seasons I sometimes handle the temptation by turning it into a reverse game, vying with myself to see how many major sporting events I can actually avoid!

Recently, however, I had a revealing conversation with a devout and serious-minded colleague who simply told me that in his experience, sports was his best point of contact with other people and a real source of enrichment and personal satisfaction. Since he wasn’t gifted musically, in his early years sports was an area that could provide focus, fellowship, and a sense of accomplishment. In his view, given the myriad temptations facing modern youth (sex, drugs, computer and video games, on-line pornography), sports provide an important and healthy alternative for our young people. In general, I’m inclined to agree.

I should also note one disastrous result of the Adventist avoidance of organized sports: adult Adventists are often very poor sports. When I was a youth pastor, our church used to schedule a weekly father-son softball game every Sunday. We had to quit because the fathers were so ill tempered. Graduates of public high schools have told me how appalled they are at Adventist behavior during sporting events. “Anyone acting like that in public school,” they tell me, “would be benched immediately.” Learning how to win and lose graciously is an important life skill. When we avoid sports completely, we lose an important opportunity for essential character development.

Having said all that, however, I still must say that I understand all too well Ellen White’s cautions about games. Nevertheless, it would be unwise for a highly-competitive person like me to attempt to dictate to the whole community. My conservative stance, driven by personal issues, must be balanced out with some good sense from moderate liberals.

3. To what extent do changes in culture and changes in personal circumstance affect the way that the “exercise” mandate might be fulfilled? During the biblical period, the sedentary life was rarely a temptation, except, perhaps for kings who had plenty of servants. But in our day, most believers do not live in an agrarian environment that requires them to get regular exercise. In such cases, would the gym or athletic field be a commendable alternative?

4. How does one balance the need for exercise with the experience of exercise as being hard work and no fun? Should exercise be fun for it to be effective? Scripture does say that a “merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 22:17). Does that mean that we need to find ways of exercising that are happy and fun events?

(from Good Word Online):

The Power of Choice

Leading Question: Is the power of choice a gift of God, but a gift with some frightening overtones?

Those who believe that it is God who chooses who will be saved, never worry about the hazards involved in the power of choice. God has settled their fate and they are secure in his hands. For most of us, freedom is something we crave. But the consequences of having freedom are significant.

1. Is good health something we can choose? In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve faced a sobering threat in connection with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Are our choices to live a healthy life like the choices faced by Adam and Eve? In their case, it was a simple command of God that they could obey or ignore (Gen 2:16-17; Gen 3:1-13). Are our health questions at all like that? Can humans respond to the good without some element of threat?

2. To what extent is the specter of guilt an effective motivator for healthful living? In the Garden, transgression led to both fear and a sense of guilt, neither of which are likely to be considered desirable by most people. But to what extent is the fear of guilt feelings and the fear of fear itself a means of keeping us within the bounds of good behavior?

3. Does God judge us for what we do not know? Abraham is celebrated as the father of the faithful and as a man who made significant choices for God. But in at least one instance, we are inclined to be critical of Abraham for a “sin” which he did not consider a “sin” by him, namely, taking Hagar as a second wife (cf. Gen 16; Gen 21:9-14). Ellen White’s comment is revealing here:

Polygamy had become so widespread that it had ceased to be regarded as a sin, but it was no less a violation of the law of God, and was fatal to the sacredness and peace of the family relation. Abraham’s marriage with Hagar resulted in evil, not only to his own household, but to future generations. – Patriarchs and Prophets, 145

The tragic consequences are obvious. But how did God look on Abraham’s sin? Do Jesus’ hard words in Luke 12:47-48 apply here? “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.” Are the disastrous consequences of sin done in ignorance sufficient punishment? Is eternal life not affected by sins done in ignorance?

4. How strong is the motivation provided by the knowledge that what we do will affect our children after us (Deut 30:10-19)? Knowing that our acts will affect our posterity could be viewed as a positive motivator or as a negative one. Are both equally effective?

