Introduction
Today I want talk with you about certain biblical words we use all the time, words that are part of the Christian vocabulary, words that we are so familiar with that we probably don't give them a second thought.
We think we know what they mean, and we assume that others know what they mean when we use them. When we use these words, we use them in the context of our way of thinking, they are viewed through the lens of how we understand doctrine, church, and God.
Generally speaking, we think they mean what we've been told they mean.
Our ways of thinking and understanding are a product of our culture, education, and various traditions that we accept as true. We live a western cultural environment, which has particular ways of viewing the world. It is a world view that values logic, reason, and systematic linear thought. Its processes come down to us from what is known as Greek philosophy, primarily influenced by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, who went on to conquer most of the known world. This is how this system of thought called Greek philosophy was spread throughout the the nations. It comes down through history to us, so much so that Greek philosophy is the underlying basis of belief for systems, cultural values, and legal codes all around the world. For us, it is the way of thinking called western culture.
But it's not the only way people process what they understand. A great example is the "First Nations Version" of the Bible, put together by a Native American by the name of Terry M. Wildman. Pastor Wildman wanted a Bible that addressed the Native American ways of thinking, their culture, and their ways of expression. He said of his translation,
We ...used words and concepts more relevant to a traditional Native worldview. “Temple” became “Sacred Lodge”; “sin” became “bad hearts” or “broken ways,” depending on the context. “Angel” became “spirit-messenger,” “apostle” became “message bearer,” Jesus becomes “Creator Sets Free” and “Christ” became “Chosen One.”
Let's quote a couple of Scriptures from this translation:
The Great Spirit loves this world of human beings so deeply he gave us his Son – the only Son who fully represents him. All who trust in him and his way will not come to a bad end, but will have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. Creator did not send his Son to decide against the people of this world, but to set them free from the worthless ways of the world. John 3:16-17
I am not ashamed of this good story, for to all who trust in its message it has Creator's power to set free and make whole. This is true, first for our Tribal People, and then to all the Outside Nations! For this good story tells about Creator's great faithfulness to do what is good and right. It is the story of faithfulness and trust from beginning to end. It is written in our Sacred Teachings, "The ones in good standing will find life by trusting in what the Great Spirit has done for them." Ro. 1:16-17
Do these jangle your nerves, or, do you find a certain elegance in these translations? What it causes me to do is to get reinvigorated. Scriptures that have become so familiar over the years that I tended to just gloss right over them are now alive again.
Another quick example, African theology. Did you know there is an entire system of theology called African theology? In many ways, Africans think differently about doctrine and faith. If we went to an African church we would probably think they're from another planet. Their beliefs and practices are greatly influenced by their culture. Just like us.
The late Ghanaian theologian Kwame Bediako said this to an American questioner:
“Well, Christianity is thriving where we are, and it’s waning where you are, so maybe there is something we have that could be helpful to you all.”
Maybe there is something to this, that our way of thinking about the faith is not necessarily the only way or even the best way. Maybe we should consider rethinking how we approach this thing we call Christianity.
That's a process I've begun to engage over the last few years. I write a blog, and in my blog I call it "rethink."
Rethink
I'm not a theologian, of course, but I don't think a Christian has to be a theologian in order to understand the great Gospel truths. Holy Spirit enlightens our minds and our spirits, He speaks truth to us.
Jn. 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
I want to know that truth. And, I want to abandon un-truth. But rethinking something is hard for me, probably because I'm also a product of Western Culture, or maybe I'm just hard-headed and stubborn. Rethinking can also be threatening. I know that I don't like to be told I might be wrong.
And of course, I might be wrong about what I'm about to tell you. This means you should always seek out for yourself to see if what I'm saying is true. Trust but verify, as President Reagan said.
There are a lot of things I've discovered in my rethink. As I mentioned, it reinvigorates me as I study the Scriptures. Almost always it results in wonder at the richness of God's holy word, His greatness, and His matchless glory. My faith rises, and sometimes in these moments I am reduced to a puddle of worship.
Unfortunately, this also means that what I've been taught about the Scriptures is not always what the Scriptures actually say. Which means that these things that challenged my thinking are possibly going to challenge yours. In fact, I hope they do.
Char
So today I want to tell you more about char. A while ago I got the opportunity to give a teaser about this at our end of fast celebration. Char is the root word from which a number of other Greek words come from. So a root word is the base understanding upon which variants are created. These all carry the context of the root word.
An example in this in English would be the root word "l-e-g." From that word we get other words, like legal, illegal, legalistic, legality, delegate, legitimate, and legislate.
These words are called cognates, that is, they derive from a common ancestor and share meaning. Char is just such a word in the Greek. Its base meaning is "favorably disposed, leaning towards." "Favorably disposed, leaning towards." So if I was going to show char to you, I would be have an inclination or tendency to think of you well as I leaned in towards you to be near.
Char always carries the idea of coming closer. May I say that Father is always interested in coming closer? He is always inclined to think of His people well? "favorably disposed, leaning towards."
This may not be the way you understand Father. You might think that He's keeping record of your wrongs, or that He's hard to please, or that He's so holy that you need to be "reverent," or that He tends to keep His distance because you don't measure up. May I say to you directly, this is not the case. He is always "favorably disposed, leaning towards you."
Even when you forget to pray. When you get mad at your kids. When you sin. Char is unconditional.
There are several Greek words that are cognates, they share that common ancestor, char. Some of those cognates are
- Chairó (khah'-ee-ro)- Rejoice ("favorably disposed, leaning towards in delight of God")
1Co. 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
We might think of rejoicing as celebrating Father's goodness, mercy, greatness, awesome power, or whatever attribute we might be aware of at the moment, but a more basic thing is when we rejoice, we lean towards Father with favor because of who He is.
- Chara - (khar-ah') Joy ("favorably disposed, leaning towards with benefits recognized")
Ac. 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Joy is not an emotional state, it is a characteristic of the Spirit-filled Christian. It is the life-lived understanding of how much Jesus has done for us. Thankfulness often results in joy.
- Charisma - (khar'-is-mah) The spiritual gifts ("favorably disposed, leaning towards to empower via Holy Spirit")
1Pe. 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
We tend to regard the spiritual gifts as mystical powers some people have, but Holy Spirit has bestowed a part of His nature in each of us, and that manifests in different ways in each person.
- Charizomai - (khar-id'-zom-ahee) Forgive ("favorably disposed, leaning towards to cancel offense")
Col. 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Forgiveness reconciles, brings closer, removes barriers, and creates connections.
- Charis - (khar'-ece) Grace ("favorably disposed, leaning towards to share benefits")
Ep. 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
I'm going to discuss Charis in more detail later.
Let this all sink in a moment...
- Rejoice is you leaning towards God, filled with pleasure
- Grace is God leaning towards you to connect with you
- Joy is you leaning towards God because of His goodness
- God gives the spiritual gifts as He leans toward you to spiritually empower you
- Forgiveness is God leaning toward you to negate what used to separate you
All these words are relationship, closeness, belonging, fellowship, restoration, community. Father is interested in building a family, a clan, a lineage, an oikos:
Ep. 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household...
He. 3:6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
His kingdom come is all about bringing the heavenly reality to earth in a way that builds, connects, blesses, and heals. We may not see the fullness of this in our life on earth, but we should want to pursue the increase all through our lives.
And part of this is having a clear understanding that Father WANTS to be near us. "favorably disposed, leaning towards you."
Correcting Some Misunderstandings
Part of knowing Jesus is knowing that truth that sets us free. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He sets us free from the law of sin and death. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom, amen?
Yet we are too often bound by wrong ideas. We sometimes believe lies. Or we simply haven't studied the Scriptures as well as we should. We are both negligent and victims. Sometimes we are negligent because we simply accept what people teach without checking it for ourselves. And sometimes we are victims because of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Ro. 1:18).
So I want to talk about a pet peeve of mine, the bad definition of grace, charis. This is probably familiar to many of you:
Mercy is when God doesn't give you what you deserve
Grace is when God gives you what you don't deserve
Or another way of saying it is that grace is unmerited favor. May I say with boldness that there isn't a single thing about these that are biblical? If I could, I would forbid you the use of these descriptions ever again.
They simply aren't true.
