Conference Sermon: The Obedient Church

By James D. Miller

When I was in high school, I took a geometry class. I didn't do very well. You might say that I was "geometrically challenged." Nevertheless, I am about to use a geometric figure which pictures the early New Testament Church. That geometric figure is an ellipse: picture an oval in verticle position. Picture "one" ellipse since the early church was "one" church. But the early church had two geographic centers. Now picture two symmetrical dots, one at the bottom and one at the top of the vertical oval. Jerusalem, in the south, was the Jewish center of Christianity. Antioch, three hundred miles to the north, was the Gentile center of Christianity. Now the picture is complete. The early church was one church with two focal points. The early church can be characterized as "one church, two foci."

Imagine yourself attending a Sunday morning worship service in Jerusalem. You would be surrounded by Jewish men who were circumcised and by Jewish women who believed that the men ought to be circumcised. The important point is not that these people were Jewish or circumcised but that they had accepted Jesus as the Messiah. That is why they were in the church.

How was the Jewish church in Jerusalem established? In answering this question we see the "Sovereignty of God" (the theme of this conference) and the "Obedient Church" (the topic assigned to me). The year was A.D. 30 and the event was Pentecost. All over the Roman Empire Jews were asking the question, "Should we go to Pentecost this year?" In much the same way we ask, "Should we go to Conference this year?" According to the book of Acts, thousands of Jews went to Jerusalem for the Pentecost of A.D. 30. As they made their way towards Jerusalem, they had no idea that God had chosen that particular Pentecost to pour out His Spirit. Because God is sovereign, we should be open to the unusual. But God in his sovereignty may choose not to do anything unusual. While we are open to the unusual, we need to be faithful during those times of church--life--as--usual.

Before God sovereignly poured out His Spirit, the Jerusalem church was acting in obedience as "they all joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). As Mennonites we do a lot of joining together. But we need to do more joining together in prayer. As a young boy I heard a joke that I thought was very funny. Someone said, "Do you know why Mennonites are called Mennonites? Because they get together many nights." Apparently, the early church was Mennonite because it says that "they joined together constantly". But when they joined together, they joined together in prayer. Recently, seven men from my home congregation went to Promise Keepers. Keith Swartzentruber, who ministers with me, had a vision for this to be a time of bonding for the men in our congregation. Keith suggested that we travel to Promise Keepers together, eat together afterwards, set up the church together and then pray together. Keith was into being together. Keith doesn't have it all together, but he likes to get together. But if we are going to get it together we have got to get together and join together in prayer. To join together means that we open our hearts to one another. To join together in prayer means that we open our hearts to God. In so doing, we create a temple for the presence of God. That evening seven men joined together in prayer. There was standing and kneeling as spontaneous prayers were offered up to God. Part of the time I was unaware of the content of the prayers. I was simply enjoying the presence of God. This prayer meeting felt like church life at its best.

Consider that first Pentecost. An Arminian might say that God poured out His Spirit in response to the prayers of the people. A Calvinist might say that God was planning to pour out His Spirit whether or not the people prayed. It was God's sovereign will to pour out His Spirit fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus. But any good Calvinist and any good Arminian would agree with this statement: "The sovereignty of God never negates human responsibility." In the establishment of the Jewish church at Jerusalem, God exerted His sovereignty and believers fulfilled their responsibility.

Now let's travel 300 miles north and imagine yourself attending the church at Antioch on Sunday morning. You walk in and sit down. You are surrounded by uncircumcised Gentiles. This church is Gentile oriented. It is the headquarters of Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul was sent from Antioch and to Antioch he returned from his missionary journeys. When Paul returned from his first missionary journey, he reported how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles ( Acts 14:27). It was through the church at Antioch that the Gentiles began to infiltrate the ranks of the early church. This caused great concern for the Jerusalem church which saw itself as one church with Antioch. There was only one church. These Gentiles couldn't be shuttled off to some other denomination.