5. When the Psalmist declares that the Lord is aware that “This one is born there” (Psalms 87:5-6), is he suggesting that the Lord makes allowance for our unhappy circumstances and does not hold them against us? As soon as one makes allowance for circumstances, won’t some people take advantage of that to relax into carelessness? But would an unbending rigidity be more effective in making us the people we would want to be?

6. Is it helpful to focus on the fruit of the Spirit as a means of motivating us toward right living? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23, NRSV). To what extent can our failure to live healthful lives, or our over-eagerness to be healthful, detract from the “fruit of the Spirit” in our lives? Do we need to return to a sense of gratitude for all that God has done for us as a means of motivating ourselves to do the things that are truly important?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: If I am saved by grace, can I lose salvation by not taking good care of my body?

Our Sabbath School lessons for this quarter focus on health, and thus highlight a subtle but significant tension in the life of the believer: How does human responsibility relate to God’s gracious gift of salvation?

Theologically and experientially, the world has long been divided between those who place greater emphasis on the divine initiative (divine sovereignty) and those who place greater emphasis on human responsibility (human free will). Each side of the equation faces a potentially dangerous pitfall, though not the same one.

For some, the emphasis on the divine initiative and grace can result in a freedom marked by careless disregard for human responsibility. For others, the emphasis on human responsibility can lead to arrogance or discouragement or both. In the life of the believing community, heated arguments often erupt between those who worry more about carelessness and those who worry more about discouragement. Ironically, both evils are often present in the church at the same time.

The introduction to the standard study guide opens with the quotation of Exodus 15:26, God’s promise to Israel that obedience would mean that God would put “none of these disease” upon them that had afflicted the Egyptians. The study guide suggests that lurking behind God’s commands to Israel were health principles which contributed to healthy living. The Bible nowhere makes the health connection explicit, but in the light of the modern knowledge of health and hygiene today, one can surmise that a connection was indeed intended.

In a little book that is still in print, S. I. McMillen’s None of These Diseases (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, revised edition, 2000 [1963, 1984]), contrasts the sober instructions given to Israel with the health-related instructions found in Egyptian sources. Citing the Ebers Papyrus, Dr. McMillen lists a notable array of “natural” prescriptions: “statue dust, beetle shells, mouse tails, cat hair, pig eyes, dog toes, breast milk, human semen, eel eyes, and goose guts” (p. 10). Contrasted with such a list, God’s laws to Israel look very modern indeed.

But McMillen overstates his case when he declares, “Moses recorded hundreds of health regulations but not a single current medical misconception” (p. 11). One thinks of the test for an unfaithful wife in Numbers 5, for example, where dust from the sanctuary floor is mixed with holy water and the curses for unfaithfulness are written out, then washed off into the water which is then given to the accused woman to drink. If she is guilty, the result will be a miscarriage.

But overlooking a passage like Numbers 5 is perhaps not so troublesome as the suggestion that God’s laws are to be applied universally and unflinchingly without any reference to what might be happening in the contemporary “scientific” world. In the first edition of his book, McMillen makes this comment about the laws given to Moses: “Because these divinely given medical directions were altogether different from those in the Papyrus Ebers, God surely was not copying from the medical authorities of the day. Would Moses, trained in the royal postgraduate universities, have enough faith to accept the divine innovations without adding some of the things he had been taught?” (p. 10) McMillen then notes the potential implications if “Moses had yielded to a natural inclination to add even a little of his modern university training.”

The question that we must face again and again during this quarter is the role that human reason plays in dealing with matters of health. Does everything God has ever said apply to all people everywhere? What role does human reason play in applying “inspired” counsel to our lives?

The introduction to the standard quarterly also cites Paul’s well-known words about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20). So for all kinds of good reasons, we are to take care of our bodies. But can be healthy out of gratitude? Or must there be some element of threat to make us be healthy? Those are issues we must address this quarter.

