Each day is an opportunity to walk by faith and repentance, to press on to know Him more (Philippians 3) and to be empowered by the Spirit to abide in the love of God and steadfastness of Christ (Colossians 1; 2 Thessalonians 3). Seek out the ordinary means of grace (the ancient paths), fellowship truly in your local Body of believers–using your gifts to serve, and allowing others to serve you with their gifts and callings; accept correction and encouragement, and likewise encourage others in their faith.
Curious about these “ordinary means”? This will be the focus of our Autumn Series, beginning today with an invitation, His invitation–to follow, to learn, to abide, to trust and wait and hope, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul and might.
“To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” 2 Peter 1
This series will be encouraging for those who have “received a faith of the same kind…”
It is for those who want to choose the good portion, who are disciples of Christ–picking up their cross daily and following Him, sitting at His feet and learning from Him. Will you remain steadfast in your faith as the culture around us asks “Let us consider all these ways of connecting with God that seem to go alongside Christianity” or “all truth is God’s truth, so lets just delight in all the words, rather than only in Scripture” or “this practice from my new age mysticism will help you, and you’ll be able to pray better” or “Scripture doesn’t say not to…you are free to choose…” or the ever present temptation to consider that we have grown in our understanding beyond what the Apostles wrote in the New Testament.
In the face of these ideas, will you answer as Peter did (see John 6:59-69): You alone have words of eternal life, where else would I go? Quite often, these ideas find us when we are weary, worn out, perplexed, burdened, even hurt by those around us. This series is especially for you, for us.
Words of eternal life? Eternal, a quality beyond our comprehension. Unchanging. Never waxing or waning or pausing or growing or lacking. Never failing.
He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him. Eternal life, having passed out of death into life, not to be fully comprehended or experienced in this temporal existence… see John 5:24
A Year of Ordinary Means
These “means” are both inward and outward practices, passed on to us by the Apostles who were the first to go out making disciples. As they preached, and established churches, and handed down the faith, the faith–not one of many faiths–they taught Jewish believers and Gentile believers alike the doctrines and practices of our faith. Some of these will be what Bonhoeffer, in his classic Life Together, calls “the day alone” and others “the day together.” In other words, many of these are corporate–Christianity is not an isolated, fragmented, disjointed venture. It is a robust, lively belonging; in communion with the Triune God, in a family; in a people who are the true temple for God’s worship.
Paul told the Philippian church: “the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” And so we look to the Word, we abide in the Word, we don’t go beyond. We do not need revamped ideas of “how to.” There are many faithful believers throughout the centuries that have written on these ordinary means. There are most likely faithful Christians that you know, who are able to discuss this–it is what God had in mind in Titus 2, that we would teach one another what is good, and how these good doctrines should guide our community life, our family life, our clinging to the hope of eternal life.
There are so many, however, who have written and taught about “how to connect with God” or how to experience God that have led many astray, out of His ways, out of the daily intimate communion He has brought you into.
“A picture is worth a thousand words”?
Nope. (see here) A marketing slogan from the 1920s, this pithy statement has worked its way into everyone’s logic. Yet, The Word, who spoke everything into existence and upholds all things by the Word of His Power, even while veiled in flesh, did not begin His earthly ministry with this marketing campaign, and is not “eternally grateful” that in our day and age we finally figured out how to make images of Him, or film sensational shows elaborating and embellishing on His years on earth. We do not need these for our faith. (Is there a place for art? Yes!!! Can art be good, and can it be for the glory of God? YES!!!! Is all art therefore good, and to His glory? No. There is not room to address that in full here, so back to the topic at hand…)
These ordinary means will have you reading, studying, learning, discussing, praying, singing, meditating on, musing and chewing on, and talking of, encouraging others with, admonishing others with His Word. The Holy Spirit, wielding the sword of the Spirit, will be at work in you–illumining your mind, growing you in grace and knowledge, aligning your desires with His, You will begin to see, in the words of Angelina Stanford from the House of Humane Letters and the Literary Life Podcast, how all good stories point to this This Story. His story of Creation and Redemption and Hope. This does not mean we let those other stories guide our worship, or define our doctrines. You will rather test the spirits, and you won’t be easily swayed by false stories or false loves, as would would be easily deceived if we were seeking elsewhere. (see 1 Corinthians 2, 1 John 4, 2 Corinthians 11, Hebrews 4, Ephesians 6)
But when our hearts are full of His Word, we enjoy what is good, we enjoy Him in His fulness, and we guard our hearts from idols (1 John 5:20-21).
Learned and Received, and Heard and Seen
Throughout the next several months we will revisit these ordinary means, and continually come back to what Scripture calls the “doctrines conforming to godliness.” We will define terms, and not go beyond Scripture. I will recommend books for each topic, reference the Reformers often, and point towards both the Old and New Testaments, and the beauty of being deeply rooted in Him, thirsting for the Living God and Him alone, seeking Him with all our heart, soul and might–but only as He has revealed Himself.
I am once again studying Hosea with some women in our church (last time was in 2017, when I was in between blogs). I have been struck this time around by all that Israel was seeking falsely; and how like other prophets, Hosea was calling them back to seek only YHWH. Like Adam, they sought knowledge and power on their own terms, they turned their backs on their only true help. Israel had been told to destroy their idols, there was to be no repurposing of the gold, or of the places used for false worship; and how often we ignore these lessons and use the gold, and repurpose the places of our false love affairs. Hosea marries a woman who cheats on him, leaves him, and continually takes from him during her unfaithfulness.
Apart from Christ, we too think we can have God on our own terms, using Him for His provision, offering lip service and half-hearted worship, all the while seeking false loves. But now that we are in Christ, we are to leave all former lovers, abandon all other ways of seeking–whether knowledge, or power, or help, or fulfillment of desires or needs, or purpose and meaning, or wisdom… And follow Him.
Teachers creep in, according to Jude, and their words will impact the beliefs and fellowship of many. Paul warns Timothy of those who will attempt to teach “strange doctrines.” Strange, much like the “strange fire” offered to God in Leviticus 10:1. God does not accept what is strange, and therefore illegitimate. We can not worship God with our innovations, our syncretism, our redemption of the gold from former idols, or other ways of seeking Truth apart from God’s revelation.
Contending for the faith, striving to keep it pure and to grow in it and to pass it on to future generations is a call given to all Christians–not merely elders. Women, this includes us! Oh that we would choose the good portion with Mary (see here), and grow in our love of doctrine and theology like Priscilla (have you read this book?), and (Hosea 6:3) “So let’s learn, let’s press on to know the Lord.”