Discipleship – The way of Jesus lies in the shadow of the cross

Contentment

J. Thomas Johnson

February 8, 2023

In Numbers 21 we find the people of Israel falling back into a common complaint against God and against Moses. Numbers 21:4-5 reads:

⁴From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. ⁵The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”
Numbers 21:4-5, NRSV

Wandering in the wilderness between Egypt and the land of Canaan for forty years must have been a tedious misadventure. Of course, Israel was wandering in the wilderness by choice in that they had refused to trust God to bring them into the land of Canaan. Even so, forty years of wandering aimlessly must have been a struggle even if it had been deserved.

Since they were cursed to wander, they could not settle down. So, everything from their Tabernacle to their homes to their possessions had to be mobile. I’ve met a few people in my life who prefer to live that way, but for most of us, living out of suitcases is not something we’d want to do for forty years. I suppose Israel’s growing frustration is not hard to understand.

Even more, the lands through which they were travelling were quite arid. Oases were few and far between, and they often found themselves wandering into areas with little or no potable water. And to top it all off, for forty years, with very little variation, they ate the same food. It was miracle-food, of course, provided to them six days every week by God Himself. When they first ate it, they marveled at it, found it delicious, and gave thanks to God. But after a few decades, eating the same food for every meal every day became distasteful to them.

Israel wanted new and different tastes, but God gave them only manna. Israel wanted houses and lands, but God gave them only tents and sandals that never wore out from walking. Israel wanted water whenever they were thirsty, but God gave them only enough water to survive. So Israel grumbled. Many of the people wanted a God who was less stingy and more gratuitous in His provision for them. Why did God care for Israel in this way?

Later, near the end of their time of wandering, Moses told the Israelites that God cared for them in this way, “to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good” (Deuteronomy 8:16b, NRSV). When the Lord leads us through lean times, arid lands, and monotonous repetition, we, too, might allow those seasons to humble and to test us that they might do us good. The Apostle Paul provided similar encouragement when he wrote:

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; ⁸but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
1 Timothy 6:6-8, NRSV

May we find contentment in obedience to God and His watchcare in these days. May we not be like our ancestors whose eyes were fixed on that for which they wished, rather than on that which God was then providing them. Amen.

~ J. Thomas

John Wesley Sermons – The More Excellent Way (1 Corinthians 12:31)

The original sermon can be found in: The Works of John Wesley, Volume 7 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), 26-37.

Language edited and updated by J. Thomas Johnson – Sunday, June 26, 2022

[Why revisit the sermons of John Wesley? What could a preacher from 1700s England have to say that is worth hearing today? I’m not sure. But, I am certain that when I was praying and seeking the Lord about our next sermon series that this was where I was pointed. Methodism today is certainly facing a significant moment of decision. In a purely practical sense, perhaps it is useful for us to return to the beginning of this movement as we consider what it means to be Methodists today.

However, I have found an additional blessing in reconsidering Wesley’s sermons. I am finding myself challenged to read and understand the Scriptures in ways I had not considered before. For instance, I have often read Jesus as a wisdom teacher who placed ideals before us to which we should strive. Wesley, on the other hand, as will be clear in the sermon today, read Jesus not as an idealist but as One who reveals the will of God to us. Consequently, Wesley read every teaching of Jesus as a revelation of the will of God—almost as a new law by which we should govern our lives. I think this is a perspective sorely lacking in our day, and I have found it refreshing to listen to someone who read and responded to Jesus in this way.

In the message today, Wesley sought to be deeply practical. Jesus has taught that to be His disciple one must, “deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Jesus” (Luke 9:23, NASB). Wesley understood this to be a call to a universal lifestyle of self-denial. And so, he sought to explore what a life of self-denial would look like every day. Some of his examples are dated, but all of them were Wesley’s attempt to embrace Jesus’ call to self-denial in even the smallest areas of his life. Rather than trying to update these applications, I’ve left them as they were.

One more comment before we begin to listen again to Wesley’s reading of the Scripture. On some occasions, Wesley gets a little too ascetic, in my opinion. In other words, sometimes Wesley’s understanding of self-denial carries with it too much of the Greek philosophical assumption that earthly pleasures were evil in and of themselves. We should recognize that when God created the heavens and the earth, God called the creation good. There is nothing inherently evil in the flesh or in the capacity that we have for pleasure or enjoyment. Also, the Scriptures do not teach that our mental capacities are morally superior to our bodily capacities. I will say that, for his time, Wesley was remarkably balanced in the way he spoke of these things. But, I would caution that self-denial is not simply a way of speaking of restraining bodily desires or of denying oneself pleasure so as to increase one’s contemplative devotion to God. The Christian life is a balance of body and spirit, both submitted to God and enjoying all of creation within the boundaries God has set.

In any case, without further ado, let’s revisit Wesley’s sermon, “The More Excellent Way.”]

³¹But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.
1 Corinthians 12:31, NASB

In the preceding verses, the Apostle Paul has been speaking about the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as healing of the sick, prophesying, speaking in languages which the speaker had never learned, and the miraculous interpretation of languages. And Paul has said that these gifts of the Holy Spirit are desirable. In fact, Paul encouraged the Corinthians (at least the teachers among them) to desire them earnestly that they themselves might be useful to the body of believers and to the non-Christian world.

“And yet,” Paul has said, “I am going to show you a far better way”—a far more desirable way than all of these put together. This far better way will not fail to lead you to happiness, both in this world and in the world to come. Even if a person had all of these extraordinary gifts, they might find themselves to be miserable, both on earth and in eternity.

It does not appear that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were common in the Church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the Roman Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian and, from an empty desire to promote the cause of Christianity, heaped riches and power and honor upon Christians in general and upon the Christian clergy in particular. From that time forward, they ceased almost entirely. And this was not because (as some have ignorantly assumed) “because there was no more need for them,” since all the world had become Christian. This is a miserable mistake. Not even five percent of the world was even marginally Christian in the years that followed.

The real cause of the cessation of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit was that “most people’s love,” the love of almost all Christians, “became cold” (Matthew 24:12, NASB). Christians, then, had no more of the Spirit of Christ than non-Christians. When the Son of Man came to examine His Church, He could hardly find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8). This was the real cause of the cessation of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Christian Church, because Christians had become non-Christians again, and had only a dead form of Christianity left.

However, I do not want to speak today of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. Today I will speak of the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these, too, we should earnestly desire, in order to be more useful in our generation. We may desire the gift of convincing speech in order to probe the unbelieving heart along with the gift of persuasion, both to move the emotions and to enlighten the mind. We may desire knowledge, both of the word of God and of God’s activities in the world. We may desire enough faith to allow us to do miraculous works. We may desire a clear articulation, or a pleasant sermon which is preached in submission to the will of God. We may desire any of these things or other gifts that would allow us to be useful wherever we are. But there is a far better way.

This far better way is the way of love; the way of loving all human beings for God’s sake; the way of humble, gentle, patient love. This is the far better way that Paul has described so clearly in the rest of the chapter. And without this love, Paul has assured us that all eloquence, all knowledge, all faith, all works, and all sufferings are of no more value in the sight of God than that of a series loud, annoying bangs and contribute nothing at all to our salvation. Without love, all we know, all we believe, all we do, and all we suffer will not benefit us at all on the day we stand before Jesus and make an account for how we have lived in this world.