But let's back up and consider the establishment of the church at Antioch. Again, we see the sovereignty of God and the obedient church. In connection with the martyrdom of Stephen, some Jews began to flee persecution. As they traveled northward from Jerusalem, they shared the Gospel only with Jews. "Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks (Gentiles) also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:20)". This is a great missiological moment. God is building a bridge from Jerusalem to Antioch. And in his sovereignty, God is using nameless, persecuted evangelists to build this bridge. Not only did God allow persecution, he used persecution to build his church. God is so awesome in his Sovereignty that he can use evil against itself. God can bring good out of evil. In the cross we see the greatest evil ever committed by humanity and the greatest good ever bestowed upon humanity. In that moment when the purposes of God appeared to be thwarted, God was working out his purposes. In the life of the church, there those moments of darkness, brokeness and pain. In those moments we do well to look at the cross. Even Jesus cried out "Why.............why have you forsaken me?". But even in those difficult moments, God continues to work out his purposes. "Our God is an awesome God he reigns from heaven above." We, sitting here in this tent, are a manifestation on earth of God's reign in heaven.

Earlier in this message I stated that "the sovereignty of God never negates human responsibility." I would add that the sovereignty of God encourages human responsibility. To which would you prefer to be obedient? A God who is incapable or capable of carrying out his purposes? Through obedience to a capable God, we are submitting our lives to His eternal purposes. Our lives are filled with purpose..........a purpose much larger than ourselves. One thing I love about being part of the church is that I already know the outcome of the church. God will accomplish his purpose for the church.

So the Jewish church at Jerusalem was established. The Gentile church at Antioch was established. This dynamic of "one church two foci" forced the early church to ask this question: "What does it mean to be the obedient church?" The Conservative Mennonite Conference has asked this question from its inception in 1910. One reason this conference was established is that we chose to be intentional about missions. We believed that the great commission was not only for the apostles but also for the church of the twentieth century. On the one hand we have been a church that is non-conformed to the world. On the other hand, we have been a church that is committed to reach the very world to which we are non-conformed. As a young boy, my family moved from a Conservative Amish Mennonite community to a densely populated residential area of Flint Michigan. Our house was located beside the church. One day a great big bus rolled into our neighborhood. On the side of the bus were these words: "The Hartville Singers". This group was a conservative Amish Mennonite singing group. This was quite a sight to my friend, the neighbor boy across the street. He came over to observe. These people looked and dressed differently. I remember getting into a big argument with the neighbor boy. I did my best to convince him that The Hartville Singers were better singers than The Beatles. The neighbor boy and I were "300 miles" apart.

This depiction of the early church as "one church two foci" is more than a depiction of the early church. It is a depiction of us. We are Jerusalem. We are Antioch. We are Jerusalem in that we are a people of heritage, tradition, peoplehood, and biblicism. We are Antioch in that people outside of our heritage have and are becoming a part of us. God had sovereignly established Antioch among us. God has sovereignly established Jerusalem among us. Is there a place in your heart for Jerusalem? Is there a place in your heart for our heritage, the extent to which our heritage is biblical? Is there a place in your heart for Antioch? Are you willing to invite people into our heritage? Suppose we designated one end of this tent as Jerusalem and the other end as Antioch. Suppose I asked everyone to get up and go to one end or another. To which end would you go? Perhaps most of you would place yourselves right in the middle.....between Jerusalem and Antioch! But if you were forced to one end or the other, which end would it be? Now imagine yourself at the end where you feel most at home. Remember the bridge God built between Jerusalem and Antioch? Start walking! Fellowship with one another.