• To what extent can God’s greatness and goodness motivate us to healthy living? The standard study guide gives a line from a psalm of praise as the memory verse for the week: “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (Psalms 103.1, NKJV). Is it possible to be so overwhelmed with a sense of God’s goodness that we will want to take care of our bodies?
• Are we saved by grace, but lost by works? Ephesians 2:8-9 states without qualification that we are saved by faith, not by works so that boasting is excluded. But when we turn Galatians 5 and read the list of the “works of the flesh,” Paul adds these sobering words: “I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21, NRSV). Put bluntly, then, it would appear that God’s “unconditional love” does have its limits.
• Which is the greatest command: Love God, or love your neighbor? In Matthew 22:35-40 Jesus summarizes God’s requirements under the heading of two great commandments, and in that list, love to God is first. But it is revealing that both Matthew 7:12 and Gal 5:14 summarize the law in terms of the “second” command: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12, NRSV). “The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Gal 5:14, NRSV).
• In the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), judgment is declared not on the basis of what we have done for God directly, but indirectly through his children. Does that reinforce the position that the second command is really the crucial test of our relationship with God?

At Crieff Baptist Church.

The speaker will be Ivy Blair from Causeway Prospects Scotland.  She will present a talk entitled ‘A Christian ministry with people with learning disabilities’.

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: How does one grow the fruit of the Spirit?

1. First things first: Matt. 6:31-34. Jesus is clear: If we seek the kingdom of God first, all the other good gifts will be added as well. What are the visible signs (if any) that would reveal whether someone is seeking the Lord with all their heart?
2. Important things first: Romans 14:17. Religion is more than meat and drink, argues Paul. But he was clear that what we do with the food and drink is very important indeed, especially as it impacts other people with convictions differing from ours. Why are we so easily tempted to put lesser things (like food and drink) in greater prominence than Jesus’ two great commands?
3. Loving the world in the right way: John 3:16; 1 John 2:15; James 4:4. Jesus and the apostles agree that there is a right kind of love for the world and the wrong kind. God so loved the world that he gave his son. Can we love it in the same way?
4. How do we grow the fruit? Here is a standard set of suggestions with key texts for each. How can each of these help us become what God wants of us?
   1. Study of the Word: 2 Timothy 3:16. Does it make a difference how we study? Will some find one method more helpful than others?
   2. Prayer: Mark 1:35. Jesus didn’t say much about prayer. But his example was impressive. In particular, he would get up a long time before day break, go to an isolated place and pray. What do you imagine him doing and saying during the dark, early morning hours?
   3. Thinking good thoughts: Rom. 12:2; Phil. 4:8. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, says Paul. And he wasn’t shy about saying what we should put into our minds: The true, the honorable, the just, the pure, the pleasing, the commendable. Can meditating on those traits help make them a reality in our lives?
   4. Witness: Mark 5:18-20. When Jesus sent the healed demoniac home, he told him to share the good word with others. The man did just that – with great success. What would happen if, like the demoniac, we could share what the Lord has done for us?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: How certain can we be that we have the truth?

• Jesus is the way to truth; he is truth: John 14:6. How does the truth in Jesus relate to all the rest of truth which believers and non-believers seek? How does the claim to “have” the truth relate to the “truth” of Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

• Are we looking for correct information or effective motivation? Should there be a mix of both? The dominant model among devout conservatives is to look for “truth,” rather than a way of motivating people to explore the truth. This Ellen White quotation is sobering:

The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ’s day was that a mere assent to the truth constitutes righteousness. In all human experience a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved to be insufficient for the saving of the soul. It does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness. A jealous regard for what is termed theological truth often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth as made manifest in life. The darkest chapters of history are burdened with the record of crimes committed by bigoted religionists. The Pharisees claimed to be children of Abraham, and boasted of their possession of the oracles of God; yet these advantages did not preserve them from selfishness, malignity, greed for gain, and the basest hypocrisy. They thought themselves the greatest religionists of the world, but their so-called orthodoxy led them to crucify the Lord of glory. – DA 309

• Wholehearted searching: Jer. 29:13. Is it possible to know whether we are searching for truth with the whole heart? What would be the clue that points to the truth? It would seem that wholehearted searching would work best for those who are already part of God’s remnant community.