But today I would like to look at this text from a slightly different angle and point out a far better way in another sense. One ancient writer has observed that from the very beginning there have always been two orders of Christians. One order of Christian lives a law-abiding life, is obedient in all things, does not rebel against the customs or expectations of the world, does many good works, abstains from obvious evils, and attends to the basic requirements of God. These Christians try to live in such a way that their consciences remain clean, but they do not work to improve themselves. In most things, there is no difference between them and their neighbors.

The other order of Christians does not only avoid all kinds of evil, but they are eager for good deeds of every kind. They attend to all the basic requirements of God, but they also desire earnestly to have the attitude in themselves which was also in Christ Jesus, and they try sincerely to live in every way as Jesus lived. In order to do this, they live lives of universal self-denial. They deny themselves daily of any pleasure which they do not believe will prepare them for finding their delight in God. They take up their crosses daily. As Jesus has taught them, they “strive,” they agonize without ceasing, “to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:24, NASB). And above all, they are willing to endure any agony or pain that is necessary to arrive at the summit of Christian holiness, “leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, [to] press on to maturity;” (Hebrews 6:1, NASB); “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that [they] may be filled to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19, NASB).

From my experience and my observations over a long period of time, I am inclined to believe that whoever finds redemption in the blood of Jesus, whoever is justified, has the choice of walking in the higher or the lower path that I have just described. I believe that at that moment, the Holy Spirit calls this person to the far better way and encourages them to walk in it—to choose the narrowest path in the narrow way, to long for the heights and depths of holiness, to long to embody the full image of God. But, if this person does not accept the Spirit’s offer, they decline into the lower order of Christians, perhaps, at first, without realizing it. This person still walks in what might be considered a good way, serving God in some degree, and they will find mercy at the end of their earthly lives through the blood of the covenant.

I would not want to extinguish a dimly burning wick (Matthew 12:20, NASB). In other words, I would not want to discourage those who are serving God in a lower degree. But, at the same time, I do not want them to remain as they are. I would encourage those on the lower road, to come up higher. Without thundering hell and damnation in their ears, without condemning the lives they are currently living, without telling them that the way they are walking leads to destruction, I will try to point out to them what is, in every respect, a far better way.

And please remember that I am not claiming that all who do not walk on this higher road are on the road to hell. Even so, I am saying that those who walk on the lower road will not have as high a place in the new heavens and the new earth as they would have had had they chosen the better part. And will it be a minor loss to have fewer stars in your crown of glory? Will it be a small thing to have a lower place than you might have had in the kingdom of your Father? Of course, there will be no sorrow in the new heavens and the new earth. There all tears will be wiped from our eyes. But, if it were possible for grief to enter into that place, we would grieve at that irreparable loss. Irreparable then, but not now. Now, by the grace of God, we may still choose the far better way. Let’s compare, in a few particulars, the far better way and the way in which most Christians walk.

Let’s begin at the beginning of the day—in the morning. Most Christians who no longer work for their living or who make their living with a more flexible schedule wake up, particularly in the winter, at eight or nine in the morning, after having slept for eight or nine or more hours. I don’t believe any longer (though I did believe this fifty years ago) that all who indulge themselves in this way are walking on the road to destruction. But, neither do I believe they are on the way to the new heavens and the new earth, denying themselves, and taking up their crosses daily. I am certain there is a far better way to promote both mental and bodily health.

Being now in my sixties, I have learned that healthy men require, on average, between six and seven hours of sleep, and healthy women often require a little more—from seven to eight hours—each day. In my experience, this amount of sleep is most advantageous to both the body and the spirit. This sleep schedule is preferable to any medication which I have taken, both for preventing and for resolving nervous disorders. It is, therefore, a far better way, in defiance of what is popular and customary, to take only as much sleep as experience proves our bodies require. This is indisputably most conducive to bodily and spiritual health.

So why do so many people not adopt this schedule? Is it because it is difficult? No. With human strength maybe it is challenging for some, but all things are possible with God. And, by God’s grace, all things will be possible for you, too. If you bring this matter to God in prayer continually, you will find it not only possible, but easy. Even more, it will be far easier to rise early consistently than only to do it once in a while. But, of course, the routine must be started on the right end. If you want to wake up early, then you must go to sleep early. Impose it on yourself, except in extraordinary circumstances, to go to bed at a fixed time. Then the challenge of it will soon be over, but the advantage of it will remain forever.

Many Christians pray in the morning when they awaken, and most of those probably use some form of prayer that they learned when they were eight or ten years old. Now, I am not condemning those who pray in this way as mocking God (as many do), even though they have used the same prayer, without variation, for twenty or thirty years. But surely, there is a far better way of ordering our private devotions. What if we were to follow the advice given by William Law in his book A Call to Christians Showing the Necessity of a Devout and Holy Life? He encourages us to consider our outward and inward states and then to pray accordingly.

For instance, suppose your outward state is prosperous—suppose you are healthy, at ease, having plenty, in good relationship with your family, having good neighbors and good friends. If this is true, then your outward state calls for praise and thanksgiving to God. On the other hand, if you are in difficult circumstances—if God has given you much to be anxious about, if you are in poverty, if you are in need of basic necessities, if you are distressed, if you are at risk of harm, if you are suffering pain or sickness—, then you are clearly called to pour our your heart before God in response to these circumstances.

Similarly, you might pray in ways according to your inward state—your mental, emotional, or psychological state. Do you feel weighed down either from a sense of sin or because of recurrent temptations? Then, let your prayer include whatever confessions, requests, or pleas that might help you in your distress. However, what if you are experiencing peace, what if you are rejoicing in God, what if you are recognizing the ways in which He is comforting you? Then say with the Psalmist, “²⁸You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I exalt You” (Psalm 118:28, NASB). You may also, when you have time, add to your prayers a little reading and meditation, and even a psalm of praise—the natural outflow of a thankful heart. You must certainly see that this is a far better way than you have used before.

Most Christians, after praying, usually then get busy with the work they have been entrusted to do by their employer. Every person that has any desire to be a Christian will not fail to do this, since it is impossible for an idle person to be a good person. Laziness is inconsistent with Christianity. But, how do you understand your worldly work? Do you work primarily to provide things for yourself and for your family? That’s a good reason, but it does not go far enough. All people work for those reasons, religious and non-religious alike. But a Christian may go much further. Our goal in all the work we do is to please God, not to do our own will, but to do the will of the One Who has sent us into the world, to do the will of God on earth as the angels do in the heavens. We work for eternity. We “do not work for the food that perishes” (this is the smallest part of our motives), “but for the food that lasts for eternal life” (John 6:27, NASB). Isn’t this a far better way?

And how do you do your work? I hope you work diligently. I hope that “whatever your hand finds to do, [you] do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10, NASB). I hope that you are fair in your work, giving to each person what they are due, in every area of your life. And I hope that you are a merciful person, doing to every person what you would want them to do to you. All of this is good, but a Christian is called to go further, to add faithfulness to God to their fairness, and to add heartfelt prayer to the work of their hands. Without these things, all a person’s diligence and fairness only reveal him or her to be an honorable non-Christian, and there are many who claim to be Christians who go no farther than honorable non-Christians.

And, in which spirit do you work? Do you work in the spirit of the world or in the Spirit of Christ? My fear is that thousands of those who are considered to be good Christians do not even understand what I am asking. If we work in the Spirit of Christ, we walk as Jesus walked in all we do, from the beginning to the end. We do everything in the spirit of sacrifice, giving up our will to the will of God, and continually aiming, not at ease, pleasure, or riches—not at anything this temporary world can provide—, but only at the glory of God. Can anyone really deny that this is a far better way of doing our work in the world?

