What Counts

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #123f Re-Written 05APR08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

No Wonder: Part Six—What Counts

by dave c

In his First Letter to the Corinthians and in Galatians, Paul refers to some First Century believers whom he describes as either “the circumcision,” or “the uncircumcision.” Although Paul often attacks those who are of the circumcision, surprisingly, in these passages he equally chastises both for wrong headedness, heartedness, and handedness. Each time the Apostle tells us that regardless of imposed doctrinal affiliations—or our opinions regarding matters of God’s nature, His eternal power, and how He works His will within His creation—in no way do we alter His nature, His power, or His will. All that really matters is obedience to God, unconditional love, and being born again. What we decide to believe and how we practice those beliefs make no difference to the substance, form, and function of Truth and Reality. To think otherwise is an expression of our ignorance and our arrogance. Where Paul says “circumcision and uncircumcision” in the following verses, we could substitute, “Baptist and Pentecostal,” “Charismatic and Legalistic,” or “Evangelical and Main Stream.”

1. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts (1Co 7:19; NIV). Whatever my flavor of Christianity, if I am not striving to live in obedience to God’s commands, then I am “falling short of the mark” (hamartia, #266), which is sin. We tend to make much of who, when, how, and why we baptize, share communion, join the church, give of our resources, select leadership, discipline our members, and generally who is (and who is not) a legitimate member of the Bride and the Body. Yet, we find the New Testament writers frequently reiterating the three basic commands given to us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: 1) Love God with my whole person (Mt 22:37). 2) Love my neighbor as I love myself (Mt 22:38). 3) Love my brothers and sisters as Jesus loves me (Jn 13:34). Without love, everything amounts to wood, hay, and stubble to be burned up at the judgment (1Co 13 & 3:15).

2John 1:1-6The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth--and not I only, but also all who know the truth--because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love. It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love (NIV).

2. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Ga 5:5&6; NIV). When Paul speaks of circumcision and uncircumscision, he is talking about religion. As we frequently tell unbelievers, “Real Christianity is not a religion...it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Unfortunately, we do not demonstrate that maxim in our dealings with brothers and sisters in the Lord who are of a different persuasion from us. James tells us, Religion [the outward manifestations of what we believe inwardly] that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress [those who are in need] and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (Ja 1:27; NIV). Point 1 above applies, and we are to live righteous, holy lives in Christ.

James 2:8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. ...14-18 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do (NIV).

3. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation (Ga 6:15; NIV). If what I claim that I believe is not progressively changing the way I think, what I say, and what I do...then I need to live up to what I claim, or change what I believe. Repeatedly the New Testament tells us that we “must be born again” (Jn 3:3-8; 2Co 5:1; Ep 4:22-24; Co 3:7-10; Ti 3:3-7; 1Pe 1:23, et al) and “by our fruit the world will know us” (Ep 5:8-10/22&23).

1John 3:16-24 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us (NIV).

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1Co 12:4-7; NIV). Amen.