• Truth as something dynamic and growing: 2 Peter 3:18. In Adventism, “present truth” has been a solid part of the community’s experience, referring to fresh perspectives that may not have been seen until the “present.” But not everyone is enthusiastic about the idea. Here is the crucial quote from Ellen White:

Peter exhorts his brethren to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” [2 Pet. 3:18]. Whenever the people of God are growing in grace, they will be constantly obtaining a clearer understanding of His word. They will discern new light and beauty in its sacred truths. This has been true in the history of the church in all ages, and thus it will continue to the end. But as real spiritual life declines, it has ever been the tendency to cease to advance in the knowledge of the truth. Men rest satisfied with the light already received from God’s word and discourage any further investigation of the Scriptures. They become conservative and seek to avoid discussion.

The fact that there is no controversy or agitation among God’s people should not be regarded as conclusive evidence that they are holding fast to sound doctrine. There is reason to fear that they may not be clearly discriminating between truth and error. When no new questions are started by investigation of the Scriptures, when no difference of opinion arises which will set men to searching the Bible for themselves to make sure that they have the truth, there will be many now, as in ancient times, who will hold to tradition and worship they know not what. – Testimonies 5:706-707 (1889); also in GW 297-98 and CWE 38-39.

• Twenty-year turnaround? Ellen White, along many other pioneer Adventists, used the phrase “present truth” to refer to cutting-edge teachings and experiences. Here is the key quote:

From MS 8a 1888, address to ministers on October 21, 1888, with apparent reference to a telegram from the “absent and ailing” president who urged the delegates to “stand by the landmarks.” – M. E. Olson, Thirteen Crisis Years (1981) 282. The message “Go forward” is still to be heard and respected. The varying circumstances taking place in our world call for labor which will meet these peculiar developments. The Lord has need of men who are spiritually sharp and clear-sighted, men worked by the Holy Spirit, who are certainly receiving manna fresh from heaven. Upon the minds of such, God’s Word flashes light, revealing to them more than ever before the safe path. The Holy Spirit works upon mind and heart. The time has come when through God’s messengers the scroll is being unrolled to the world. Instructors in our schools should never be bound about by being told that they are to teach only what has been taught hitherto. Away with these restrictions. There is a God to give the message His people shall speak. Let not any minister feel under bonds or be gauged by men’s measurement. The Gospel must be fulfilled in accordance with the messages God sends. That which God gives His servants to speak today would not perhaps have been present truth twenty years ago, but it is God’s message for this time.

How do we make room for Landmark people and Present Truth people in the same worshipping community? What do you think would be most helpful in touching young lives for God?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Is obedience to the law ever a means of gaining favor with God?

1. Gratitude is the key word: Deut. 4:5-8. If defined in terms of its purpose, God’s law was intended as a guide to good and righteous living. For some reason, however, not everyone is able to focus on law as “good news,” even though Deut. 4 makes it clear that it was intended to be just that. As Moses put it: “What other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?” (NRSV). If we can see God’s gracious intent, then law can indeed be “gospel” (good news). But some experience God’s law much more as an instrument of condemnation, a standard that they can’t imagine reaching. For them, forensic justification is a great blessing, enabling them to say with fervour, “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
2. Grace before law: Rom. 5:6-11. Three times, in three different ways, Paul emphasizes that God’s grace came to us before we ever responded to him: “while we were still weak,” “while we were still sinners,” “while we were enemies.” In short, God takes the initiative. Just as he delivered Israel from Egypt and through the Red Sea, and then took them to Sinai to hear the law, so we can experience God’s saving grace before we hear his words of counsel as to how we are to live.
3. The law only keeps us out of mischief; it cannot save. Regardless of how one experiences God’s law, it was never intended to be a means of earning salvation, even though in our human weakness we are forever being tempted to think that good behaviour will earn us points with God. In short, the bold truth should be trumpeted for all to hear: We are saved by God’s grace. The law just keeps us out of mischief. Put another way, obedience should always be an act of gratitude in response to God’s saving grace. In what way can we legitimately seek for righteousness, without slipping into the thinking that we are somehow earning God’s favour?
4. God’s judgements, a protection: Psalm 19:11. The psalmist declares that the “judgements” of the Lord are more to be desired than gold or honey. Why? Because they have served to warn him and have brought him a great reward. How can we make it clearer that “righteousness” is God’s way to a good life?
5. Hungering after righteousness: Matt. 5:6. Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Where does one look to find that kind of hunger in an increasingly secular world?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: To what extent does self-control simply flow from a changed heart, or does it involve blood, sweat and tears as we grapple with temptations, passions and people who irritate us?