The tension between Jerusalem and Antioch threatened to split the church into two parts. Imagine it. Instead of "one church two foci" there are now two churches, each with one focal point. Imagine two circles, each with one centrally located dot. The church in the north is the Antiochene church. The church in the south is the Jerusalemite church. The Antiochene church is the church of the uncircumcision. The Jerusalemite church is the church of the circumcision. The Jerusalemite Church says "This is what it means to be obedient". The Antiochene church says "No, this is what it means to be obedient." So they called a meeting, known today as the "Jerusalem Council" to answer this question: "What does it mean to be the obedient church?" Not only did they ask the question, they answered the question. They agreed upon the terms of obedience. Not only did they agree on the terms of obedience, they remained one church, though with two geographic focal points. At the Jerusalem Council, God brought the church to that wonderful place of restful obedience. Along the pathway to obedience, there were five signposts that pointed the way. For the remainder of this message I want to consider these five sign posts.

The first sign post was "council". At the Jerusalem Council there was "much council" (Acts 15:7). As men stood to speak, there was freedom to speak what was on one's heart. Too often in the church I have not had that freedom. Either my heart was not right, or the other person's heart was not right, or neither of our hearts was right. But God wants us to open our hearts to one another. If I know that I am going to open my heart to you, I will have a high motivation to cleanse my heart. It is like cleaning your house because you know that company is coming over. A couple years ago, I felt that God was saying to me, "Jim, do you care enough about the truth-as you understand it--to speak the truth in love?" Truth wrapped in love is more readily received. Truth wrapped in pride is quickly rejected. As John Calvin said, we must have a "diligence for the truth with a care for mutual fellowship."

The second sign post was "experience". Peter had an experience in the house of Cornelius. God did something that Peter didn't think God should do. The Spirit of God fell on Cornelius. There were three problems with Cornelius: 1) he was a Gentile, 2) he was uncircumcised and 3) he was a military man. The church at Jerusalem expected Peter to justify his actions in going into the house of a Gentile. To paraphrase Peter, he seemed to be saying, "Don't blame me that Cornelius got saved. I didn't even give an invitation for him to accept Christ. But while I was still speaking, the Spirit of God fell on Cornelius. God gave an experience to Peter that helped him to know God's will concerning the Gentiles. God will give us experiences to help us to know his will. Peter brought his experience to bear upon the decision of Jerusalem Council. He said, "Now then why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our Fathers have been able to bear(Acts 15:19)." But experience by itself is a shaky foundation. This brings me to the next point.

"Scripture" was the third sign post that pointed the way to that restful place of obedience. James stood up at the Jerusalem council and quoted the prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament. He said, "The words of the prophets are in agreement with this" -meaning this experience of Peter. James confirmed Peter's experience with Scripture. As a Conference we must become increasingly biblically literate. Our society continues to drift from it's Judeo--Christian moorings. Our society is becoming increasingly pluralistic. Two miles down the road from where I live is a building that used to be a church. Now it is an Islamic Center. There is the New Age movement, which is really old paganism. We are now live in the era of post-modernism. Recently a member of my congregation handed me a course syllabus from the Universtiy. In his view, that syllabus was an example of the influence of post-modernism. This course was "adopted to give everybody the opportunity to begin a life-long journey of questioning." The students were encouraged to ask "deep questions" which "required the deconstruction (a post-modern buzz word) of an argument." While other statements in the syllabus reflect an era before the post-modern era, they encourage skepticism instead of faith. For example, "The improver of natural knowledge absolutely refuses to acknowledge authority, as such. For him (and her), scepticism is the highest of duties, blind faith is the unpardonable sin." This statement sounds very authoritative. I don't know if I can accept it or not. If I submit to this statement then I will read the Scripture with a spirit of skepticism instead of a spirit of faith. There are other faith--threatening statements in the syllabus. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it." This statement would have me questioning the times God has spoken to me. "Do not believe in anything simply because it is found in your religious books. This statement would have me questioning the Bible. "Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders." This statement would have me questioning all that my parents, Sunday School teachers and pastors have taught me. "Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations." This statement would have me questioning the ancient wisdom of the church-including the decisions of the historic church councils beginning with the Jerusalem Council. So what am I to believe in? What is the guiding principle? Here it is: "But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." So I am called to bow down to reason. My response is that reason without revelation leads to that which is false. Reason with revelation leads to that which is true. The "wisdom" in this syllabus is the sort of wisdom that God will destroy. " I will destroy the wisdom of the wise . The intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."( I Cor. 1:19) When Christ returns, there will be great destruction within the University systems. This is not a syllabus for a philosophy course as you might expect. Rather it is a course on "Contemporary Issues in Agriculture and Natural Resources." As they go to the University, many of our children will be subjected to this kind of education and skepticism. As a Conference we must become increasingly biblically literate.