A few minutes ago I gave you a hint about grace, charis. The root word, remember, is char, "favorably disposed, leaning towards you." Let me expand that from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:
xáris is preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people because He is "always leaning toward them," freely extending Himself, reaching, inclining to people because He is disposed to bless (be near) them.
Do you see anything in this definition about deserving or not deserving? Do you see anything about merit or not merited? Here's the key understanding. You must realize that that Father considers neither regarding His oikos. He doesn't regard merit. He doesn't regard un-merit. He doesn't think about deserving or undeserving. It simply isn't a part of the idea of grace.
Father has never said, "I'm going to be favorable to Jeff ***, even though he doesn't deserve it," or "I'm going to be favorable to Jeff ***, because he deserves it."
Neither of these are a part of grace.
You won't find statements in the Bible like this, about Jeff *** or anyone else. You will never read a Bible verse that tells us Father did something even though they didn't deserve it. It just isn't there.
Deserved or undeserved simply isn't part of the equation. I can't emphasize this enough.
You who are mothers and fathers understand this, perhaps subconsciously, when considering your children. Are they more your children when they behave? No. Are they less your children when they misbehave? No. Do you think in terms of your children deserving to be your children? Do you favor other children like you favor yours?
They simply are your children. What they deserve or don't deserve doesn't come to bear on the fact that they are your children.
It's a matter of status. We are Father's children. Because of who He made you, you get grace. You get His desire to be near you, to lean toward you, to favorably disposed. Because He wants this. And this is even more amazing - even when you were not saved. His desire to be near you predates the creation of the world.
2Ti. 1:9 -10... This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus...
Before the beginning of time, He has always been "favorably disposed, leaning towards you."
Father's grace is incredibly rich, and He lavished it on us. Do you feel lavished with grace? Stop and think about that. Do you understand that He has poured out grace upon grace upon you? Do you engage your life with the understanding that Father wants to be near, He wants to bless, He favors you?
Say this with me: I didn't realize... that Father thought about me like this.
Now, that doesn't mean that you have license to whatever you want. Grace is not permission to sin. There is something called "atimonianism." It is an understanding of grace, deemed heretical, that says that because we are saved and under grace that our sins don't matter any more. There are no longer any laws or morals that constrain us. Everything we do is forgiven, so there is no down side to sin.
This is freedom taken to the excess.
We see this attitude play out all over society - that morality is whatever you say it is, you should be "true to yourself," be an "authentic version of yourself," and you should do and say whatever pops into your mind.
Such things are the product of unrestrained appetites. When a person throws of all restraint, the result is chaos, and chaos is the opposite of holiness.
Paul addresses this:
Ro. 6:1-2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
1Co. 10:23 “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is constructive.
Part of becoming mature in faith is ordering your life to live in a way that pleases Father.
Father does not withhold or give grace based on our status, but that does not mean we can do whatever we want.
What's the Point?
I know I'm making a big deal out of this, but I think it's important that we come to discover who Father really is. Father does not hold His nose and tolerate us. He doesn't sit on His throne and look at us and say, "Well, they don't deserve it, but I'm going to let them breathe another breath."
He really likes us. He likes to be with us. He wants to be close to us. He is always "favorably disposed, leaning towards you."
I'm not trying to diminish His holiness, His awesome power, or the fact that He is exalted to the highest throne and will judge the nations. We certainly should be attentive to this. But when we understand Father's heart, we start agreeing with Him. We start believing what he has said. We are who He says we are. We are not beggars. We are not orphans. We are not worms.
And frankly, we are no longer sinners. We are sons and daughters of God. We simply sin sometimes. We don't ignore or minimize sin, but we don't wallow in it or let it be our identity. We are new creations, and we should starting acting like it. We have put off the old dead man with its lusts and perversions, and are living out a new life according to Father's purposes.
Paul wrote this to the Roman church, which I think gets misunderstood by some:
Ro. 12:3b ...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
When the Bible tells us to not think too highly of ourselves, we might think of words like pride, arrogance, or superiority. But let me say, if Father says something about your identity, it is pride and arrogance to disagree with Him.