And these material bodies in which we live in this world require constant care or they will return to the dust from which they were taken even sooner than nature requires. To prevent this, we have to eat every day. Among Heathens in the ancient past it was common to set aside some of what they ate for their gods, even though, as the Apostle Paul has reminded us, their gods were only demons (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). A recent historian has written:

“It seems there was once a similar custom to this in our own country. For we often see a gentleman, before he sits down to dinner in his own house, holding his hat in front of his face, and oftentimes seeming to say something, though usually in a way that no one can tell what he has said.”

Now, what if, instead of superstitious rituals, every parent earnestly requested a blessing from God and gave Him thanks before he or she sat down to eat any meal—breakfast, lunch, or supper? Wouldn’t this be a far better way than to go through a meaningless ritual, which, in the end, is nothing more than a mockery both of God and of humans?

And as to the amount of food we eat, honorable people do not usually eat to excess, at least not so much as to make them sick with food or intoxicated with drink. And most honorable people eat their food politely and with a measure of cheerfulness, which is said to help digestion. So far, so good. And, as long as they only take as much plain, cheap, wholesome food as their body requires for health of mind and body, no one should criticize this. For instance, I would not require anybody to take the advice of the poet George Herbert, who wrote:

Take thy meat; think it dust:
Then eat a bit, And say with all,
Earth to earth I commit.

This is too dreary. It does not fit with the cheerfulness that should be part of a Christian meal. Allow me to illustrate what I mean with a story.

One day the King of France was out hunting with a company of people, and he outrode them. After looking for him for some time, they found him sitting in a cottage eating bread and cheese. When he saw them, he cried out, “Where have I been living? I’ve never tasted food this good in all my life!” “Sire, said one of them, “you never had so good a sauce before, because you have never been hungry.”

Now it is true that hunger makes things taste better, but there is a better sauce than hunger—thankfulness. All food tastes better with thankfulness. And why shouldn’t all your meals be seasoned with it? When we eat, we don’t need to think about death. We should receive every morsel as a pledge of eternal life. By the food that you eat, your Creator not only delays your dying, but He promises that, very soon, “death shall be swallowed up in victory.”

Mealtimes also often include conversation. After all, it is natural to refresh our minds as we refresh our bodies. How should Christians converse together? What topics should they discuss? If our conversations are harmless—if they don’t include anything profane, or immodest, or untrue, or unkind—if there is no gossiping, backbiting, or speaking evil about people, then we have reason to thank God for keeping us from these evils. But there is more than this that is involved in conducting ourselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27, NASB).

First, our conversations must be good—that is, the things we talk about should be good things. As the Apostle Paul has taught us: “Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29a, NASB). In other words, we should not discuss just anything that occurs to us or anything that might be occurring in the world around us. What have we to do with politics and government? It is not our business to fight the wars or to reform the state, unless a remarkable event requires us to comment on the justice or mercy of God. Of course, sometimes we have to speak of worldly things. Otherwise, we might as well leave the world. But we should only do this when absolutely necessary, and then we should quickly return to better subjects.

Secondly, Paul continued in Ephesians by saying, “but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29b, NASB). Therefore, our conversation should be deliberately designed to strengthen or build up both us and our hearers either in faith or in love or in holiness. Thirdly, we must ensure that our conversation is not only interesting or entertaining, but that it in some way gives grace to those who hear. Now isn’t this a far better way of conversing than simply by aiming to be harmless?

So far, we have discussed far better ways both of governing our conversations and of doing our work in the world. But we cannot always be working. Both our bodies and our minds require some relaxation. We need intervals of rest from work. I will have to speak very bluntly about this because it a subject which many have misunderstood.

Leisure activities are quite varied. There are sporting activities like hunting, shooting, and fishing. Some activities are more social, such as races, costume parties, movies or plays, dances, and concerts. Others are more private, such as playing cards or reading. Some activities which used to be popular are not any longer. For instance, noble men and women rarely engage in hawking any more, and the rest of us rarely watch people fight each other with swords, staffs, or sticks. We no longer use dogs to attack bears or bulls for sport. And, if it were not because of a few wealthy investors, cock-fighting would not be practiced in England at all anymore. I don’t want to say anymore about these foul remains of barbarity than that they are an offense not only to the Christian religion, but to the very nature of what it means to be human.

Of course, I would not condemn sporting activities in the same way. If one has nothing better to do, then feel free to run foxes and rabbits out of breath. I don’t want to comment on horse races, either, unless someone wants to try to debate the issue. When it comes to movies or plays, I don’t personally allow myself to watch dramatic plays or movies. I can’t watch them with a clear conscience, at least not in an English theatre, given all the profanity and lustful and sinful behaviors that are routinely featured there, but possibly others can.

I can’t say very much about balls or formal parties, which, even though they are generally more upstanding than costume parties, tend to have the same general spirit. So, certainly have all public venues which include dancing. And, of course, given the way dancing is done today, this is not surprising. In the ancient past men and women never danced together, but always in separate rooms. This was the way dancing was done in ancient Greece and for a long time in Rome. In both those societies men and women would only have danced together in the course of engaging in prostitution. When it comes to playing cards, I feel the same as I do about seeing plays or movies. I cannot do it myself with a clear conscience, but I don’t pass judgment on anyone who feels differently. I leave that decision between them and God, since they need to answer to Him, not to me, for their decisions.

But, even if all of the activities that I’ve just discussed were all innocent diversions, for those of us who love and fear God aren’t there far better ways of spending our free time? If people of strong character want to spend their free time outdoors, then they could consider working in their yards or planting and maintaining gardens, or they could visit and talk with the wiser of their neighbors, or they could visit the sick, the poor, the widows, and the fatherless. If they wanted to spend their free time inside, they could read meaningful books on history or religious writings or books on nature. They could learn to play a musical instrument or stretch themselves by doing activities to challenge and strengthen their minds. But, more than all of this, when we have learned how to pray and converse with God, we will find that as the air fills the sky so prayer will be part of all that we do. Then we will be able to say that we are aware of God’s presence in every moment of every day.

I want to consider one more subject—that is, the use of money. How do most Christians use money? And is there a far better way?

Many Christians usually set apart some of their yearly income for charitable uses. I have known a few people who said, like Zaccheus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor” (Luke 19:8, NASB). O how I pray to God that He would multiply these sorts of people on the earth! But, even though few make this kind of commitment, there are thousands who give large amounts of money to the poor each year, especially in response to a tragedy or crisis. I praise God for all who respond in this way. May they never grow weary of doing good! May God restore what they have given, seven-fold! But still, I want to show you a far better way.

Each of us should consider ourselves as a person into whose hands God has entrusted a part of His wealth which is to be used according to His direction. And God’s direction is that each of us should consider ourselves as only one of a number of impoverished people who are to be cared for out of the portion of His wealth that He has entrusted to us. You have two advantages over the others who are to be cared for out of the wealth entrusted to you: First, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35, NASB). Second, you are to care for yourself first and others second. This is how Christians are to see both themselves and others.

But, to be even more candid: if you have no family, then after you have provided for yourself, give away all that remains, so that

Each Christmas your accounts may clear,
And wind your bottom round the year.

This was the practice of all the young people at Oxford who were called Methodists. For example: one of them earned thirty pounds a year [which is equivalent to about $6,500 today]. He lived on 28 and gave away 2. Three years later he made ninety pounds [equivalent to near $20,000 today]. He still lived on 28, and gave away 62. The next year he made 120 pounds [equivalent to $26,000 today]. He still lived on 28, and gave away 92 to the poor. Isn’t this a far better way?