Not only is our society adrift, I also see a church that is adrift. We now share historical roots with those who say that the church ought to bless same-sex marriages. Recently, this was the viewpoint I read in a Mennonite publication. About the same time, I picked up the July issue of the Brotherhood Beacon. There was an article entitled "The Bible and Homosexuality". The head of the article featured this verse: Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (Leviticus 18:22). The next Sunday I stood up in the congregation and said, "If I could impose required reading on you, I would require that you read this article." All the Brotherhood Beacons were snatched up. I called into the office to increase the subscription. I know that there is a place for dialogue. But there is also a time to get beyond dialogue and to make declaration. I am happy to be part of a Conference that declares the scriptural truth on this issue.

One of the great cultural wars of our time concerns the role of men and woman in the home, the church and society. I want to encourage us to pay special attention to those Scriptures that trace role distinctions back to creation. For example, Paul writes " I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man......... for Adam was formed first and then Eve (I Tim. 2:12,13). The basis for role distinctions is grounded not in culture but in creation. Therefore, role distinctions are timeless rather than time-bound; universalized rather than particularized. Today there is a strong emphasis placed on the gifts of women. Do women have gifts? Of course they do. Do women have a place of ministry in the church? Of course they do. But in our discussions about women's "gifts" let us remember that there is another word that starts with "g" and that is the word "government". God is a God of order and government. The divinely established order is God, Christ, man, woman. Women, like men, are to take their place in God's governmental order. When men and women take their places, they put themselves into the best position to bring the greatest glory to God. I want to make a statement that may sound brash: I believe in hierarchy. Where did hierarchy first appear? It never did first appear. It always existed in the Godhead. One of the main points of the Gospel of John is that the Son came to earth to do the Father's will. In terms of hierarchy, the Son is under the Father. In terms of worth, there is equality between the Father and the Son. In terms of function there is inequality. In this way inequality is virtuous.

Again, may we as a Conference become increasingly biblically literate that we may withstand worldliness. In every generation, the press of the world is upon God's people. The Old Testament prophets were constantly calling God's people back to faithfulness according to the terms of the Covenant. Consider how much of the New Testament is devoted to countering heresy.

The fourth signpost that pointed the way to the place of obedience at the Jerusalem Council was the "Holy Spirit." "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us" wrote the framers of the Council's decision (Acts 15:28). The Holy Spirit is there to guide us into the truth and to help us apply the truth. Allow me to share a personal experience. I was discipling a man I lead to the Lord. This man used to go to the bar and drink and dance on the weekends. At one point he said to me, " I really don't see anything wrong with drinking and dancing. I don't get drunk and I don't lust." When he told me that, there were several things I wanted to say. "You need to avoid the appearance of evil." "Don't place yourself in a position in which you are unnecessarily tempted." "Don't keep nibbling at the bait. You might get hooked." I wanted to say all these things. But I felt a check in my spirit from the Holy Spirit. I wasn't supposed to say all these things. But the Holy Spirit did help me know what to say. And it was very simple. I said to the man I was discipling, "Yes, you are right. The Bible is very clear that we are not to get drunk and that we are not to lust." That was it. Maybe more later. But that was all I was to say for the moment. It is dangerous to try and apply the Word of God without the help of the Spirit of God. The same Spirit that inspired the Word two thousand years ago, also helps us to apply the Word today.