This is reason I'm telling you about grace, charis, because we need to properly discern Father's heart. It means a lot to your future and to the future or our church. How we view Father influences the way we lead our lives and how we participate in the gathering of the saints on Sunday. It comes to bear on our ministries, our families, our workplaces, and, it comes to bear on Father's plans for us.
We don't want to be working opposite to Father's desire.
***
So. What does this all look like? How does all of this play out for the future? How do we need to change? For some of us, this might represent a fundamental change in thinking. It certainly ought to impact the dynamics of our church, as well as our families and our friendships.
A church that operates in grace, charis, is attractive to other believers, attractive to the lost, and frankly, attractive to Father. Grace multiplies:
John 1:16 For from Christ's fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
A church filled with grace will experience revival, healings, salvations, and restoration. There will be no backbiting, dishonor, divisions, or bitterness. The degree to which we do not practice grace is the degree to which we obstruct the purposes of God, obscure the light on a hill, and obliterate the destiny He has called us to.
I've said before that God has not called us to be a typical, ordinary church. There are dozens of those in the Gallatin valley. That's not to say they are bad churches. But our church is called to be remarkable, powerful, a place to belong believe, and become. And yes, filled with grace upon grace. Charis.
I've prayed for revival for a long time. For 25 years I've been on the lookout for the place where it might happen. In fact, I've moved from church to church every few years, entering each one with expectation and hope that there's a passion for revival there, and becoming discouraged and disillusioned when it continues to be just business as usual.
I came to this church with that same attitude almost 12 years ago. I thought I was here to change this church. I thought it should be a certain way. I was an persistent advocate for my vision of church. It caused some problems. If I may confess, this attitude was sinful, and I repent.
But the thing is, I was right. I was wrong, but I was right. Father wanted this church to change. He has plans for us. He intends to move among us and reveal His glory.
He most certainly wants this church to change, but He didn't need me to change it. He didn't need me to change it.
So over the course of the last few years, what has happened? Father has changed and is changing this church. Do you recognize it? Do you feel it? The things I knew needed to happen are happening, and I have nothing to do with it.
What I discovered was that Father was giving me revelation, sometimes a year or two or three in advance, about things He wanted to do in our church. I thought I was to push them through, but He showed me these things to pray about them, not to implement them.
It was a revelation to me, and also a chastening.
**worship team**
Conclusion
So I've been sort of an observer as Father has moved in our midst. He did and is doing everything in His own time. I just pray, and He does His thing. And her certainly has been doing His thing. So this is sort of our progress report as I see it. We are
- a church that is learning to love one another
- a church that is learning to worship
- a church that is learning to facilitate the ministry of Holy Spirit
- a church that is learning to pray
This is not a series of steps to complete, then move on to the next. No, we need to continue to pursue each of these. But as we become better at each one, it makes it easier to become better at the next one. So as we love one another better, it becomes easier to get better at worship. As we get better at worship, it becomes easier to facilitate the ministry of Holy Spirit. And so on.
I think Father has given me a peek at the future of our church. And I think I am allowed to share it with you. These are the things I think will grow in importance in the next few years. But of course, you should weigh this for yourself. I think the next things on the horizon are to become
- a church that disciples
- a church that evangelizes
- a church that multiplies
- a church where Kingdom has come in power
None of this is guaranteed. We have to pray, plan, implement, participate, and stay humble and teachable and repentant. Love. Forgiveness. Grace. Charis. Everyone who calls this church their home needs to play his or her part as Father speaks to you. Get on board, not with this man's or any man's agenda, but with God's.
I want to stir up a hunger in you to step out in faith. I want you to hear from Holy Spirit yourselves. I want to you to plainly see how you connect in with God's calling upon this church. I want to kindle a fire in you, a passion for the glory of the Lord in the house and in the Gallatin valley.
Many of you enjoy and appreciate this church and its ministries, its people, and its leadership. You probably love our incredible band, the preaching of David and Michael and others. You feel the friendship and fellowship. Holy Spirit is here.
But you haven't seen anything yet. I believe that. You haven't seen anything yet. When Holy Spirit starts to move, I guarantee you'll be on your knees in awe and wonder, probably weeping like a baby because the Lord doing great things in our midst.
That's what I'm praying for.
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