• Two stories: Joseph and Samson (Gen. 39:7-20; Judges 13-16). Can we identify the factors that enabled Joseph to resist temptation while Samson capitulated?
• People-centered issues: (Gal. 5:13-26). In Galatians 6:8, Paul contrasts flesh and spirit: “If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow in the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. From the context, what is the clue that flesh (self-indulgence, NRSV) is not simply focused on sexual passions? Note: The immediate contrast in 5:13 is between flesh, and being slaves to one another. In other words, to succumb to the flesh is to embark on a course of thinking or action which hurts my brother or sister. Paul immediately follows with a quotation of Jesus’ second command: “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” A second clue that “flesh” is not just involved with sexual sins, is the list of the works of the flesh. One can analyze them as follows:
  • Sexual passions: fornication, impurity, licentiousness
  • Wild living with potential sexual overtones: drunkenness, carousing
  • Religious issues: idolatry, sorcery
  • Interpersonal Combativeness: enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy

Clearly the dominant issue is simply relations with people. How does one learn to love people more? Can we make efforts in that direction? Is it simply a gift of God?

• A controlled burn: 1 Cor. 7:9. In counseling those who are haunted with sexual challenges while they are on the verge of marriage, Paul simply says: “But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion” (1 Cor. 7:9, NRSV). In the context of diet, Ellen White counsels something similar for those who are struggling to get on board with the health-reform diet. Her counsel is very practical, but could almost be seen as libertarian. The parallel with Paul’s counsel is in the last sentence:

B has been very deficient. While in her best condition of health, his wife was not provided with a plenty of wholesome food and with proper clothing. Then, when she needed extra clothing and extra food, and that of a simple yet nutritious quality, it was not allowed her. Her system craved material to convert into blood, but he would not provide it. A moderate amount of milk and sugar, a little salt, white bread raised with yeast for a change, graham flour prepared in a variety of ways by other hands than her own, plain cake with raisins, rice pudding with raisins, prunes, and figs, occasionally, and many other dishes I might mention, would have answered the demand of appetite. If he could not obtain some of these things, a little domestic wine would have done her no injury; it would have been better for her to have it than to do without it. In some cases, even a small amount of the least hurtful meat would do less injury than to suffer strong cravings for it. – Testimonies 2:383-84 (1870)

To what extent and in what circumstances is it preferable to moderate one’s cravings instead of simply denying them entirely?

• Beating up the body: 1 Cor. 9:24-27. Paul uses strong language to indicate that he faced some real struggles in self-control. The alternative was being a “castaway.” Is that likely to the case with most people? Or do some people simply have an easier time of it? This quotation is suggestive:

People who are born even-tempered, placid and untroubled – secure from violent passions or temptations to evil – those who have never needed to struggle all night with the Angel to emerge lame but victorious at dawn, never become great saints. – Eva le Gallienne (1899-1991), The Mystic in the Theatre: Eleanor Duse (1965)

• God to the rescue: Phil. 2:12-13; Rom. 8:1. In Philippians, Paul neatly combines the human and the divine: “Work out your own salvation – for it is God who is at work in you.” Both are at work, but how they relate to each other is not explained. In Romans 8:1, Paul simply indicates that he can find peace in Christ’s righteousness, leaving the battles of Romans 7 behind. But will those battles continue – albeit without condemnation? Or is the battle an indication that we are subject to condemnation?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: When Paul asked the Corinthian believers if he should come to them with a stick or with love in a spirit of gentleness (1 Cor. 4:21), how did he expect to find the right answer?

The word translated “meekness” or “gentleness” in the fruit of the spirit list is a tantalizing one. Here are some biblical passage where the word or one of its near relatives is used:

Numbers 12:3: “Now the man Moses was very humble [devout] more so than anyone else on the face of the earth” (NRSV).

