Evaluating 40 Days of Community

[*NOTE: Quotes from the 40 Days of Community Workbook are blockquoted.]

"We're compelled to love God's family...because it is a witness to the world."

Jesus gave the world the right to judge the authenticity of our faith by
how much we love one another.

It seems to me that Jesus simply stated a fact.

We prove our faith in Christ, not by the rules we keep, but by the love we give. Notice Jesus didn't say, "Love me," as proof of our discipleship. He said "love one another, and that will show the world you belong to me."

The first point that I want to make is that we prove our faith in Christ by Him in us (2 Cor 13:5). Doing something nice or a selfless act of love does not prove your faith in Christ. My athiest neighbour does plenty of selfless acts of love and kindness but obviously this doesn't prove that he is a disciple of Christ. Doing good deeds and doing them selflessly is certainly part of living out our faith, but if this is where we left it at, people in other religions or community organizations who do good and benefit others may think they are Christians too. My friends at work help out at the food bank, for instance. If I just do what they do, I'm no different than they are. Do I therefore have to help out 4 times a week to outdo them so that they go, "wow -- he really blows me away with his good deeds... I feel sinful, maybe I need to repent and believe in Jesus"? Think about how such a view would play out. Wouldn't it a) put a serious burden on the believer and b) results in boasting (I was able to win Bob to the Lord because I showed him how giving a Christian should be)? If anything, it shows people that you are generous, and it may make them want to emulate you (perhaps their conscience bothers them after seeing you do so much)... but it doesn't follow that they will then desire to know your God. I hope you can see this very important point.

The second point is that the evidence of our love for God is our love for Him and His Word. Saying to my wife that I love her and that I will evidence it by loving the young blonde neighbour lady down the street is non-sense! First things must be first; people are second to God, and we absolutely must get that straight. Loving people is an evidence that we are being selfless which is one of the fruits of repentance and trust in God, but it is not necessarily proof that we love Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the creator and judge of all.

Jesus said that keeping His Word (John 14:23) and obeying His commands (John 14:15) would be the proof that we mean it when we say that we love Him. Then and only then are we truly His disciples. He said that love for God will (and indeed must) have fruit. You cannot create the love God requires by trying to produce fruit without repentance and belief. A stick on the ground doesn't sprout leaves and then grow fruit and then get grafted into the vine; but when it is in the vine, producing fruit should be natural. "Should" is an important statement here, because there are those who are on the vine but are not producing fruit who will be broken off (Rom 11:19-23). But note in this passage in Romans that fruit is a result of belief. The fruit comes from the love relationship with our Lord and saviour founded in belief (see Luke 7:47). He said in Luke 6:46 (NASB), "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Later in Luke 6:48, Jesus says that "[the one who hears and obeys] is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock."

Digging Deep - My Testimony
The first time I dug deep and plowed up the hardness of my heart was by reading out God's charges against me in the 10 commandments back in August of 2004. Before then, I professed faith, but didn't obey. Sure, I went to and even led Bible studies and attended church each week and felt spiritual, but I didn't have true faith. I was still harrassed by habitual sin and couldn't find the power to break it. I identified with Paul in Romans 7 (which was pre-regeneration), but not with him in Romans 8.

How do I know I lacked true, saving faith? Luke 14:26-35. It is because I was holding back. I feared giving myself to God because a) I thought He would take it all away, and b) because I thought I was still pretty good and that God merely closed the gap between myself and Him with Christ. I didn't truly cherish what He did (though I didn't really realize this) because I lacked a personal connection between my sin and His sacrifice. My unhealthy fear of man and personal loss came from the fact that I was still holding onto myself and this world... I still loved myself. I feared losing my self, my things, my plans. The key for all believers, I have come to understand, is to know the truth that sets us free from self! John 12:25 (NASB): "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal." And how free I am indeed! Praise be to God! But it came from the work of the law in my heart which the Holy Spirit used to convince me I was absolutely and completely hopeless... it was then that I began to thirst for righteousness before God (the cure)... and Jesus Christ was the only cure that satisfies God. What an experience that was!!! Hallelujah!

Rick Warren's teachings are obscuring this truth, building up my self-esteem instead of tearing it down (in order to rebuild it in Christ), and misusing God's Word to support his own ideas which are not God's. It would be inconceivable if I did not expose this because exposing it is a fruit of knowing the truth of saving faith in Christ alone. Who lights a light but keeps it covered?

As we love people into God's kingdom, we start first by loving other believers. Until the world sees the love of God modeled in Christian community, they're going to have trouble believing it could ever exist.

That last statement is definitely true. But which is first? God or people? How is the formula in his first statement above any different from other world religions or the New Age teachings? How is it different from a social club with close relational bonds between one another?

...we show the world a love so tangible and contagious that they can't help but be attracted to it.

What is it? From what I am reading in this book, it is our love, not truly God's love for us.

"...being of the same mind, maintaining the same love,...intent on one purpose" (Phil 2:2, NAS).

One purpose... not five purposes, right? What do you suppose that one purpose is? I contend that it is abiding in Christ, for unless a person is abiding in Him, they cannot produce the kind of fruit that will last.

...we're meant to be the salt (Matt 5:13) that increases their thirst for the living water (John 4:10).

Amen to that!

Our love for one another ... shows them that community requires unity.

This cannot be what the Bible is saying. There is community in the world all over the place. Most community in the world is fueled by common interest. Some communities are bound by their common purpose -- to eradicate world poverty, reduce global warming or other purposes. These communities are often purpose driven to boot. But everyone in the group doesn't have to believe the same thing about God or be repentant and trusting in Jesus as their saviour. By no means! They merely have to have the same purpose about something they want to achieve. That is not the kind of unity that the Bible is advocating. Rick's statement is not only misleading, but plain false. True Christian fellowship is something that no man can achieve. It is something altogether different. It comes from a true work of grace in the hearts of believers. Believers that do not hold anything to themselves and deny themselves, taking up their crosses daily.

Isn't it alarming then, to think that we're often known for what we are against, rather than by what we are for...?

Rick has valid concerns with the church today, but the solution to put works first and let words take a back seat is not Biblical. It is very important to be known for what we are for... so we must tell them!! And to clarify the truth, we have to "turn the light on" so to speak and illuminate what is in darkness so they might see. But the world must feel a deep love and concern for them though they strongly are offended by the truth we share. Trying to make them feel "love" by not sharing the truth with them creates a false pretense. You are more likely to keep the deception up because as you grow closer to the person and value their love returned to you, you are less and less likely to want to offend them with the truth. You demonstrate by all of this that you value people more than God and people more than what He did for you and them. After all, if they don't hear the truth and perish eternally for it, they will not be happy with you on the day of judgment no matter how many food hampers you gave them or even how many times you prayed with them for their problems.

People are less impressed with our words than they are with our actions of love for one another.

This may be true, but it is because they must see your actions in alignment with what you say. You still must speak the truth, but don't think they cannot smell a hypocrite. In fact, the world seems to be better at detecting hypocrites than many of the churched folk are.

Questions to Consider: How loudly do your actions speak about the love of God? How loud is the voice of your small group?

These are good questions and they should challenge us to see if we really believe what we think we believe. However, I would be careful in talking about the voice of your small group. The reason is this: we will be individually held accountable for our individual faith and resulting actions. Just because our small group's voice is being heard doesn't mean that everyone in it is saved, and we should take care not to give anyone that false impression. Just make it personal. Are you obeying what God has commanded? If not, why not? Your answers will reveal what is foremost in your heart's desires.