Secondly, if you have a family, seriously consider in prayer with God how much each member of the family truly needs in order to have what is necessary for life and for godliness. And in general, do not allow them to have less than this, but also, do not allow them to have much more than you allow yourself. Thirdly, having done this, commit yourself to not raising your standard of living. I charge you in the name of God, do not increase your standard of living! As more income comes daily or yearly than you need, let it go. Otherwise, you are laying up for yourself treasure on earth. And this our Lord Jesus forbid us to do just as He forbid murder and adultery. By storing up treasure on earth, therefore, we are “storing up wrath for [ourselves] on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5, NASB).

But suppose that storing up treasure on earth were not forbidden by Jesus. How could we find it wise to spend money in a way which God may possibly forgive instead of spending it in a way which God will most certainly reward? We will not receive any reward in heaven for what we save up. We will only receive a reward in heaven for what we give away. Every dollar we put into an earthly savings account is lost. It bears no interest in heaven. But every dollar we give to the poor is put into the bank of heaven. And it will bring glorious interest which will accumulate throughout all of eternity.

“¹³Who among you is wise and understanding?” (James 3:13, NASB). Let the wise person decide today, at this hour and moment, by God’s help, to choose in all ways the far better way. And let him or her faithfully walk in it in sleep, prayer, work, food, conversation, and leisure, and particularly with regard to the use of money. This one thing I will do, I will store up treasure in heaven; I will give to God the things that are God’s; I will give Him all my goods, and all my heart! [Amen.]

2022-06-26-Wesley-TheMoreExcellentWay-1Corinthians12_31 Download

John Wesley Sermons – Scriptural Christianity (Acts 4:31)

Preached by John Wesley at St. Mary’s, Oxford – August 24, 1744

Language updated and edited by J. Thomas Johnson – June 5, 2022

The original sermon can be found in The Works of John Wesley, Volume 5 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996), 37-52).

. . . .⁴someone who hears the sound of the horn but does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
Ezekiel 33:4, NASB

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:31, NASB

“…And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” The same expression occurs in the second chapter of Acts, where we read:

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all [the Apostles, with the women, and the mother of Jesus, and his brothers,] together in one place. ²And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. [One immediate effect of this was that they] began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out, [insomuch, that both the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the other strangers who] came together were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.
Acts 2:1-6, NASB

In Acts chapter four we read that when the Apostles and the others gathered with them had been praying and praising God, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, there was no visible appearance at this time as there had been in the earlier instance, nor are we told that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were then given to all or any of them; such as the gifts of healing, of miracle-working, of prophecy, of the discerning of spirits, of speaking in diverse tongues, or the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Whether these gifts of the Holy Spirit were designed to remain in the Church throughout all ages, and whether or not they will be restored at the nearer approach of the “restitution of all things,” are questions which we do not need to decide. But we should observe that, even in the infancy of the Church, God divided these gifts with a sparing hand. Were all even then Prophets? Were all workers of miracles? Did all have gifts of healing? Did all speak in tongues? No, perhaps not one in a thousand. Probably none but the Teachers in the Church, and only some of them (1 Corinthians 12:28-30). It was, therefore, for a more excellent purpose than this that “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

It was to give them (what no one can deny to be essential to all Christians in all ages) the mind which was in Christ—those holy fruits of the Spirit which whoever does not have them does not belong to Christ; to fill them with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control;” (Galatians 5:22-23, NASB); to endow them with faith (perhaps a better word would be fidelity) with meekness and the moderation of their appetites; to enable them to crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts, its passions and desires; and, as a result of that inward change, to fulfill all outward righteousness; to “walk as Christ also walked,” in the “work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3, NASB).

Without concerning ourselves, then, in idle curiosity about those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, let us take a closer look at the Spirit’s ordinary fruits, which we are assured will remain throughout all ages;—at that great work of God among the children of humanity, which we express with one word, Christianity; not as it applies to a set of opinions or a system of doctrines, but as it refers to human hearts and lives. It may be helpful to consider Christianity from three perspectives:

As beginning to exist in individuals.
As spreading from one person to another:
And as covering the earth.

Having discussed these, I intend to conclude with a plain, practical application.

First, let us consider Christianity in its rise, as beginning to exist in individuals.

Imagine, then, that one of those who heard the Apostle Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost in which he preached repentance and remission of sins was convicted in his heart, was convinced of his sin, repented, and then believed in Jesus. By this faith in the work of God which “is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, NASB), he instantly received the Spirit of Adoption, by which he now cried “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).

Now by the Holy Spirit, he could call Jesus Lord, the Spirit Himself bearing witness with his spirit that he was a child of God (Romans 8:16). Now he could truly say, “²⁰I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20, NASB).

This, then, would have been the very essence of his faith, a divine evidence or conviction of the love of God the Father, through the Son of His love, to him, a sinner, now accepted in Jesus. And, “having been justified by faith, [he now would have] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1, NASB). Even more, “the peace of God would rule in his heart;” a peace, which, beyond all understanding, would keep his heart and mind from all doubt and fear, through the knowledge of the One in Whom he had then come to believe.

He could not, therefore, “be afraid of any evil news;” for his “heart would stand fast, believing in the Lord.” He would not fear what any other human could do to him, because he would know that the very hairs of his head were numbered. He would not fear the powers of darkness, whom God would be daily crushing under his feet. Even more, the fear of death would become the least of all of his fears. Instead, he would confess with the Apostle Paul that now he had “the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;” (Philippians 1:23, NASB). For, “¹⁴… since the children share in flesh and blood, [Jesus] Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:14-15, NASB).

This one’s soul, therefore, would magnify the Lord, and his spirit would rejoice in God, his Savior. He would have rejoiced in Jesus with unspeakable joy, for Jesus had reconciled him to God and “⁷In [Jesus} [he would have] redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of [his] wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7-8, NASB). He would have rejoiced in the witness of God’s Spirit with his spirit that he was a child of God; and more abundantly, “in hope of the glory of God:” in hope of the glorious image of God, and full renewal of his soul in righteousness and true holiness; and in hope of that crown of glory, that “inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away,…” (1 Peter 1:4, NASB).

“The love of God [would also have been] poured out within [his] heart through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5, NASB). “⁶Because [he was now a son], God would have sent the Spirit of His Son into [his] heart, crying out, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6, NASB). And that parental love of God would have been continually increased by the witness that he had in himself of God’s pardoning love to him; by “¹[seeing] how great a love the Father has given [him], that [he] would be called [a child] of God;…” (1 John 3:1, NASB). God would have become the desire of his eyes and the joy of his heart; his inheritance both in time and in eternity.

And one that loved God in these ways could not help but love his brothers and sisters; and “…not love with word or with tongue [only], but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18, NASB). “If God so loved us,” he would have said, “we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11, NASB); yes, we must love every single person, for, “⁹The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:9, NASB).

In agreement with these things, this lover of God would have embraced all of humankind for God’s sake; not ignoring those he had never met personally, or those of whom he knew nothing more than that they were “the offspring of God,” for whom His Son had died; not ignoring the “evil” and the “ungrateful,” and not ignoring even his enemies—those who hated or persecuted or despitefully used him. All of these he would have embraced for his Master’s sake. Each of these would have had a special place, both in his heart and in his prayers. He would have loved them “even as Christ loved us.”