The KJV has “meek.” But the Hebrew word could also mean “oppressed” or “downtrodden” and is often used in connection with “poor” or “afflicted.” It may be a simple description without any laudatory intent.

Matt. 5:5: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (NRSV).

The New Living Translation has “gentle and lowly.” The German Die gute Nachricht (= GNB/TEV) has “those who refuse to use force.”

1 Cor. 4:21: “Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?”

Gentleness can involve correction and growth as is suggested by the follow verse:

Gal. 6:1: “If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.”

Based on classical Greek background, William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible gives three alternative meanings for the use of the word in Matthew’s list of beatitudes:

1. “Blessed is the one who is always angry at the right time, and never angry at the wrong time.
2. “Blessed is the one who has every instinct, every impulse, every passion under control. Blessed is the one who is entirely self-controlled.” Barclay notes that the New Testament understanding of God and humanity would suggest that the last word be “God-controlled” – blessed is the one who is entirely “God-controlled.”
3. “Blessed is the man who has the humility to know his own ignorance, his own weakness, and his own need.” – William Barclay, Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, Daily Study Bible, 2nd edition (Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press, 1958), 91-93.

• To what extent is the word “meekness” a positive one? Barclay’s alternatives are attempts to rejuvenate a word whose older meaning (meekness) has become problematic in our day and age. Is there anything salvageable about the word “meekness” so that it can with honour belong to the fruit of the Spirit?
• Jesus the example: Matthew 11:28-30. The New Living Translation uses the phrase “humble and gentle.” NRSV simply reverses the two: “gentle and humble in heart.” In what way is the example of Jesus one that is attractive for moderns, both men and women? Do we want Jesus’ kind of gentleness?
• A steady presence in the church: Eph. 4:1-3. “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” It may be that the use of the work “meek” in the Sermon on the Mount has linked up subconsciously in our minds with Jesus’ command to go the second mile and turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:38-42), resulting in the stereotype of the spineless Christian. Is it possible to see the “second mile” and “other cheek” mandates as arising from strength, rather than from weakness and coercion?
• Practical stuff: How can we more effectively enrich our lives with “gentleness”? What methods can help nudge us toward our goal?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: What is it that inspires us and enables us to be faithful to people, to God?

“Saving” faith is a gift of God. But the result of God’s gifts in our life is part of the fruit of the Spirit, faithfulness. These are the questions we need to address:

• Trusting on a reasonable probability: Rom. 8:24-25. Too often in our world, we tend to rely on external proofs from science, archaeology, or prophecy. But those are not like the bonds that we establish with trustworthy people and with God. In Romans 8:24-25 Paul notes that we are saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. What enables us to hope, when the “hard” proof is missing? Some C. S. Lewis quotes nicely capture the crucial thoughts:

To love involves trusting the beloved beyond the evidence, even against much evidence. No man is our friend who believes in our good intentions only when they are proved. No man is our friend who will not be very slow to accept evidence against them. Such confidence, between one man and another, is in fact almost universally praised as a moral beauty, not blamed as a logical error. And the suspicious man is blamed for a meanness of character, not admired for the excellence of his logic. – C. S. Lewis, “On Obstinacy in Belief,” in The World’s Last Night and Other Essays, 26.

The link between trust and friendship is elaborated further in this conversation between Lewis and Sheldon Vanauken as the latter was exploring the possibility of coming to faith:

I do not think there is a demonstrative proof (like Euclid) of Christianity. . . . As to why God doesn’t make it demonstrably clear; are we sure that He is even interested in the kind of Theism which would be a compelled logical assent to a conclusive argument? Are we interested in it in personal matters? I demand from my friend a trust in my good faith which is certain without demonstrative proof. It wouldn’t be confidence at all if he waited for rigorous proof. Hang it all, the very fairy tales embody the truth. Othello believed in Desdemona’s innocence when it was proved: but that was too late. Lear believed in Cordelia’s love when it was proved: but that was too late. “His praise is lost who stays till all commend.” The magnanimity, the generosity which will trust on a reasonable probability, is required of us. But supposing one believed and was wrong after all? Why, then you would have paid the universe a compliment it doesn’t deserve. Your error would even so be more interesting and important than the reality. And yet how could that be? How could an idiotic universe have produced creatures whose mere dreams are so much stronger, better, subtler than itself? – Letter from C. S. Lewis to Sheldon Vanauken, December 23, 1950, A Severe Mercy (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1977, 1987), 92.