The fifth sign post that pointed the way to the place of obedience was "governance." By governance, I mean a body of elders that makes decisions for the church to obey. I must confess that many times I have seen an attitude in myself that was not present at the Jerusalem Council. Too often my attitude has been all-American: "each to his own" and "nobody is going to tell me what to do." In contrast, after the Jerusalem Council made its decision, Paul delivered that decision for the people to obey and they gladly obeyed it. "As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers" (Acts 16:4-5). Notice that the Council made decisions that strengthened the faith of the churches and that enabled them to grow numerically. This places a great responsibility on church government to make decisions that strengthen churches spiritually and enable them to grow numerically. The Council's decision was delivered to the Gentile churches of Paul's first missionary journey. They were culturally different from the Jewish church, with Jerusalem as its center. But the decision of the Jerusalem Council bound the two parts of the church together. We often say that unity is not uniformity. But the decision of the Jerusalem Council helps us to see that uniformity helps to maintain unity. How much diversity can we stand before we break? One of the lost keys to unity in the church today is governance. In the early church, there was diversity that threatened the unity of the church. Through church governance a decision was made and both geographic centers of the church respected the decision. Submission to this decision created uniformity and maintained unity. If governing bodies know that the decisions they make will be obeyed, those decisions will be made with greater discernment, due process, and sensitivity to the people being affected by the decision. It appears that the decision makers at the Jerusalem Council listened to the concerns of the laity.

Pauline scholar, F.F. Bruce asks a most interesting question concerning the Jerusalem Council. If the decision of the Council would have imposed circumcision on the Gentiles, would Paul have supported this decision? F.F. Bruce thinks not. The Council was held after Paul's first missionary journey. Gentile oriented churches were established in Syrain Antioch, Pisidian Antioch, Iconian, Lystra, and Derbe. The Gentiles in these churches were not circumcised. Can you imagine Paul returning to these churches and setting up circumcision clinics? Whatever the case may be, we need to take governance seriously as Paul did at the Jerusalem Council.

I once heard a speaker say that the liberals won at the Jerusalem Council. What he meant was that circumcision was not imposed on the Gentiles and the door of faith was kept open to them. On the other hand, when those Gentiles walked through the door of faith, they were met with some requirements. "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us not to burden you beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things." (Acts 15:28) Beyond a certain point there were no requirements. But before that point, the Gentiles were asked to submit to certain requirements out of deference to the Jewish heritage. The Gentiles were asked to adhere to certain Jewish dietary restrictions. This was an applied Christianity-a Christianity with specific applications. Effective mission did not totally disregard tradition. So again I ask, "Is there a place in your heart for our tradition?" Many Anabaptist distinctives are more than that. They are biblical truths. A family from our congregation moved to Columbus Ohio and began to attend Xenos, a church of several thousand. The senior pastor of that church stated that the early Anabaptists died for convictions that much of the present day church accepts as biblical truth.

Again, I ask the question, "What does it mean for us to be obedient?" In answering that question, have I gotten it all right? Have you gotten it all right. If we haven't gotten it all right, are we condemned? In our Arminian tradition, have we unwittingly placed faith in our ability to get it all right rather than placed our faith in the only human who ever did get it all right? That person is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Acts 15 is only one chapter in the book of Acts. The early church was not issue-centered. Rather, the early church was Christ-centered. The greatest thing among us is not us, but Christ among us. He is the risen one. He is the conquering one. He is the coming one. Let us place our faith in Christ, rather than our ability to get it all right.

I end with a story. Some years ago, when my oldest son David was just a little boy, I was walking with him along the rough and rugged sea coast of Massachusetts. It was after a storm and large waves were breaking on the beach. David was reaching up to me and grasping my hand, but the waves kept knocking him down. His grasp was not strong enough to withstand the power of the waves. After this happened a couple times, I decided to take a different approach. I reached down and fastened my hand around his hand. My grasp was able to withstand the power of the waves. I was able to keep him from falling. I love that benediction found at the end of Jude. "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore." Amen and God bless you.

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