And “love does not brag, [and] it is not arrogant” (1 Corinthians 13:4, NASB). Love brings the knees of all those in whom it dwells into the dust. Similarly, this man would have been lowly of heart, little, mean, and vile in his own eyes. He would neither have sought nor received the praise of people, but only that which comes from God. He would have been meek and longsuffering, gentle to all, and easy to ask favors of.

Faithfulness and truth would never be far from him; these things would be “[bound] around [his] neck, and [written] on the tablet of [his] heart” (Proverbs 3:3, NASB). By the same Spirit he would be enabled to be temperate in all things, controlling himself as though he had been weaned from excess as a child is weaned from milk. He would have confessed with the Apostle Paul, “…the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14, NASB); now living beyond, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life,…” (1 John 2:16, NASB). By the same almighty love he would have been saved both from passion and from pride; both from lust and from vanity; both from ambition and from covetousness; and from every state of heart and mind that was not in Christ Jesus.

Of course, a person who had this love in his heart would work no evil against his neighbor. It would have been impossible for him, purposefully and intentionally, to do harm to any person. He would have been at the greatest distance from cruelty and wrong, from any unjust or unkind action. With the same care he would have “³set a guard over [his] mouth; and kept watch over the door of [his] lips,” (Psalm 141:3, NASB) lest he should offend by his speech either against justice or against mercy or truth. He would have put away all lying, falsehood, and fraud; neither would deception be found in his mouth. He would have spoken evil of no person; nor would an unkind word ever have come out of his lips.

And as he would have been deeply aware of the truth of Jesus’ teaching, “…apart from Me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5, NASB) and, consequently, of his own need to be watered by God daily, so he would have continued daily in all the ordinances of God, which are the stated channels of God’s grace to humanity: Namely, “the Apostles’ teaching,” receiving eagerly that food of the soul; in “the breaking of bread,” which he would have found in the communion of the body of Christ; and “in the prayers” and praises offered up by the great congregation. And, in these ways, he would daily have “grown in grace,” increasing in strength, in the knowledge and love of God.

But it would not have satisfied him simply to abstain from doing evil. His soul would have been eager to do good. The language of his heart would have been continually, “ ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working’ (John 5:17, NASB). My Lord went about doing good; and I will follow His example.”

As he had opportunity, therefore, if he could do no good of a higher kind, he would have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, helped the fatherless or stranger, visited and assisted them that were sick or in prison. He would have given all his goods to feed the poor. He would have rejoiced to work or to suffer for them; and in whatever way he might have benefited another person, in those cases especially he would have denied himself. He would have thought of nothing as too dear to part with for them. He would have remembered the word of his Lord, Who said, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me” (Matthew 25:40, NASB).

This was Christianity in the beginning. Such was a Christian in ancient days. Such was every one of those who, when they heard the threats of the Chief Priests and Elders, “…were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. ³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul;…” (Acts 4:31-32, NASB).

In this way the love of Him in Whom they had believed constrained them to love one another! “And not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them” (Acts 4:32, NASB). So fully were they crucified to the world, and the world crucified to them! “³³And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. ³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales ³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need” (Acts 4:33-35, NASB).

Having considered Christianity in its rise, as beginning to exist in individuals, now, secondly, let us consider Christianity in its spread from person to person, and so gradually making its way into the world: For this was God’s will for it, Who did not “light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, [that it might give] light to all who are in the house” (Matthew 5:15, NASB). Jesus Himself had declared this to His first disciples by teaching, “¹³You are the salt of the earth,” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13a, 14a, NASB). And, at the same time He gave them the general command, “¹⁶Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NASB).

And, so, let’s suppose that a few of these people who were committed to loving humankind the way Jesus instructed them saw “that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19, NASB). Can we believe that they would be unconcerned at the misery of those for whom their Lord died? Wouldn’t their compassion and mercy overwhelm them? And even if Jesus gave them no command, could they really stand by idly? Instead, would they not work by all possible means to pluck some of these brands out of the burning? Of course, they would. They would endure whatever must be endured to bring back whoever they could of those poor “straying sheep to the Shepherd and Guardian of their souls” (1 Peter 2:25, NASB).

The Christians of old did just this. They worked, “as they had opportunity to do good to all people,” (Galatians 6:10, NASB) warning them to flee from the wrath to come; now, now to escape the damnation of final judgment. They declared, “³⁰So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to humankind that all people everywhere are to repent” (Acts 17:30, NASB). They cried out, “Turn, turn from your evil ways; ‘so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you’ ” (Ezekiel 18:30, NASB). They “reasoned” with them of “righteousness,” or justice,—of the virtues opposed to their reigning sins; “of self-control, and the judgment to come,” (Acts 24:25, NASB)—of the wrath of God which will surely be executed on evil-doers on that day when He will judge the world.

In these ways they endeavored to speak to every person individually according to that person’s need. To the careless, to those who lay unconcerned in darkness and in the shadow of death, they thundered, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, NASB).

To those who were already awakened from sleep and groaning under a sense of the wrath of God, their language was, “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1b-2, NASB).

Meanwhile, they provoked those who had believed to love and to good works; to patient endurance in doing good; and to abound more and more in that “holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, NASB).

And their labor in the Lord was not in vain. His word ran and was glorified. It grew mightily and prevailed. But so much more did offenses also prevail. The world in general was offended, “because [they] testified about it, that its deeds were evil” (John 7:7, NASB).

Pleasure-seeking people were offended, not only because these people were made, as it were, to reprimand their thoughts, but much more, because so many of their companions were taken away and would no longer “run with them in the same excesses of debauchery” (1 Peter 4:4, NASB).

People of high office and high esteem were offended, because, as the Gospel spread, they declined in the esteem of the people; and because many no longer dared to give them flattering titles or to give them the respect due only to God. Salespeople and retailers called one another together, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. ²⁶You see and hear that [these men have] persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people [so] that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute” (Acts 19:25-27, NASB).

Above all, religious people were offended, and ready at every minute to cry out, “Men of Israel, help!” (Acts 21:28, NASB) “⁵for we have found [these men] a public menace and ones who stir up dissensions throughout the world” (Acts 24:5, NASB). “[These are the men] who instruct everyone everywhere against our people, our religious beliefs, and our religious institutions” (Acts 21:28, NASB).

Thus it was that the heavens grew black with clouds, and the storm gathered in great haste. For, according to those who rejected Christianity, the more it spread, the more hurt was done. And the number of those who were more and more enraged at “these [people] who have upset the world” (Acts 17:6, NASB) increased, insomuch that more and more cried out, “Away with such [people] from the earth, for [they] should not be allowed to live!” (Acts 22:22, NASB). And, in so doing, many sincerely believed that they were “offering a service to God” (John 16:2, NASB).

Meanwhile these offended parties did not fail to “scorn [their] name as evil;” (Luke 6:22, NASB) so that “this sect was spoken against everywhere” (Acts 28:22, NASB). People spoke all kinds of evil against them, just as had been done to the Prophets who came before them (Matthew 5:12). And whatever any person would say about them, others would believe; so that offenses grew as numerous as the stars in the heavens.

And then came, at the time foreordained by the Father, all kinds of persecution. Some Christians suffered only shame and reproach for a season; others suffered “the seizure of [their] property;” (Hebrews 10:34, NASB) “³⁶others experienced mocking and flogging, and further, chains and imprisonment;” (Hebrews 11:36, NASB) and others “resisted to the point of shedding blood” (Hebrews 12:4, NASB).

