A church growing daily in faith and numbers (2)

[Acts 16:1-5]

I would like to share an article titled ‘Living Together with Others’ by Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale University, published in the Christian Today newspaper on July 25, 2007. The society we live in is racially, culturally, and religiously diverse. In such a society, if we perceive differences in race, culture, or religion as exclusive, it creates tension and inevitably leads to conflicts. In order to avoid merely coexisting and fostering conflicts, the author suggests four things that need to be considered (Christian Today):

‘An intention to embrace one another.’

To achieve this, we need to imagine others not as factors limiting ourselves but as potential enrichments.

‘Try seeing from each other's perspective.’

To live with the intention of embracing each other, a reversal of perspective is necessary. In other words, when looking at others, we need to see them from their own point of view. Also, it is essential to see ourselves through the eyes of others.

‘Mutual intervention.’

It involves understanding how the other wishes to be understood and deciding whether to fully or partially agree with their understanding. This is where dialogical mutual intervention becomes crucial.

‘Embracing others.’

Christians should be able to embrace beyond pure lineage, nationality, culture, or ethnicity.

Reading this article, I reflected on its applicability to our church. Diverse ministries (Korean, English, Hispanic) respecting diversity while striving for unity within the Lord can be facilitated by such an approach. In the spirit of mutual embrace, efforts should be made to change perspectives, acknowledging differences under the premise that complete agreement might not be possible. Amidst this, it is crucial to recognize the need for mutual intervention. In this context, let us no longer perceive ourselves as "others" but rather embrace each other under the concept of unity, preparing to be instruments in building the church as one heart and one mind in the Lord.

We have already learned that for our church to become a growing community of faith, centered on Acts 16:1, each of us needs to be a disciple of Jesus. Furthermore, as disciples of Jesus, we learn the importance of having "sincere faith," just like Timothy (2 Tim. 1:5), meaning a genuine and non-hypocritical faith. As an illustration, we contemplated the faith of our forefather Abraham, examining four aspects to test and confirm whether we are truly rooted in faith: (1) Abraham's faith was a belief in the impossible, hoping against hope (Rom. 4:18). (2) Abraham's faith remained unshaken even in seemingly impossible situations (v. 19). (3) Abraham’s faith, amid impossible circumstances, grew stronger, ultimately bringing glory to God (v. 20). (4) Abraham's faith was a firm conviction that God could fulfill His promises (v. 21). Today, focusing on Acts 16:1-5, I would like to contemplate two remaining aspects to receive guidance on how our church can indeed become a community of growing faith each day.

Second, for our church to be a community of growing faith, each of us must strive to become a praised disciple of Jesus.

Look at Acts 16:2 - "Timothy was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium." Timothy, a disciple of Jesus who possessed "sincere faith," received praise from the "brothers," meaning the Christian believers, in Lystra and Iconium. When contemplating why Timothy received praise from these two local communities, it is attributed to his genuine and non-hypocritical faith. Furthermore, as a true disciple, he emulated Jesus in his life, which earned him praise from fellow believers. As previously pondered, becoming a disciple of Jesus during His time meant primarily learning, obeying, and living in imitation of the Lord. Although Timothy did not physically walk with Jesus, he lived in emulation of Him. In other words, Timothy was a person who, aspiring to reflect Christ, progressed systematically and progressively in all his actions toward that purpose. This commitment led to him receiving praise from the Christians in Lystra and Iconium. However, being a disciple praised by Jesus doesn't imply receiving praise from everyone. Even though sincere believers like Timothy may receive praise, caution is necessary when praised by worldly people. One should be aware that receiving praise from the devil's crowd may lead to becoming like the devil. True disciples, when praised, must redirect that praise to God and not seek personal glory (Park). As Proverbs 27:21 states, "The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise."