• Results of Faithfulness: Hebrews 11. The exuberant psalms that celebrate God’s protecting care (e.g. 34, 91) should probably be seen more as testimonies rather than as iron-clad promises. Most of us can probably remember those moments when events turned out far better than we could possibly have dreamed. When that happens, the heart and soul soar to heights that leave sober realities far behind. Hebrews 11 lists a host of “faithful” ones along with the rewards for their faithfulness. One of the more striking examples involves threats from the sword. By faith, says Scripture, some “escaped the edge of the sword” (Heb. 11:34, NRSV); but a few lines further we read that by faith some “were killed by the sword” (Heb. 11:37, NRSV). Deliverance or destruction: take your pick. Divine intervention on our behalf is highly unpredictable. Acts 12 opens with a description of the death of James at the hands of Herod (Acts 12:2). But later in that same chapter, Peter is miraculously delivered from prison by the hand of an angel (Acts 12:6-11). What is even more puzzling is the fact that the “innocent” guards all lost their lives because of Peter’s deliverance. Amazingly, Acts 16:16-40 tells how Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, but chose to remain in the prison when the earthquake had actually provided for their escape. As a result, the jailer and his entire family accepted the Lord Jesus. What does faithfulness mean given such a wide spectrum of possibilities?

• Faithful to the end: Matt. 24:13. Matthew 24-25 reveal some of the complexities, perplexities and truths that are important for understanding the time of the end. The most important truth is this one: Always be ready, because no one knows when the end will come: Matt. 24:36, 44, 50; 25:13. Even the wise virgins were able to sleep well at night because they were ready. If one’s preparations are motivated by fear instead of by love, the results can be disastrous, as it was for the slave who began to act up because he thought the master would be delayed (24:48-50). In modern terms, C. S. Lewis lays out the sober reality:

We must never speak to simple, excitable people about “the day” without emphasizing again and again the utter impossibility of prediction. We must try to show them that the impossibility is an essential part of the doctrine. If you do not believe our Lord’s words, why do you believe in his return at all? And if you do believe them must you not put away from you, utterly and forever, any hope of dating that return? His teaching on the subject quite clearly consisted of three propositions. (1) That he will certainly return. (2) That we cannot possibly find out when. (3) And that therefore we must always be ready for him. – C. S. Lewis, “The World’s Last Night” in The World’s Last Night and Other Essays, 107.

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: How can God expect good things from people who are bad?

When we talk about “goodness” under the heading of “fruit of the Spirit,” several tantalizing paradoxes emerge. We can address these under several headings:

• Only God is “good” (Matt. 19.17//Mark 10:18//Luke 18:19). When Jesus told the rich young ruler that only God is good, he was making an important point. But how does that “truth” about God’s ultimate goodness affect us? Is that an encouraging or discouraging word?
• Good teacher, good man, not good enough. The same parallel passages that deal with God’s goodness also tell us a fair bit about human goodness. The man claimed to have kept all the commandments from his youth up. But Jesus still said there was more: Go sell all that you have and give to the poor. Zacchaeus only had to give half of his goods to the poor, and he volunteered this amount. Jesus was pleased (Luke 19:1-9). How did Zacchaeus get off so easily?
• No human being is good: Rom. 3:10-20. The biblical assessment of human nature is grim. Romans 3 is as pointed as any biblical passage. Given that assessment, what hope is there of becoming good, becoming like God, doing good?
• God commands sinners to do good: Matt. 5:14-16. Jesus’ words about letting our light shine assume that it is possible for us to do good works, though in the very next chapter he tells us to be sure not to do our good works in order to impress others (Matt. 6:1-4). How do we let our light shine before others so that they may see our good works and praise God, without running afoul of Jesus’ command not do our good works in order to be seen by others? When Jesus tells us not to do our good deeds before others, he is pointing to the same truth expressed by C. Lewis: “The moment good taste knows itself, some of its goodness is lost” – Surprised by Joy, 86.
• We must be good in order to do good: Matt. 12:34-37// Luke 6:43-45. Jesus is very blunt in noting that good cannot come from evil. If humans are evil, then how can we hope to do good? Interestingly enough, Ellen White’s statement on this issue (“You must be good before you can do good” – MB 128), falls under her comments on Matthew 7:1: “Judge not that you be not judged,” though she also cites Matthew 12 and Luke 6. Her comments are tantalizing:

When a crisis comes in the life of any soul, and you attempt to give counsel or admonition, your words will have only the weight of influence for good that your own example and spirit have gained for [127/128] you. You must be good before you can do good. You cannot exert an influence that will transform others until your own heart has been humbled and refined and made tender by the grace of Christ. When this change has been wrought in you, it will be as natural for you to live to bless others as it is for the rosebush to yield its fragrant bloom or the vine its purple clusters.

If Christ is in you “the hope of glory,” you will have no disposition to watch others, to expose their errors. Instead of seeking to accuse and condemn, it will be your object to help, to bless, and to save. In dealing with those who are in error, you will heed the injunction, Consider “thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Galatians 6:1. You will call to mind the many times you have erred and how hard it was to find the right way when you had once left it. You will not push your brother into greater darkness, but with a heart full of pity will tell him of his danger. – Mount of Blessings, 127-128

• That which is good (law) can have a bad effect: Romans 7:7-25. How can the Christian resolve the tension between our hostility to law even though we know that it is good? How can we experience the fruit of the Spirit in that connection, given our natural hostility to that which is good?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: If we are kind to those who are doing what is wrong, isn’t there a danger that some will conclude that we agree with and even support that which we actually oppose?

Some time ago I was talking on the telephone with an unhappy former Adventist, one who had adopted a very evangelistic attitude toward his former brothers and sisters in Christ. In short, he was attempting to rescue Adventists from the delusions of Adventism. He had become so accustomed to Adventists railing at him for his evil apostasy, that when I adopted a more gentle approach he actually thought that I, too, was moving away from “mainstream” Adventism. I was startled and sobered. Was I being too kind?

• Kindness vs. Patience: Matt. 5:43-48. If patience means enduring evil more passively, then kindness means a more active outreach to those in need. But how broadly should we define the “needy”? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that God is even-handed with his gifts, letting the sun shine on good and evil alike, letting the rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Plain is even more blunt: “He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Luke 6:36).

• Shunning? 1 Cor. 5. One of the surprising contrasts in Paul’s letter to the believers at Corinth is suggested by chapter 5 where he counsels the believers to separate themselves from the man who was living with his father’s wife. “Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5, NRSV). He concludes the chapter with these vivid words: “Drive out the wicked person from among you” (1 Cor. 5:13, NRSV). Before that he pointedly advises the believers to separate themselves from all kinds of evil people: “I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber” (1 Cor. 5:11, NRSV). If we have to separate even from the greedy, most of us would be living by ourselves! How does this line up with 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love is kind,” and with Jesus’ statements in the Gospels?

• Kindness as the touchstone of one’s relationship with God: Matthew 25:31-46. In the parable of the sheep and goats, Jesus suggests that the real test of our religion lies in our willingness to show kindness to those in need. Why wouldn’t this be salvation by works? Ellen White’s comments on this passage are striking:

Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured to His disciples the scene of the great judgment day. And He represented its decision as turning upon one point. When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and suffering. – Desire of Ages, 637

Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them. Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives. Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God. – Desire of Ages, 638

• Right doing as a sign of the new birth? 1 John 2:29. John declares that everyone who does what is right “has been born of him.” In short, he uses born-again language to refer to ethical behaviour, even though the person does not know Jesus.

Following on from the Church Officer’s Training Day here are some links that were discussed in the ‘Children’s Ministries’ groups.

• Children’s ministry section from the www.familyministry.co.uk web site
• more to come later (21/22 Feb…)

A time of concentrated prayer, held in the church every Wednesday evening.