Now it was that the pillars of hell were shaken, and the kingdom of God spread more and more. Sinners everywhere were turned “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18, NASB). He gave His children such “eloquence and wisdom which none of [their] adversaries [were] able to oppose or refute;” (Luke 21:15, NASB) and their lives were of equal force with their words. But above all, their sufferings spoke to all the world.

They “⁴[commended themselves] as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties, ⁵in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,” (2 Corinthians 6:4-5, NASB) “in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Corinthians 11:27, NASB). And when, having fought the good fight, they were led as sheep to the slaughter and offered up as sacrifices in service of their faith, then the blood of each of them found a voice, and the Heathen said, “Though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4, NASB).

In these ways, Christianity spread itself upon the earth. But how soon did the weeds appear with the wheat, and the mystery of iniquity work as well as the mystery of godliness! How soon did Satan find a seat, even in the temple of God, until “the woman fled into the wilderness,” (Revelation 12:6, NASB) and the faithful again “became few and lowly” (Psalm 107:39, NASB). Here again we walk a well-worn path: The ever-increasing corruptions of the succeeding generations have been largely described in seasons throughout history by those witnesses God raised up to remind us that He had “built His church upon a rock; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18, NASB).

But shall we not see greater things than these? Yes, greater than those things which have occurred since the beginning of the world. Can Satan cause the truth of God to fail or His promises to be of no effect? If not, the time will come when Christianity will prevail over all and cover the earth. Let us pause here for a moment and survey this strange vision: that of a Christian world. “¹⁰As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to us made careful searches and inquiries” (1 Peter 1:10, NASB), and the Spirit which was in them testified:

“²Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. . . . And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isaiah 2:2, 4, NASB).

“¹⁰Then on that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal flag for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. . . . ¹²And He will lift up a flag for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:10, 12, NASB). “⁶And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them. . . . ⁹They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6, 9, NASB).

. . . .

Imagine now the fullness of time having arrived, and these prophecies having been fulfilled. What a prospect is this! All is peace, “quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17, NASB). Here there is no sound of weaponry, no “roar of battle” and no “cloak rolled in blood” (Isaiah 9:5, NASB). “⁶The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins” (Psalm 9:6, NASB). War is gone from the earth, and there are no conflicts remaining—no person rising up against person, no country or city divided against itself, and destroying itself. Civil unrest is at an end forevermore, and no one is left who would destroy or hurt a neighbor.

There is no longer any “⁷ oppression” that would make “a wise person look foolish,” (Ecclesiastes 7:7, NASB) no extortion to grind “the face of the poor” (Isaiah 3:15, NASB), no robbery or wrongdoing, no violent seizure of another’s property or injustice of any kind, for all are “content with what [they] have” (Hebrews 13:5, NASB). In these ways, “righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10, NASB), they have taken “deep root and filled the land” (Psalm 80:9, NASB), “¹¹truth sprouting from the earth, and righteousness looking down from heaven” (Psalm 85:11, NASB).

And along with righteousness (or justice) mercy is also found. The earth is no longer full of cruelty. The Lord has destroyed both the blood-thirsty and malicious and the envious and vengeful person. If anyone were to be provoked, there is no one who would return evil for evil (Romans 12:17). Even more, there is no one that does evil—no, not one—, for all are innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).

But being filled “with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13, NASB), and “by one Spirit all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13, NASB) they all love as brothers and sisters, and they are “of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32, NASB). “And not one of them claims that anything belonging to him is his own,” (Acts 4:32, NASB). “There is not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34, NASB) for every person “loves their neighbor as themselves” (Matthew 22:39, NASB). And all the people walk by one rule: “¹²In everything, treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Matthew 7:12, NASB).

It follows, then, that no unkind word can ever be heard among them—no quarrels, no contention of any kind, no complaining or evil-speaking, but everyone “opens their mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on their tongue” (Proverbs 31:26, NASB). They are also incapable of fraud or deception. Their love is genuine and without pretense. Their words are always the honest expression of their thoughts, opening as a window into their hearts, that whoever desires may look into their inmost being and see that only love and God are there.

How can this be? Whomever the almighty God reconciles to Himself and wherever He reigns, God “subjects all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21, NASB), causing every heart to overflow with love and every mouth to be filled with praise. “¹⁵Blessed are the people who are so situated; blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15, NASB). “¹Arise, shine; (says the Lord) for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1, NASB). “And humanity has come to know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” (Isaiah 49:26, NASB). “I have made peace your administrators, and righteousness your overseers. ¹⁸Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise” (Isaiah 60:17-18, NASB). ²¹“All your people are righteous; they will possess the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified” (Isaiah 60:21, NASB). “¹⁹No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor will the moon give you light for brightness; but you will have the Lord as an everlasting light, and your God as your glory” (Isaiah 60:19, NASB).

Now that we have considered Christianity both in its earliest days and as it spread throughout the nations of the earth, I have only now to close this discussion with a plain and practical application.

First, I would ask you, “Where does this Christianity now exist? Where in this world do these Christians live? The inhabitants of which country on earth are filled with the Holy Spirit in the ways the Scriptures have described?

In which country are all inhabitants of one heart and of one soul, cannot endure any among them to lack anything, but continually give to every person according to his or her need, who, one and all, have the love of God filling their hearts and constraining them to love their neighbors as themselves, who have all “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other,” (Colossians 3:12-13, NASB), who, neither in word or deed, offend against justice, mercy, or truth, but in every situation do to others as they would have done to themselves? Can we really call any country a Christian country which does not answer to this description? In truth, we must confess together that we have never yet seen a Christian country upon the earth.

I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the mercy of God, if you consider me insane or a fool, then, as a fool bear with me. It is necessary that some one should speak plainly to you, and it is all the more necessary at this time, for who knows if it is the last time? Who knows how soon the righteous Judge may say, “I will no longer hear the prayers of this people?” “¹⁴Even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in this land, by their own righteousness they could only save themselves” (Ezekiel 14:14, NASB).

And who will speak plainly to you, if I do not? Therefore, I must speak plainly to you. And I urge you, by the living God, do not harden your hearts against receiving a blessing at my hands. Do not say in your hearts, “Lord, do not send whom you have sent; let me rather perish than be saved by this man!”

Brothers and sisters, “I am convinced of better things regarding you” (Hebrews 6:9, NASB) than what I am about to speak. Let me ask you then, in tender love, and in the spirit of meekness, “Is this a Christian city?” Are we considered as a community of people so filled with the Holy Spirit as to enjoy in our hearts and evidence in our lives the genuine fruits of the Spirit?

Are all civil leaders, all principals and administrators of schools and their respective committees, (not to speak of the inhabitants of the town,) “of one heart and one soul?” Has “the love of God been poured out within our hearts” (Romans 5:5, NASB)? Have we all the “attitude in ourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, NASB)? And do our lives evidence this claim? Are we holy as He Who has called us is holy, in all the things we say to and about each other?

I beg you to be mindful, brothers and sisters, that we have not been considering novel or obscure notions. We have not been discussing debatable matters, of one kind or another. We have been describing the undoubted, fundamental teachings of our common Christianity. And for your response to this message, I appeal to your own conscience, guided by the word of God. Therefore, the one who is not convicted in his or her own heart, let that person be unconcerned.

. . . .

. . . . Before God and this congregation, I own myself to have been of the number, solemnly swearing to observe all those customs which I then knew nothing of; and those statutes which I did not so much as read over, either then, or for some years after. What is perjury, if this is not? But if it is, o what a weight of sin lies upon us! And doesn’t the Most High see it?

