I'm currently reading "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola & George Barna. While I don't think that I necessarily need to be "stirred up" in regards to the practice and traditions of church life, I wanted to explore some of the historical context behind these things. I have no doubt that there will be more to say about this book at a later time. Right now I'm simply thinking out loud.
In the first chapter of the book Viola talks about the major contrasts between the Pharisees and Sadducees. These were the two major religious forces that opposed Jesus. The Pharisees were bent toward adding to the Scriptures while the Sadducees were more apt to take away from them. In the end, these two hostile religious regimes (if you will) joined forces in an attempt to do away with Jesus. When you and I begin to understand the powers behind religion, then it will not take us long to figure out why Jesus needed to go. Religion will actually keep you from pressing into the heart of God. It will keep you from experiencing God in His fullness. And it will always aid you in falling short of your true identity in Christ.
Jesus often made statements that offended the religious mind. In the Gospel of Mark we read where Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath." That may seem like such an innocent statement until you consider how the Pharisees had added to the original commands of God regarding this holy day. Jesus is also quoted as saying "Your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God." While this statement may seem to be just a little more aggressive than the other one, you need to know that the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. When you look at these quotes and many others it doesn't take us long to understand that Jesus did more than just deal with the sin issue of humanity; He also took the religious spirit head on.
One of the stark contrasts of faith in Christ versus adherence to religion is that those who follow Christ to be governed by the love of God rather than religious principles. Another mark of the follower of Christ is a faith that is guided and empowered by the Spirit of God versus the idea that religious ritual is what makes me a devout follower. The early church spent a great amount of time figuring out what was needed from their Jewish faith and traditions and what needed to be done away with. They were careful not to add any burden to the believer that was contrary to this new life in Christ. I'm often amazed at what the willingness of the Apostles to remove the circumcision requirement for Gentile believers. But that was the impact of the baptism in the Holy Spirit upon this group that was often viewed as outside the kingdom of God. When the Gentile believers in the book of Acts were clothed in the Spirit of God - that was enough for the Apostles to recognize that the gift of eternal life has been granted to them.
Of course it is easy for us to breeze through some of the transitions we see in the book of Acts because #1 - we are reading it rather than living it and #2 - circumcision isn't that big of a deal to us. However, if you were to go into any church building of any denomination and begin to propose that many of their practices are not biblical in nature - WATCH OUT!!! What is truly amazing about this mindset is that it doesn't matter to many of them how irrelevant the church seems to the world we just keep on doing what we are doing and actually believe that the lack of relevance is a sign of our spiritual consecration. {OUCH! Did I just say that?} Well...while I'm at it...I wonder how many people in church today actually consider that denominations are not of God? Paul told the church to "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." And yet we still defend denominationalism all around the world.
Here's the deal:
Due to the social climate of our culture and many of the customs of America, we are stuck with an idea of what church looks like, how it functions, and what it's supposed to be about. For many people the question will become, "Do we need to completely abandon what we have?" While others will ask, "How do we change to return to a more biblical practice?" You may even ask me, "Is there a way that we can reconcile the two?" The truth is that I'm not sure but I'm willing to try. You see, it's my dream to bring about a reconciliation where we can. I think the "organized" church in America is still a great way to reach the masses but the organization needs to change (dramatically).
I realize that these are difficult things to discuss.
I recognize that I'm walking on thin ice with many of these issues.
But I also believe that what Jesus meant to leave in the earth was a living, breathing, representation of who He was. The church is to be His body. The church has the opportunity to re-present Christ to the world. And it is this belief that keeps me pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ. Whose willing to journey with me?
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