 Shared
Last week, we looked at how we should be connecting in community both inside and outside the church. This week, we need to go deeper to understand the true foundation able to support God’s design for community. Not only is it important that we find these relationships in our local community, but we must also find this kind of fellowship with like minded people. When I say “like-minded” I do not mean people of the same intellectual quotient or education level. I mean people with concurring worldviews. This does not mean that we will all agree on what to do or think in every circumstance, but it does mean that we are beginning from the same starting point. So much of the division in our country now is not because democrats and republicans are coming to different conclusions, but because we do not agree on the basic elements and facts. If we are going to build strong communities in our towns, and especially in our churches, then we must begin from a shared worldview. This also means a shared hope. We must be a people moving toward a common goal. Seeking to reach the same destination. Last week, I was at the Chuckwagon races in Clinton, Arkansas. When you are observing the way the teams of horses and mules work together to pull the wagon, you can see that the animals must be pulling in the same direction. Gridlock does not serve to advance either agenda. For our communities and churches to succeed it requires us to have a shared target. The Apostle Paul states that his aim is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Pauls goes on to tell the Philippians about how he is straining forward and pressing on to the prize that we have in Christ Jesus. We must begin at the same place and we must be going to the same place. For us to truly have a shared worldview and a shared goal we must ultimately have a common faith. By common faith I do not mean that we must agree on every single point of theology, but we must at least agree on three important questions. Who is God? What is divine revelation? What is the gospel? Who is God? If we do not have a common concept about the nature and character of God then we cannot have a common faith. First and foremost this means that we must be monotheistic. This means that we must believe that there is one and only one true and living God. All other so-called ‘gods’ are impostors. They may be figments of someone's imagination, or masquerading demonic beings, or idols devised and fashioned by men but they are not truly divine. The one true God is one and only! This also means that for us to have a common faith we must acknowledge that the Father is God and the Son (Jesus Christ) is God and the Holy Spirit is God. They are not separate in essence or being but are distinct in personhood and role. They are not parts of God or temporal manifestations of God but rather coequal, coeternal persons sharing the being of God in such a way that the being of God is not divided and each person is the fullness of God, who is One. The Trinitarian nature of God is essential to who He is, how He has revealed Himself, and how He saves us. The one true God is Yahweh, who is self-existent and sovereign. He describes Himself in terms of being both merciful and righteous, gracious and just, abounding in covenant love, faithfulness and forgiving yet punishing wickedness for generations (Exodus 34:6-8). If we do not have this common understanding of God, then we cannot have a common faith. What is divine revelation? The essence of this question is where and how has God spoken? For us to have a common faith we must agree on a common source of revealed truth to which we are all accountable. The Biblical and historic answer to this question is that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments contain fully and totally what God has revealed for His people and His church. What I mean by fully is that all of the contents of the original manuscripts of the 66 books are God’s word and we have in the textual evidence all of that content preserved. What I mean by totally is that God’s revelation in the Scriptures is perfect, complete and finished. Moses tells us that the secrets belong to the Lord, but the things that have been revealed belong to us and to our children forever (Deuteronomy 29:29). The Apostle Paul also warns us not to go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). And Peter calls the Scriptures a fully confirmed word (2 Peter 1:16-21). This definition means that we do not need nor accept dreams, visions, or any other claims to divine revelation as valid or binding outside of the Bible rightly interpreted and obeyed. What is the gospel? Finally, at a minimum if we are going to define a common orthodox Christian faith we must make our central gospel message clear. The Gospel begins with the reality that all mankind is dead in sin, lost in iniquity and rebelling in transgression of God and His commands. But God, by His own grace, sends His son the Lord Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our transgressions and cleanse us of our iniquity with His perfect sacrificial blood. And through His death and resurrection He makes those who were dead in sin alive through faith alone in Jesus’ work finished on the cross and magnified in His resurrection on the third day! So that everyone who comes by God’s grace alone through repentant faith alone to the Lord Jesus Christ alone receives eternal life for the glory of God alone!
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