Helping a Young Church in Ethiopia
The great English Bible teacher, Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones, used to have regular workshops to help preachers improve their sermons. He encouraged the pastors to ask him questions and his frequent response to a question was,
“Which part of Scripture helps us answer this question?”
The questions we are asking is,
“How do we expect Christ’s disciples in Ethiopia to live? How can we disciple them better?”
Paul answers these questions in Colossians.
The church at Colossi was a young church, open to many pressures ranging from politicians outside to poor teaching inside. They were Christians but they were drifting away from Jesus and his teaching into worldly religion. Paul is clearly worried that many in the church were just skin deep Christians who would easily be misled.
When I was last in Ethiopia I was privileged to speak in several churches. I was often asked,
“How many were converted?”
I used to reply,
“A better question to ask is whether I have preached the gospel faithfully. It matters little what the immediate response was, that can be an emotional response. The parable of the sower teaches us that it is the long term change that matters, whether they bear much fruit as the result of their commitment to Christ.”
Our aim as Christian leaders is to produce disciples for Christ. Discipleship is our aim. This is what Paul is concerned about in his letter to the Colossians. Let us see what he says a true worshipper is like and therefore what a true church will have as its priorities.
A Teaching Church
Paul starts by reminding his listeners that a Christian is someone who has a relationship with Jesus Christ. People are not Christians because they are members of a church but because of their personal relationship with him. It was Martin Luther who said,
“Christianity consists of personal pronouns. Many people say ‘Jesus is Lord’ but only the true Christian can say ‘Jesus is my Lord.”
But there is more to the Christian life than setting our hearts on Jesus.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above . . .” Colossians 3:1
Churches must be places where peoples’ minds are fed. That is the primary purpose of every church. The Word of God must be taught to all people.
Look earlier in Colossians; they became Christians by hearing the word of God and they grow as Christians by obeying the word of God.
Colossians 1:5 - “The faith . . . that you have already heard about in the word of truth.”
Colossians 1:10 – “. . . growing in the knowledge of God.”
I was asked a little while ago,
‘Why are you a Christian?”
How would you reply? I said,
“Because the good news about the Lord Jesus is really true. God really entered this world as Jesus to be the Saviour of the world and there is so much evidence to support his claims.”
In medicine we are concerned to only recommend treatments that are evidence based. Do you know that Christianity is the only evidence-based faith? Our role is to persuade people about Jesus, that he is God in the flesh and that ‘there is no other name given amongst men by which we must be saved.’
So what is the supreme purpose of a church and its ministers? It is not social development or social care, it is not even to lead religious services, it is to teach everyone the ‘Word of God’. We must not be distracted. We are here to feed peoples’ minds with the word of God about Jesus Christ. This must never change. Bible colleges teach the teachers, and the teachers teach the people.
This priority will be costly. Politicians of this world will always want us to major on social development and leave Christ out, religious people will want entertaining services but the churches role must always be the feeding of peoples’ minds with the Word of God. Paul said,
Colossians 1:25 – “I have become the churches servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.”
Colossians 1:28 – “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
There are so many demands on church leaders’ time. There are so many worthy social needs within their community, so many religious services to lead. Furthermore the civic authorities will be pleased if the churches take a large role in this. The danger is that the pastors can then take their eyes off their main purpose, to teach the word of God and to model Christ. Jesus faced similar pressures. Larger and larger numbers of people were coming to him to be healed. He was getting literally ‘crowded out’. What was he to do?
“That evening after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon possessed. The whole town gathered at the door and Jesus healed many . . .
Very early the next morning, while it was still dark Jesus . . . went off to a solitary place where he prayed. . . . ‘Everyone is looking for you!’
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come. So he travelled throughout Galilee preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.” Mark 1:33-38
Jesus clearly prayed about this conflict of interests and then decided to make time for his prime purpose, the proclamation of God’s Word. Are we superior to Jesus? Do we know better than him?
In the book of Acts we read that the apostles were becoming overwhelmed with so much to do. They were giving talks, preparing talks, dealing with political issues as well as caring for church members and their problems. What was their solution? It was to appoint young, able, godly men to do the administration so that they could be free to continue the really important work of teaching the word of God to all people.
Acts 6:2 – “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God.”
Isn’t it strange that in many churches we do the opposite We put experienced gospel men into administration! Church leaders should not just be administrators, they should have time to be models of the Christian life and teachers of the Word.
The prime purpose of church meetings should be to ensure that peoples’ minds are fed through Bible teaching. This should be the primary reason we meet together. In many churches in the world this is no longer the case. It appears as if people come together primarily to sing or dance or somehow have an emotional experience of the presence of God. Some pastors, particularly those seen on American television, encourage such false emphases.
In contrast, when large crowds of people came to Jesus he spent his time with them teaching. Whenever Peter and Paul met with people they taught the Word of God. That was their urgent priority. Do we share their emphasis?
Let us all ask ourselves, do people come to our churches primarily to learn from the Word of God. I have been concerned at some of the student meetings how amongst educated people few bring their Bibles with them. This is surely indicative of a problem. They are not really coming to be taught the Word. Analyse how much time is spent singing and dancing compared to Bible teaching. If our students are not well rooted in the Word of God when they go out into the world, the pressures of secularism and worldliness and better forms of entertainment will swamp them. Paul recognised that the Colossians would also be at risk of being overwhelmed if they do not make Bible teaching the focus of the church. The root of the church is Scriptural teaching.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught . . .” Colossians 2:6
Costs
I mentioned this to one church leader who explained that many people could not afford Bibles in the local church. In the early church they would learn whole passages by heart knowing that this would help protect people from sin.
Psalm 119:11 – “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Do you remember how Moses emphasised the importance of the written word of God? Any future king had to base his rule on the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 17:18-19 - “When he takes to the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests . . . It is to be with him and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his god and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.”
Simple people
Another argument I have heard is that the people in their church are simple people. I don’t think people in Jesus’ day were very different. He still made preaching his priority. He and the apostles kept the teaching simple in such situations, using parables. The danger is that leaders find it easier to follow traditions than the priorities of the Bible.
William Tyndale was a brilliant Christian scholar in the time of Martin Luther. He recognised that the church of his day was neither teaching nor living by what God has said. He recognised that every person, educated or uneducated, needed to be taught the Word of God. However it was not available in contemporary English so he set about translating the Bible into English. He wrote,
“I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, before many years I will cause a boy who drives the plough to know more of Scripture than he does.”
The Church authorities became angry and banned his translation. They killed Tyndale by burning him at the stake, but his efforts brought the reformation to England.
So the first point is ‘The church must make a priority of feeding the minds of all people with the word of God.’
A Godly Church
The Bible emphasises that a relationship with Jesus is the key to discipleship.
Colossians 3:2 – “For you died and you life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
It is because we have the Spirit of Christ that we want to obey the Lord Jesus and say no to the old life.
Paul now gives two lists to illustrate what this means. The first two lists are negatives. They focus on the two interesting areas of life that cause many Christians to fail.
Colossians 3:5 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
What are these all about? Surely it is sexual immorality. Don’t forget this is written to Christians, not to the world. In the west, perhaps because of television, films and the internet immorality is becoming a major problem for Christians. Satan is using sexual license to weaken churches. Even pastors are succumbing to watching pornography and even having affairs. May no-one here be used by Satan in this way.
Then comes a second list.
Colossians 3:8-10 - “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.”
Remember this is a warning to us Christians. They are all to do with the use of the tongue. How we pastors must be very careful here. It is so easy to be angry with silly people in our churches and to lash out. But by doing this we fail to show the grace of God to our people. We must not be like politicians and tell lies or run others down in order to get our way. In our marriages we must speak lovingly and encouragingly to our wives and so be model husbands and fathers. We are Christ’s ambassadors, his representatives and must behave accordingly.
Yet we are being renewed into the image of the creator. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. In many churches of the world people are muddling heightened emotions and excitement with the work of the Spirit. This is not true. They can have heightened emotions going to a pop festival or dancing themselves to a frenzy. The real work of the Holy Spirit is to make us obedient to the Word of God, becoming like Jesus in character and purpose.
Emotional preaching will excite people for a short time but it is only when people come under the authoritative teaching of the Word of God that they will be permanently changed.
It doesn’t matter who we are. This message is the same for all people, whether European or African, previously religious or irreligious, now we belong to the Lord Jesus and he rules each of us.
Colossians 3:11 - “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”
Paul now goes on to a third list. It is no longer in the negatives, what Christians must not do, but this list is positive.
Colossians 3:12-14 – “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Can you think of a word that links all these together? Good relationships in the church are vital. We must keep to God’s truth but do so in love. If everyone in a church is longing to live for the Lord Jesus then the members will work together for him in harmony.
True worship is living for the Lord Jesus twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. We worship by living day by day for Jesus. It is a great shame that some have moved the definition of worship away from what the Scriptures teach. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in John chapter four,
“ . . . true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” John 4:23
When Paul wrote to the Romans he reminded them what true worship consisted of,
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1
It does seem that some people think we worship God by singing to him and even getting excited doing so. Please teach such people what the Bible says true worship to be. True worship is the same as true discipleship. I heard of some students who spend so much time going to Christian praise meetings that they neglect their studies and other responsibilities. They must be taught what true Biblical worship is. It is my whole life lived for Jesus Christ. It is even possible for our music and songs to be repugnant to him if our lives are not really worshipping him.
God spoke through the prophet Amos to an outwardly religious society,
“I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies . . . Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.” Amos 5:21-24
We must be careful not to emphasise outward religious services instead of teaching what the bible says about true worship. Paul goes on to stress this practical discipleship or worship in his letter to the Colossians. What God really wants is people living in society for Him.
“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favour, but in sincerity of heart and reverence for the lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. . . It is the Lord Jesus you are serving.” Colossians 3:18-24
True discipleship, true worship is living for the Lord Jesus in our families, at work and in society. But it is not just a question of living by ethical rules, our lives must flow from our relationship with Jesus.
“Thanks be to God who . . . through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
Oscar Wilde was a famous English play writer. After the first performance of his play, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ he was in the foyer of the theatre being congratulated by a queue of well-wishers who gave him bunches of flowers. One man in the queue was not a fan. Behind his back he held a rotten cabbage. When his time came, he presented this to Mr Wilde.
“This is what I think of you,” he said.
Oscar Wilde looked down at the foul smelling cabbage and astutely replied.
“Thank you. Every time I look at this, I shall think of you.”
All Christians give off an ‘aroma’, either this is of Christ or it is of the world. So Paul reminds us that we are to be a teaching church and a Godly church
An Evangelising Church
What a joy it is to work with churches that have evangelism high on their agenda. There are many churches that teach that Jesus is just one of several way to God! Bishop Wallace Benn is a godly pastor. One day he was on a selection panel to select future leaders of the Church of England. There were twelve candidates. He asked everyone of them,
“Do you think Jesus is the best way to God or the only way to God?”
He was horrified when every candidate replied that they though he was only the best way. How can such people lead an effective church if they are not teaching the apostolic message.
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
It is clear that the apostle Paul thinks evangelism is a church priority.
Colossians 4:2-6 – “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
How churches in the world need to rediscover the gospel, that people must be followers of Christ to be saved. Our gospel today is identical to that of Paul.
Colossians 2:13 – “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.”
This must be the churches message. Of course we must care for the social needs of people in society but never without sharing the gospel. Christ’s church is here to proclaim His word to society, it is not to think that we are here to hold religious services.
Our church was asked by some politicians to take responsibility for food distribution to the poor in our area. But when we were told we could not use this to talk about the Lord Jesus or the Word of God, we could not accept because to do so would be to go against what the church has been established for. To keep proclaiming the Word of God as a priority will, at times, be costly. There are many other groups who will distribute food quite happily without mentioning Jesus.
We have all met people who feel that sharing the gospel with others is not their gift. Yet the Bible is clear. We do not make a decision to follow Christ and then decide whether we feel comfortable about sharing the gospel with others. Christ chose us to be his ambassadors, to be a holy people who pass on the gospel message to those we meet.
I have discovered a great secret which Paul reminds us of here. Effectiveness is not a question of personality or qualifications, it is a matter of prayer. If people are not praying for opportunities to share the gospel and asking God’s Spirit to prepare people for us, we will not be effective. There is no prayer request that the Lord loves to honour more than that each of us should be effective for him.
The people in our churches must see this attitude in us the leaders. They must hear us praying for opportunities and see us at work turning conversations round to the Lord Jesus and salvation. Our passion for Jesus must be seen by all.
We have talked earlier about the problem of senior men in the church becoming just administrators. When church members see their pastor and other senior people active in not just preaching but in personal work it has a wonderful effect on a church. There was a Bishop of Karachi who had been converted from Hinduism. He was so thrilled with his Saviour that not a day went by when he did not win at least two people for Christ. This was on top of all the administration he had to do. His secret was to keep praying for opportunities.
Paul writes,
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” Colossians 4:2-3
Not my gift
Please may nobody here say, ‘I am not in the department of evangelism.’ Yes you are - all Christians are; we are all here to pass on the message of forgiveness of sin that is available in Christ.
We must be able to present the gospel clearly so the people we talk too can see the relevance of the Lord Jesus to them. Opportunities are everywhere.
I was in a shop here in Addis and started talking with the assistant who spoke good English. She asked what I was doing here in Ethiopia. I explained that I was here as a Christian teacher and asked if she had a one Birr coin. I showed her that on one side were the scales of justice and explained that one day everyone one of us will be judged by God on how we have treated him and his Son. The problem is that we are all guilty. But there is good news and turned the coin over. On the other side is the Lion of Judah. I explained that the Lion of Judah is the Lord Jesus who came and died for our sin. The last book of the Bible makes this clear.
“Do not weep! See, the Lion of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed.” Revelation 5:5
We then discussed how Jesus came to take the sins of all those who personally become his followers. It is not difficult to share the gospel, especially with coins like yours.
I had many patients that I longed to explain the gospel to, but had no time. So I wrote a book about what I was teaching to enquirers that met for supper once a week for five weeks. I give it to anyone who seems interested. I am amazed at how it has taken off and has now been translated into many languages. The Amharic translation of this book, ‘Cure for Life’ is available at the back. I have tried to emphasise that the message about Jesus is both true and life-changing. Many people have come to faith in Christ through being given this book by a friend.
Note that our sharing of the gospel must always be graceful and never aggressive, however the urgency of the message must be clear, our conversation must be seasoned with salt.
We do need to prepare our people so that they are able to answer peoples’ questions, ‘so that you may know how to answer everyone.’ This again emphasises the point that our churches and our services must become centres of teaching and training and not emphasise singing, dancing and long prayers.
In our church we teach people that when they are asked what they believe about an issue to sidestep the question and blame Jesus. If we say what we think they will argue with us, but if we show them what Jesus teaches, then their argument is with him.
A Bible Centred Church
Did you notice that I left out a vital section in the middle of our passage?
Colossians 3:16 – “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.”
This summarises all that the Lord wants to say to our churches, be Bible teaching, Bible training, thinking churches. Even our singing should be used to teach people the Word of God.
“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach . . . and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16
We must let it be seen that each of us love the Word of God. We are not ashamed to let people know that we study and think about the Bible privately every day. Encourage our people to join bible study training groups, perhaps before the Sunday service. Make it obvious that our services are there to teach people the Bible.
If our churches are to be like this, teaching, godly, evangelistic and biblical, strong Godly leaders are needed as there will be many pressures for us all to move in other directions.
Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Prayer Fill us anew with the Spirit of Jesus. Give us the courage to stand against unscriptural traditions, whether of the world or religion, but teach us to model our thinking on the lord Jesus.
BVP
Mark 7:8 – “You have let go the commands of God and are holding to the traditions of men.
Isaiah 2:3 – Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of Jacob. He will teach us His way, so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of God from Jerusalem.
