A Heritage of Faith

Hebrews 11 is sometimes referred to as the Hall of Faith chapter... a kind of hall of fame for the Christian faith. It lauds the faith of individuals like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab and others. But at the very end of the chapter, after telling us all about their great faith, the author of Hebrews says this:

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 11:39–40

None of those precious saints received the fullness of the promise. Not yet anyway. The complete fulfillment and culmination of all of that God has promised to His saints... waits for you and me and for countless other believers, so that only together with us will the believers of old be made perfect.

This is a tremendously helpful reminder that the Christian faith isn't truly “personal” in the strict sense of the word. It's communal. Your faith is connected to all those who came before you and to all those who will come after. You have a spiritual heritage that has been passed down to you by your spiritual ancestors. And now you have a responsibility to pass it down to the next generation as well.

Do you connect your faith to those who came before you? Do you read the great Christian books and treatises and sermons of the past? Or is your Christian faith shaped solely by the pastors, teachers and authors alive today? You are privileged to have access to the writings and sermons of many of the greatest Christian thinkers, preachers and missionaries of the last two millennia. You would do well to expose yourself to at least some of them.  

And what about the generation that will come after you? Are you doing anything to hand the faith down to them? You should be. Whether you volunteer with the children's ministry at your church, or pray for and minister to your own kids and grandkids, you have a responsibility to help pass the faith down to the generations that come after you. Through service, giving and prayer make sure you do your part to pass the baton of faith to those who will still be running their race long after you are gone.

The Church isn't Burger King

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.

Hebrews 13:1

When I go to Burger King, I go through the drive-thru because (1) I want to get in and out as quick as possible. And I’ve never once asked the person taking my order what his name is or started a conversation with him, because (2) I’m not there to build relationships. I’m just there to get what I want and get out. And speaking of what I want. Burger King is famous for the slogan “Have it Your Way.” So, when I go to Burger King, (3) I tell them exactly what I do and don’t want. I don’t like pickles. So, I tell them, “No pickles.” And if they mess that up and put pickles on my burger, then (4) I may not go back, because I’m the costumer and if I’m not happy with the service why would I go back?”

Now, some people treat the church the same way. (1) They want to get in and get out as quick as possible. If the church had a drive thru line, they’d use it. They don’t come for Sunday School, only the worship service, because they don’t want to be at church any longer than they have to be. (2) And just like me at Burger King, these people don’t ask anybody’s names. They don’t talk to anybody, because they aren’t there to build relationships. (3) And these people think Burger King’s slogan ought to apply to church. They want to have church "their way." So, if the sermon or the music isn’t how they like it, then they let someone know. They aren't afraid to give special orders for how they want their music or someone. (4) And since they see themselves as “the customer,” they think it’s the church’s job to make them happy. And if the church doesn’t do what they want, then they might just leave and find another church that does it "their way."

That’s what I call a Burger King view of the church. It isn't biblical. The Bible gives us a number of metaphors that help us think about the church rightly. One in particular is the Family.

Over 150 times, the New Testament refers to believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. And Hebrews 13:1 commands us to "love one another as brothers and sisters." For more on this view of the church check out (Mark 3:35, John 1:12-13, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:16)

Thinking of the church as a family leads to a very different outcome than thinking of it as a Burger King. When you realize that the church is a family, then (1) you stop wanting to get in and out as quick as possible. You stop looking for a drive-thru church experience. (2) You start caring about the people in your church. You want to know their names. You want to start conversations with them and get to know them. (3) And you instinctively get that in a family you can’t always have it "your way.” You have to consider other people’s needs and wants. And often you have to sacrifice your wants to meet their needs. (4) And, obviously, you don’t walk away from your family and go find a new one when you don’t get your way.

So, please understand me when I tell you that your church is a family! You aren’t a customer at church. You're a part of the family of God. So, don’t treat your church like a Burger King or a drive thru worship experience. Take the time to get to know your brothers and sisters in Christ. Learn their names. Build relationships with them. Stop trying to get in and out of church as quickly as possible. Join a Sunday School class or a Wednesday night Bible study. 

God didn't invite you to participate in a business transaction from arm’s length. He invited you into His family. Those are two very different things.

Live Unleavened

Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

The Jews ate the Passover meal on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. This meal marked the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which lasted seven days from the evening of the 14th to the evening of the 21st. Anyone who ate anything leavened during those seven days was cut off from Israel. So, it was very important that on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites removed all leaven from their homes. Historically, Jews have taken this practice very seriously. In fact, it’s traditional Jewish practice to search every corner of the home with a lit candle to ensure that no bits or crumbs of leaven remain.*

Paul draws on that background to argue that the New Testament church lives (figuratively) during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus, our Passover Lamb, has already been slaughtered. His death was the Passover celebration that began the Feast in which we now live in. And this Feast of Unleavened Bread will continue until the church age ends and we eat the Marriage Supper of the Lamb when Jesus returns.

Paul argues then that we are called to “continually celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread every day—not just one week out of the year— [but all our lives] by living in a holy way.”** Paul uses leaven as an analogy for sin, and the implication is that we should search out and remove the old leaven of sin from our lives, from our homes, and from our churches. We are to be an unleavened people, kept as pure and uncontaminated by sin as we can until Jesus returns.

Make no mistake, God calls us individuals and churches to live unleavened lives. To seek out and destroy the sin that festers and grows in the corners of our lives and homes and churches.

So, I have to ask... What sin or sinful residue do you need to clean out of your life? Or out of your home? What do you need to get rid of? Purge it from your life and live unleavened, until Jesus returns.

* Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.

** Naselli, Andrew David. “1 Corinthians.” In Romans–Galatians, edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, X:209–394. ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020.

A Church that Welcomes the Truth

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

2 Timothy 4:2–4

We need more pastors and teachers in our churches today who will preach the whole counsel of God without fear. We need pastors who are prepared in season and out of season... who correct, rebuke and encourage. But we also need churches who will listen to and welcome the truth.

Sadly, some churches have turned away from the truth and refuse to hear it. Some churches won’t put up with sound doctrine being preached from their pulpits. Instead, they gather teachers and preachers who will preach what their itching ears want to hear.

Don't let that happen at your church. If you want your church to be a place where the whole counsel of God is preached… then do your part as a church member to welcome sound doctrine and sound preaching. 

How do you do that? Let me give you a few ideas:

1) Encourage your pastor more than you criticize him. When you think he preached a bad sermon, say nothing. Chances are he already knows. But when you think he preached a good one, go out of your way to encourage him and tell him what it meant to you. 

2) When your pastor preaches a difficult passage of Scripture and handles it biblically, thank him! Let him know that you want to study hard passages of Scripture and have them carefully explained.

3) When you hear other church members complain about sound doctrine being preached, support your pastor! Have his back. He may very well be risking his job to preach God's Word. If you want him to keep preaching courageously, then support it!

I am very thankful to be in a church that does all of these things, but I know that not every pastor is as blessed as I am. You may not be able to change the climate of your church overnight, but you'd be surprised how much impact a single church member can have. Be that church member for your pastor and for your church.