Communities of disciples, like Timothy, who receive praise, become churches that are worthy of praise. A church where disciples of Jesus, striving to emulate Him, gather and are praised is a "Christian Church," much like the Antioch church mentioned in Acts 11:26. When Barnabas, along with Saul (Paul), systematically taught and thoroughly trained the large crowd gathered at the Antioch church for a year, the result was that the disciples of Antioch, through qualitative growth, gained the nickname "Christians" from non-Christians for the first time. The term means "followers of Christ." How well-discipled the saints of the Antioch church were that non-Christians could say, 'Those people are followers of Christ' when looking at them! We hope our church becomes a "Christian Church" like the Antioch church. We all wish to hold Jesus in our hearts and become disciples who, resembling Jesus, proudly proclaim and follow Him. Richard Foster once said, ‘Perhaps the greatest malady of the Church today is its members, who are not disciples of Christ. It affects all aspects of church life and is the reason for the low spiritual level of local congregations’ (Internet). We must never settle for a low spiritual level. Instead, we earnestly desire to become, as 1 Corinthians 11:1 suggests, "imitators of Christ." Therefore, like Paul, we can exhort others, saying, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Third and last, for our church to become a growing church in faith and number each day, all of us must observe God's commandments.

Look at Acts 16:4 - "As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey." When Paul wanted to take Timothy, a disciple of Jesus praised by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, with him during his missionary journey, he had Timothy circumcised because of the circumcised Jews in that region (v. 3). The reason was that Timothy's father was a Gentile, and Paul judged that Timothy's uncircumcision would pose a problem for Jewish evangelism (v. 3) (Yoo). It's important to note that Paul did not succumb to the legalistic and Pharisaic claims of Jewish believers who insisted on circumcision for salvation, as mentioned in Acts 15. In other words, circumcising Timothy was not a means of salvation for him. It was done considering the Jews in Lystra and Iconium (Yoo). Here, we can see Paul's wisdom. He became all things to all people, seeking their salvation (1 Cor. 9:22). Thus, while free to everyone, he made himself a slave to everyone to gain them (v. 19). To the Jews, Paul became like a Jew, and to the Gentiles without the law, he became like one without the law. He did all this for the sake of the gospel, to share in its blessings (v. 23). After circumcising Timothy, Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveled to various cities, urging them to follow the decision made by the apostles and elders in the Jerusalem church (v. 4). This decision was the set of regulations mentioned in Acts 15:20 and 29, which the Gentile believers were to observe. These regulations stated, "Abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things" (v. 29). The reason Paul, Silas, and Timothy urged the Gentile believers in those regions to observe these regulations was to maintain harmony between Jewish and Gentile believers (Park). Perhaps at that time, within the churches in the regions revisited during the first missionary journey, there were many Gentile believers mixed with a few Jewish believers (Yoo). That's why Paul and his companions, in revisiting these churches, encouraged the majority of Gentile believers to observe the regulations set by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the sake of the few Jewish believers.

When we reflect on our church, we must make an effort to foster harmony among the majority of our Korean ministry members and the minority of our English and Hispanic ministry members. We need to be especially cautious in our efforts to promote harmony when considering one another. For example, in our interactions with English ministry brothers and sisters, we must refrain from treating them like children. Even if they are much younger than you, your children, or grandchildren, it is essential to respect their dignity. Similarly, when thinking about our Hispanic ministry brothers and sisters, we should cast aside any biases or prejudices by avoiding terms like "Mexican" when referring to them and embrace them with the pure love of the Lord. The commandment from God that we must uphold to ensure harmony among our three ministries is to "love one another." Just as Jesus loved us, the members of our church's three ministries must exert effort to love one another. We should have humble hearts, eager to learn and teach from one another, and we must make a conscious effort to comfort and uplift each other, showing patience and endurance. To fulfill our responsibility of fostering harmony, each of us must not only become "peacemakers" but also "peacekeepers."

Renowned Bible teacher and commentator William Barclay spoke about the meaning of service: ’The world evaluates a person based on how many people they govern or how many people they can command with one finger. Some judge based on intellectual prowess and academic excellence or the number of executive roles held. Many assess a person's greatness based on their bank balance, assets, and material possessions. However, the evaluation that Jesus gives has nothing to do with these things. The Lord's sole criterion is how many people one serves. In that lies true greatness’ (Internet).

Desiring earnestly to receive praise from the Lord,

James Kim

(Praying to be established as someone who keeps the double commandments of the Lord)