May it not be one of the consequences of this that so many of us are a generation of triflers; triflers with God, with one another, and with our own souls? For how few of us spend a single hour in private prayer a week? How few of us have any thought of God in the normal course of our daily conversations?

Who of us is, in any degree, acquainted with the work of God’s Spirit, His supernatural work in the souls of people? Can any of us stand talk of the Holy Spirit in church? Would we not assume that any one who spoke of the Holy Spirit was either deceiving us or deceiving themselves? In the name of the Lord God Almighty, I ask, “What religion are we of?” Even the talk of Scriptural Christianity we cannot bear. O my brothers and sisters, what a Christian city is this? “¹²⁶It is time for the Lord to act, for we have broken Your Law” (Psalm 119:126, NASB).

For, indeed, how probable is it (is it even possible?) that Christianity, Scriptural Christianity, should again be the religion of this place, that all people among us, from the least to the greatest, should speak and live as people filled with the Holy Spirit? By whom would this Christianity be restored?

Would it be restored by those who are in authority over us? Are they convinced that what I have described is scriptural Christianity? Are they desirous that it be restored? And would any consider it their sacred responsibility and duty to see it restored? And even if one in authority were to have this desire, who would have the influence and the proportionate power to actually bring it into effect? Perhaps some have even tried, but with how little success?

Shall Christianity be restored, then, by young, unknown people? I am not certain that any of our young would be willing to suffer for it. Wouldn’t many of us older folks cry out against such a young person, saying, “By doing this you are criticizing and condemning us?” But, I fear there is no danger of being in this situation, because wickedness has overspread us like a flood.

Whom then shall God send—the famine, the pestilence, (the last messengers of God to a guilty land) or the sword? Please no, O Lord! Let us fall into Your hand rather than into the hands of humans. Lord, save us or we will perish! Take us out of the mire that we might not sink! O help us against these enemies for human help is futile! Only unto You are all things possible. According to the greatness of Your power, preserve those that are appointed for destruction, and preserve us in the way that seems right to You; not as we will, but as You will!

2022-06-05-Wesley-ScripturalChristianity-Acts4_31 Download

Walking on Water (Matthew 14:22-23)

In the Gospel according to Matthew, after Jesus fed five-thousand men along with an unspecified number of women and children with a mere five loaves of bread and two small fish, we find the following recollection:

²²Immediately he [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
²⁸Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:22-33, NRSV

Let’s begin by reflecting on the image of Jesus walking on the sea. Two historical narratives are bound up with this picture. They are creation and Israel’s exodus from Egypt.

We notice first in verse 25 that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea. The word translated sea is the Greek word thalassa. That’s an unusual word to use for a body of water like Galilee. In the first century A.D. thalassa was more commonly used to describe larger, ocean-like bodies like the Mediterranean. The Gospel of Luke reflects the more common Greek term for smaller bodies of water like Galilee—limnē (lake). So, why do Matthew and Mark choose to call Galilee a thalassa (a sea)? Because of creation and the Exodus.

In the beginning, when God created, everything was covered by the waters. On the second day of creation, God separated the waters above from the waters below and created an expanse between them which He called the heavens. Then, on the third day, God gathered the waters below the heavens and separated them from the land. These gathered waters He called yamiym, in Hebrew—seas. When the Hebrew was translated into Greek, the translators used the word thalassas to translate yamiym.

So, calling gathered waters seas, irrespective of their size, is reflective of the terminology of creation. And this is why during the Exodus, the body of water that God parted before the Israelites was called a yam, a sea—more specifically, the yam-sūph, the Sea of Reeds or, in the Greek translation, the Red Sea.

When the psalmist, Asaph, recalled the crossing of the Israelites through the yam-sūph, he told the story this way:

¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77:16-20, NRSV

Of course, the path the Israelites walked through the sea, led by God’s unseen feet, was on dry ground. Jesus did not part the waters of the sea in this instance in Matthew. He walked upon them. But, in the case that this might cause us to miss the Passover/Exodus significance of what Jesus was doing, the Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus intended to pass by them. Mark used the Greek verb par-erchomai to explain Jesus’ intent. Par-erchomai is the Greek verb used to translate the Hebrew pasach, to pass over.

When the disciples witness this event, they are terrified because they think they are seeing a phantasma, in Greek. The NRSV translates the word as ghost, and it can mean that. But, the translation ghost misses something. The word phantasma relates to an apparition or a supernatural appearance of something. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 12, verse 21 of his epistle used the verb form of the word to describe the appearance of God to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. He also described Moses as terrified in that moment. Matthew’s language is meant to indicate that Jesus was revealing Himself to the disciples in ways similar to those by which God revealed Himself to Israel in the events of the Exodus and at Sinai.

And these connotations are highlighted even further by Jesus’ response to the disciples’ fear. Jesus said, “Tharseite, egō eimi; mē phobeisthe.” Literally it translates, “Take courage, I am; do not be afraid.” The same command against fear is spoken by God when He appeared to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, to Hagar in Genesis 21:17, to Isaac in Genesis 26:24, and to Jacob at Bethel in Genesis 28:13. And in this instance Jesus designates Himself as egō eimi, I am. It could be translated as “It is I.” But, given the creation-Passover-Exodus context of this event, it more likely reflects the divine name of God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14:

¹⁴God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’ ”
Exodus 3:14, NRSV

And then Peter interrogates the moment.

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

The Greek word for water is plural, reflecting again the Hebrew mayim, waters, of original creation. And Peter uses the Greek word Kyrios to address Jesus. This is not surprising. Kyrios simply means lord or master and means generally what Adonai means in Hebrew. However, Kyrios is also the word that the writers of the New Testament and the Greek translators of the First Testament used to translate the divine name, Yahweh. Was Peter saying, “If it is you, Jesus, command me to come to you on the water”? Or was Peter suggesting, “If you are the Lord, Jesus, command me to come to you on the water”? I suspect Peter was wrestling with a bit of both of these questions.

Perhaps surprisingly, Jesus invites Peter to step onto the waters with Him, and perhaps more surprisingly still, Peter gets out of the boat and actually takes a few steps upon the waters. But, then something happens…

³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Matthew says it was the wind that scared Peter at that moment—not the walking on water, not the realization that it was Jesus who had summoned him out of the boat and into this miracle. It was the mighty wind that took his attention off of Jesus, and for good reason, I’m sure. Peter was a fisherman on this very lake, and certainly he knew the difference between a survivable storm and a perilous one. Despite the miracle, despite the revelation of Jesus, despite even the presence of Jesus, Peter knew where he was, and he knew its peril. As the Egyptians before him, he began to sink into the waters.

But, then Peter remembered Jesus, and he called to Him for help, using the same address—Kyrios, Lord! And, as God had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by His outstretched arm, Jesus delivered Peter from the waters and into the boat. And then Jesus asked Peter the hardest of questions:

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The word translated little faith is rare in Greek. It does not occur in the First Testament Greek translations, and it occurs only five times in the New Testament—four times in Matthew and once in Luke. And, in each case Jesus uttered it, He was reprimanding folks who were allowing earthly concerns to diminish their trust in God. In Matthew 6:30 Jesus called those who worry about clothing “you of little faith.” In Matthew 8:26, Jesus used the phrase of His disciples when they were afraid of another storm on the Sea of Galilee. In Matthew 16:8, Jesus again used the phrase to accuse His disciples when they were worried about not having enough to eat. And, here, in Matthew 14:31, Jesus uses it to describe Peter.

