Week #50 | Short Handbooks for the Christian Faith

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Acts 20-28; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; Philemon; James

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

God is the Gospel (Acts 20-28). The life of Paul illustrates that the ultimate reward of following God is: we get God. The man who began his life as a persecutor of the church did not get wealth, or power, or fame, or comfort from his new life as a follower of Jesus--but he got Jesus. That was more than enough. And much like the narrative in the Gospels slows down for Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and the final week of his life, the book of Acts slows down for Paul's final journey to Rome. Paul ends his role in the telling of the book of Acts by mirroring the journey of his savior. (However, Paul would actually be released and serve for one more missionary journey as the letters to the Philippians and Philemon anticipate, and 1-2 Timothy and Titus attest, before finally being executed upon returning to Rome.) I don't think Paul would have asked for anything different. God himself is the reward of the Gospel. The Good News is that the Creator of the universe has given us communion with himself.

A Handbook on the Christian Faith (Ephesians 1-6). From his imprisonment in Rome, Paul continued to write letters to encourage the churches that he had founded. Remembering his long stay in Ephesus in Asia, he wrote them a handbook on the implications of the Gospel. He also wrote to the church of the nearby city of Colossae, also in Asia, which he sent out together with his letter to Philemon. Remembering his time in Macedonia, he wrote to Philippi. The letter to the Ephesians is a short and punchy handbook to the Christian faith. It contains a tightly-packed instruction in the Christian faith in chapters 1-3, and then details the practical life applications of that message in chapter 4-6. A short but detailed letter like this would have been, and still is, an incredibly useful discipleship tool for the local Elders to use to educate the new Christians in that area as they accepted the Gospel and began to grow in their understanding of it. It is worth reading through slowly and reflectively, drawing out the riches of the wisdom that God gave to Paul.

A Reason for Joy (Philippians 1-4). The book of Philippians was written to a church that had experienced significant difficulties. So Paul wrote to them from prison as one who could empathize with their struggling, to encourage them to find joy in the Lord. Several times over every chapter of the letter, he tells the Philippian Christians to "rejoice!" (Philippians 1:18; 2:17-18; 2:28; 3:1; 4:4). Paul writes to them -and through Paul's letter to them, God says to us- that is is possible to rejoice in the midst of suffering (Philippians 1), to rejoice in humility (Philippians 2), to rejoice in the mission before us (Philippians 3), and rejoice in the community of faith (Philippians 4).

An Encouragement to Gospel Simplicity (Colossians 1-4 and Philemon). So often, we try to add things to the simple message of the Gospel in order to seem more spiritual than others. The irony is that these things make us less spiritual. Paul wrote to the church at Colossae to counter a sort of anti-body asceticism that had creeped in (Colossians 2:16-23). He points out that the type of false piety that focuses overly on who can deny themselves the most is, in the end, not less focused on material things but more focused on material things. Asceticism takes the message of Christ, sent from heaven, and instead focuses your mind on extensive rules and regulations here on earth. Ultimately the real transformation that we seek comes from drawing near to Christ.

The Kind of Faith That Saves (James). The letter of James sometimes gets unfairly passed over in the church. It contains a message that denies that we are saved by faith alone (James 2:24). And yet, James is talking about the problem of only holding to an intellectual faith--not the heartfelt trust in God which Paul writes about, but instead a merely mental assent to the truth that God exists. We need the message that James presents us with: that kind of faith won't save us. Instead, it is the kind of faith -heartfelt trust- that results in works which saves us (James 2:18-22). Many of us have been given a faith which is more the result of simple slogans, sappy moralism, and loud shouting than any real or honest interaction with the details of the New Testament. So, sadly, very few Christians today have honestly spent any time wrestling with the letter of James. But we should. Because this letter is vital for showing us the kind of faith that really, truly draws us into relationship with Jesus Christ.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I won't lay out exact responses in this space because the possibilities are often endless. But it is worth it to think about application in the categories of worship, attitude, and actions. Does this reading direct me to God in worship and thanksgiving and praise, or does it direct me towards a change that I need to make here and now? If it's about a change that I need to make, is this something inward in my attitude, or outward in my actions? This helps to rescue application from just being a series of how-to tips, or one-size-fits-all instructions that go beyond what the Bible actually states. Sometimes, the most helpful application we can make is to get a different perspective on what's the most important thing, or about how we should respond inwardly to the things going on around us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean