William Petruzzo

You know the old song:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By today’s standards, song is definitely on the cheesier side of things, but the sentiment is unmistakably good. “They”, the unbelievers in the world, “will know”, without a doubt, “we are Christians”, our primary defining trait, “by our love”. Good, yes? Nearly all Christian churches acknowledge this. Most contemporary churches make extra efforts and go way out of the way to be loving toward outsiders. This is a good thing, don’t get me wrong.

However, while the sentiment in the song makes no mistake, for most communities, most of the point seems to have gotten lost somewhere along the way.

The main thrust of the song comes from John 13:34-35:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

When Jesus says that people will know we are Christians by our love, there is no ambiguity in his meaning. He means that people of all kinds, will know a believer when they see one because of the love they show for other believers.

We hear many teachings about being the salt of the earth, not hiding our lights under a basket, and being a light set on a hill. Often, this idea is equated to loving unbelievers unashamedly—that’s good, and part of it. But Jesus makes clear that the real tell is in our love for each other. How does the church love its own? Do we betray, backstab, gossip, and abandon? Or, do you encourage, uphold, strengthen and support each other?

It seems that more often than not our communities are the former, rather than the latter. I think that I would like to see us become that change. That in our communities, the world would know we are disciples of Christ, not just because we pay for the cheeseburger or offer a ride home, because of the deep and unmistakable love we have for each other.

Reading in John Piper’s The Pleasures of God, Piper brings up a fantastic scripture reference that got me thinking tonight.

Joshua 24:2-3:

“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods…”

Essentially, what’s been said here is that Abraham, the father of the elected nation of the Jews, came directly from a family that “served other gods”. In the book of Romans, through chapter 9-11, Paul goes through pains to make it clear that God chose Israel, not because of anything they were or did or would do, but simply because he had chosen them.

But here, here’s the icing on the cake. God made Abraham the father of the nation of Israel, yet he came from a dark place—probably even a dark past himself.

What does this say about our own personal election. I think it serves as a reminder that our salvation is all of grace. While we may have come from and occupied a life of wickedness, that will have no bearing on our election. God’s grace is greater than our sin. It reminds me of this verse, Ephesians 3:14-21:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

That’s awesome. Love wider, love longer, love higher and love deeper than the vilest of our deeds. Just awesome.

The past few days I’ve been reflecting on the idea in Romans 2:14-15:

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them”

This idea of the work of the Law being written on people’s hearts is very interesting. It’s clear that in a fairly universal sense all cultures tend to agree with some basics tenets of morality. Murdering is bad. Lying is un-virtuous. Stealing is reprehensible. Sex is wrong apart from commitment. Yet many people who agree with these things, and who’s conscience is stricken because of them, do not know of the express commandments from God about them.

What’s the deal with that? Why do human beings seem to universally agree on some very basic moral structure, while the religious and moral institutions vary dramatically?

Well, it seems that this is exactly what Paul has in view when he says that the gentiles are a “law to themselves". There is a God and he is Holy and he has graciously given such a law in the hearts of people–even those who don’t know him. But, I think, there’s something even more astonishing than that.

We all know that God’s law is more demanding than any person can survive. In the heavenly court, no human will be justified on the basis of God’s law. All have sinned and all are guilty. But, if we were to scale back and look at only the requirements of man’s law–the one written on every man’s heart–we would still be guilty. Not only are we unable to keep God’s perfect law, we are unable to keep our conscience clean on our own terms.

Even apart from God’s holy law, a savior is not only necessary, he is imperative to our very lives. Praise the Lord that God had done what he has and that all sins are paid for through the atoning, justifying, propitiating, sanctifying work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The message delivered at Church tonight served as a much needed reminder for me. A reminder I should have been able to, and should have been, giving myself.

Back when I was leading a small group, there were a number of things that were constantly repeated. One of them was the idea of stepping out in faith. Kids in the group would say things like, “I just don’t feel like doing such and such” or maybe “I don’t feel passionate”, or “I’m having trouble stopping such and such sin”. My response was almost universally the same—What are you doing?

What I meant by that was, what are the actions being taken—in faith—to a cultivate a ground for God to bring change. Sometimes the action is as simple as developing a discipline to read first thing in the morning. Wake up every morning, whether your hungry, distracted or late, and in faith, make scripture the very first thing you do. Then, see what the Lord does with that faith, then take another step in faith. In my own life, and in the lives of many of the kids in the small group, I saw it work. Over and over.

Tonight’s message was preached from Hebrews 11. The author spends the entire chapter basically recounting all the great super-heroes of faith and how they all had to step out onto it.

I was pretty immediately taken back. You see, life has been less than steady these past few months. Uncertainty about church and relationships have set me in a kind of locked-down-bunker-spirituality. It seems that after spending several months in the bunker, I’ve forgotten that’s where I am.

When the preacher tonight brought up Hebrews 11, it hit me. What I preached to my own small group week in and week out, I’ve failed to do myself. Just sitting in the bunker waiting for something to happen, to change, or for some new motivation or perseverance to come about, isn’t getting anywhere. Not that God isn’t sovereign and couldn’t do those things if he chose to. But, for whatever reason, he isn’t choosing to and the correct course would be exercise faith and step out.

I’m reminded of a powerful verse in scripture that’s gone unquoted in my mind for some time. 2 Corinthians 12:9:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…”

The bunker is safe, and in it I can feel strong. But, that is not where God wishes to display his power. So, steps in faith to exercise weakness are necessary. God’s grace is more than sufficient and in times like these, it shines brightly.

I think the simplest answer is: those who God has chosen to be ‘holy and blameless’ before him. Or said more simply, anyone who is or who will eventually be a Christian. Now, whether or not that is the definition you agree with, the word ‘elect’ is not something we can choose to define or not. It’s a major biblical theme. Christians have to be ready to deal with this idea of ‘election’ in some way or another.

I’m not writing today to take on the full blown discussion of predestination.  But I would like to talk about the word ‘election’ for a second.

I’ve heard people make the argument that the word ‘election’ refers not to the individual Christian, but rather to mankind as a whole. Or, some say the whole nation of Israel. So, in verses such as Mark 13:22, or Matthew 24:22, some will say the meaning is not specific people are in view but rather all people are in view. I think that is really less than rational. In fact, the verses referring to the ‘elect’ are pretty much emptied of all of their meaning when that definition is applied.

But, take a look at 2 John 1:1:

“The elder to the elect lady and her children…”

Then again, at the end of the book, in verse 13:

“The children of your elect sister greet you.”

If you apply the definition of the elect being mankind, rather than the individual believer, this verse says something like, “The children of your sister who is a member of mankind greet you.” And if you apply the definition that the elect is the nation of Israel, then it’s really complete nonsense.

If you start to go through an apply the two alternative definitions of election to the various occurrences of the world, it quickly becomes clear that their really unsatisfying. While some occurrences can be stretched to fit, one one seems to fit them all universally.

In the beginning of the book of Daniel, Daniel is called upon to interpret Nebuchadnezzar dream. Before he does, he shares this. Daniel 2:27-30:

Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel makes it clear, “But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living”.  God used Daniel, not because of who he was in and of himself, but because Daniel was who he chose to use.

But, on the part of the king, the response to Daniel’s interpretation is typical.

Daniel 2:46:

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him

Daniel has just finished disclaiming his interpretation of the king’s dream by saying something like, "I’m going to tell you your dream, but it’s not because I’m someone special, I’m not, it’s because there is a great God in heaven who reveals mysteries!"

The king quickly forgot Daniel’s disclaimer and pays him homage. It strikes me that it is much in the same way that we end up lifting and exalting our respected leaders in the church today. I recently sat down with a pastor who had spent some time in close proximity to John Piper. When I found this out, almost the first thing out of my mouth was, "Do you know John Piper!?". He paused and I could see how silly my question was. Yes, John Piper should be respected and honored, but I was offering him more than that.

I’d like to be more careful of that.

A few days ago I posted on the topic of being persecuted because of our own righteousness in Christ illuminating the self-righteousness, and thus unrighteousness, of the unbeliever. Today, I came across an interesting example of a similar idea.

John 12:10-11:

“the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.”

Lazarus was sick. Something Jesus knew about. Jesus allowed Lazarus to die so that he would have the opportunity to be undeniably glorified in the miracle of Lazarus’ life. Jesus called Lazarus from death into life and so Lazarus was a walking testimony to the Christ Jesus. For this, the Pharisees made plans to kill Lazarus as well. Why? Because of his association to our Lord and the powerful testimony he carried with him. The powerful testimony he actually was!

Truthfully, we are not much different. All of us were “dead” in our transgressions and apart from any power of our own, Jesus commanded us from death into life. Now, much like Lazarus, we are a walking testimony to the risen Christ who has given an everlasting righteousness. A righteousness that shows the world what its righteousness really is: filthy rags.

It seems that the point is the same, an unbeliever can never find truly be comfortable in the presence of a true believer. The Cross of Christ is offensive and those exposed to its light will be offended.

In Piper’s The Pleasures of God, he quotes Patrick Johnstone. The quotation is profound. I absolutely had to share it. Piper quotes:

“We are being compelled to return to a more biblical and radical position—that of being a minority in the world not of it… The church deprived of political power is free from the burden of trying to use human power to dominate and influence the world… Our reference point is not territorial or church growth aggrandizement, but building a kingdom that is not of this world, yet which will fill the earth as a contrasting alternative society. We need to return to the concept of a pilgrim Church, the church that will be hated, rejected, despised, persecuted, yet be an incisive, decisive, victorious minority which one day soon, will be ready for its heavenly Bridegroom as the perfected Bride.”

Holy crap. Seriously. “The church deprived of political power is free from the burden of trying to use human power to dominate and influence the world” . Lets take a minute and digest that one. I’m not even sure I fully understand the ramification of that idea, however, it’s compelling and attractive and at the same time frightening.

I suppose that should God deem fit to give us political power, it would be a grace that we ought to steward properly. But, it seems that perhaps we haven’t and that grace is being removed.

Reading this morning I came across this, 1 John 3:12-13:

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

John cites the reason that Cain killed Abel was because Abel’s deeds were “righteous” while his own were wicked. I find this to be an idea abusive to the way most in our culture currently think about and “do” church.

Elsewhere in the same book, and throughout the rest of the New Testament, we find that those who are in Christ will definitely be growing in righteousness (1 John 1:5-10, Romans 8:13). So, by that rational we should have very little reason to believe that unbelievers coming among us will not exhibit some form of hostility or at the very least discomfort.

Yet, in spite of that, we find churches pouring outrageous resources into creating a comfortable environment for unbelievers. It seems that the reality would be, if unbelievers are able to come among us and find and truly find comfort in our presence, we may have to reevaluate our own lifestyles.

I’m reminded of a message delivered by Francis Chan a number of years back where he referenced Luke 6:26: “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you”. While it doesn’t fit the verse’s context perfectly, the point is clear:

The Cross of Christ, and our subsequent righteousness therein, is an offense to the unbeliever seeking is own vein righteousness and we should expect that they would respond as one who’s been offended.

What kind of ramifications does this have for the Church, it seems that it should drive it more deeply into conformity with the Word of God. Rather than consulting our intellect to determine how we should relate to this work, we ought to consult God in his Word.

Many of us say we do. Few really follow through. Just a thought.

My friend Ric sent me an email pointing me to this video. It’s every bit as brilliant as he said it was. While I suspect that I have some pretty deep running disagreements with the organization that put it together, it is really poignant, nonetheless. I hope I’m not stealing valuable blog-fodder from you, Ric.

It helps to read their brief intro to the video to get the point they’re making.

“Have you ever tried really hard to make a point and when people say they get it, you are just not sure they do? Sometimes it takes us seeing our world through new eyes–something that it is hard to do as believers. Sometimes a little bit of juxtaposition does the trick.

We made this video because we sometimes struggle in helping churches to truly understand the disconnection between how we do things and the people we’re trying to reach. Our thought was to showcase the visitor experience in a completely different context and in doing so, we might help churches realize how they might actually comes across to the world we are called to reach.

Sometimes it takes seeing something in a different light to really get it. With this thought, my team and I made a little video called “What if Starbucks Marketed Like the Church? A Parable.”

Again, I’m not in total agreement here, but the video should make you think. If nothing else, it’s certainly is good for a laugh.