And Jesus proceeded to ask Peter, “Why did you doubt?” The Greek word here is distazō. It means to hesitate or to be uncertain. Jesus might as well have asked Peter, “Why were you uncertain which to trust—Me or the wind?” It’s a penetrating question. Which do we trust more? Food or Jesus? Clothing or Jesus? Housing or Jesus? Nature or Jesus?

Why do you suppose Peter was uncertain? Could it be because he knew from personal experience, as we do, that God does not always deliver us from earthly perils? Could it be that even with the miracle of walking on water and the presence of Jesus with him, Peter wasn’t sure that the wind could be safely ignored? That is familiar space for me—certain that God can deliver me, but not certain that God will deliver me. Why would Jesus reprimand such a dilemma? After all, Jesus Himself was soon to be crucified—the waters of death soon to rise above His head. And that, too, was God’s will. How can one trust such a God? Wasn’t Peter justified in being uncertain about the danger the wind posed to him?

But, of course, as the life and teachings of Jesus demonstrate abundantly, Jesus’ criticism was not meant to indicate that there are no dangers in the world when one walks with God. Jesus Himself would subject Himself to those dangers and perish in the flesh at their hands. So, the point of this reprimand from Jesus could not have been that those with sufficient faith will not fall prey to earthly perils. Peter himself would one day be executed for his faith in Christ. The wind was certainly dangerous to him.

So, what was Jesus looking for that day? I think Jesus was saying to Peter,

“Don’t let the wind distract you, not because it is not dangerous, nor because it cannot kill you. Don’t fear the wind, Peter, because God can order the chaos. God walks upon the waters. God created out of nothing and ordered what was lifeless. God can raise the dead. The threat of death is real, but the fear of death is slavery. Are you afraid to die, Peter? Are you afraid to suffer? Then the wind has you, and the world is your master. Keep your eyes fixed on me, and then, even if the winds kill you, I will deliver you from the waters.”

And still today, where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. So long as we fear sickness, so long as we fear suffering, so long as we fear loss, starvation, exposure, and death, the world will have us—we will remain slaves to sin and death and the world and the worldly will remain our masters. To follow Jesus out of the boat and into the chaos no matter the road no matter the cost, is life everlasting. This is what it means to become a Christian, and it is the road carved out by Jesus for all who would be His disciples.

“You of little faith, why do you doubt?”

Will you follow Him?

The Narrow Way (Matthew 7:13-14)

Near the conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus exhorted His disciples with the following words:

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mt 7:13–14.

It is not surprising that Jesus encouraged His disciples in this way in this context. Matthew chapters 5-7 include some of the most challenging teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. The way of discipleship for Jesus certainly is narrow, but what precisely did Jesus mean to convey with this language?

Does Jesus mean to say that folks can only pass through this gate single file? Must one wait in line? Is Jesus saying something akin to Yoda when Luke asked him if the dark side of the force was stronger? “No! No…quicker, easier, more seductive.” Was George Lucas borrowing from Jesus? Possibly…but not quite.

The New Testament word translated narrow is the Greek word stenós. Stenós is an adjective in Greek, and narrow is a pretty good translation. However, in my view it would be a mistake to assume Jesus’ intention begins and ends with the Greek language. The Gospels have translated Jesus’ teachings into Greek, but beneath that translation lie the Semitic languages of Aramaic and Hebrew. When the word stenós is used to translate the Hebrew of the First Testament, the Hebrew word it translates is tsar. Tsar is usually used in the First Testament to indicate distress—e.g., 2 Samuel 24:14:

¹⁴Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into human hands.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), 2 Sa 24:14.

The way of discipleship, according to Jesus, is narrow in the sense that it is pressing or squeezing. In other words, Jesus is not describing a one-lane highway, or a footpath in a field, or even a neglected road in a forest. He is describing a tight squeeze that is challenging to pass through. And this is more evident still by Jesus’ further description of the road that leads to life as hard. Hard is the Greek word thlibō. Thlibō means pressed, squeezed, or pinched, and it can be used metaphorically to refer to oppression, affliction, or distress.

To use the Hebrew word, the gate and the road that lead to life are tsar—roads of distress, of pressure. It’s no wonder that few find such a way. Who’s looking for a tight squeeze? Is anybody really searching for a pressure-filled road? Of course not. That’s why Jesus indicates that few find it. It’s not that it’s hidden or that it requires a special map to find. The way of life is plain enough in the teachings of Scripture. But, it hides in plain sight from those who wish to find a way that is free of suffering and distress.

Jesus describes the road to destruction, on the other hand, as quite easy on the suspension. The word translated wide (platús) indicates broadness or flatness, and the word translated easy (eurú-chōros) also means roomy or wide. In other words, the road to destruction presents itself as an easier, more relaxed way, and Jesus insists that many choose to enter it.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 delineates what the twentieth-century theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, described as the cost of discipleship. Even a cursory read of Jesus’ description of the way to the Kingdom of Heaven can leave a leisurely traveler full of despair. On another occasion described for us in Matthew 19:16-30, Jesus instructed a wealthy man to sell all his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and only afterwards to follow Him. After the man walked away sad, Jesus said that it was near impossible for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, to which His disciples exclaimed:

“Then who can be saved?”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Matt. 19:25.

Jesus’ only encouragement to them was that with God all things are possible.

This exchange dovetails well with Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount because, to extend the metaphor, the narrow way may require the shedding of gear to pass through. If we truly wish to follow Jesus, we will need to pass through some squeezes so tight that we will have to shed weight and provisions in order to continue the journey.

Of course, Jesus’ encouragement is that His disciples do not make this journey on their own. Jesus is with them, and God will make the journey possible. But still, it will be no relaxed trip. The way of life presses on those who take it, squeezes those who wish to pass through it. It is a way of pressure and distress. Judged by mere appearances, only a fool would take it. But, we who claim faith in Jesus follow Him, and Jesus denied Himself, took up His cross, and squeezed through the narrow gate.

The history of Christianity is filled with people, both clergy and laity alike, who have sought to widen the passes of the narrow way so that it might appear more appealing to a greater variety of people. Others have sought to place greater emphasis on the destination and leave the road itself undescribed as a way of enticing folks to begin the journey without full awareness of their commitment. And, then, of course, there are plenty who have switched the signs, identifying the wide road as leading to life and the narrow road as leading to destruction.

Do not be deceived by these tactics. The road to life is a pressing road, and those who find it are seeking the way of Jesus, however difficult a squeeze it may be.

If we are to seek the pressing, squeezing road and follow Jesus, we must divest ourselves of the desire for safety, security, ease, and pleasure. These experiences are to be received with thanksgiving when they are given by God in proper season, but they cannot be sought. If we are to find the pressing, squeezing road that Jesus trailblazed before us, we must be looking for precisely that. Jesus goes on in the next verses in Matthew 7 to warn His disciples not to fall prey to false teachers and false prophets. That is a fitting warning because such folks always diminish the pressing, squeezing, distressing facets of the road of discipleship.

False prophets and false teachers offer shorter ways, short cuts, easy principles, and can’t-miss formulas. Jesus never pretended that the road to life was anything but impossible by human effort alone. The way of life is traversable only by those who have gone all-in with Jesus and who are enabled by God Himself. For those looking for a road possible to traverse without God, you will find only the road to destruction. The pressing, squeezing, distressed way that leads to life cannot be traversed without God, and this is precisely why so few find it.

Seek the narrow way. If it is described in the teachings of Scripture and looks to be impossible, you’ve found the gate. You will only enter by placing faith in Jesus to make the impossible possible. This is the road to life. Embrace the call to find it.

~ J. Thomas ~