Scripture: Selected Scriptures
Date: March 27, 2011
Speaker: Sean Higgins
The last few weeks we’ve been working through the significance of our name, Trinity Evangel Church. There’s no claim to inspiration behind the name but there certainly is intention. Each of the three parts, first-middle-and last, are meant to remind us of who our God is and what He is like, as well as who we are and what our lives should reflect.
Trinity reminds us that our God is eternally social and happy in Himself. We know what love is because of the Father and Son. We know what fellowship and intimacy is because of Three-in-One. He is no only an example of relationship, He is the standard for our relationships, especially in marriage and in the church community.
Evangel reminds us that our God is holy and gracious. In Adam, all humanity rebelled against God and that sin (and every sin since) resulted in the righteous judgment of separation. In order for reconciliation to occur a sacrifice was required, and all those who believe in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice are brought to God by Christ. Because every separating sin committed by a man against another man was also a separating sin between man and God, God’s forgiving and punishment-taking makes forgiveness possible between us, too. This is good news. This is evangel that saves us and shapes us.
Church is that body of forgiven believers who gather together to worship the Triune God and to celebrate and proclaim and live the gospel until He comes. He unites us in one baptism by one Spirit under one Lord for one hope as one Bride for Christ. We are church, and Trinity Evangel Church is one local expression of a global and historical reality.
These are glorious truths. These are Christian truths. These truths give us reason to sing; these truths give us reasons to live and reasons to die. They are also truths that cause us to be sometimes admired and other times attacked, sometimes sought out for help and other times sought out for slaughter.
On one hand, Christians are to live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18), Christian leaders are to live in such a way that we have a good reputation with outsiders (1 Timothy 3:7), and yet Christ’s disciples will be hated by all for His name’s sake (Matthew 10:22). We bring out hatred and we’re the only ones who have hope to hold out. How can we live in such a way that they will think good things about us and want to kill us for the very same things?
Sometimes we pursue unity by dividing, we seek peace in our consciences by making war against sin, and we bring life by dying. We mourn a crucified King and then immediately celebrate the same thing.
It’s crazy. It’s Christian. It’s certainly not boring.
When it comes to our name, each of the three parts humble and each of the three parts embolden. They embolden us and will inevitably aggravate (inflame, provoke, make worse) certain offenses. We will offend—on a spectrum from causing displeasure to causing resentment to angering. At the same time, if we live out all three parts of our name, we will be humbled and will likely assuage (avoid, reduce, make the unpleasant less intense) certain other offenses.
What is crucial is that we offend well. If we don’t offend the right people we’re not living up to our name and if we don’t not offend in other ways we’re also not living up to our name.
If we’re truthful, if we’re bold, if we’re faithful, we will necessarily offend a good number of people.
As Christians, baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we cannot help but aggravate Jews, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims (to name a few). We claim that God is Three-in-One. Deism (belief in a some sort of supreme being) and Monotheism (one God) are not enough. Men will go to hell for eternity for not believing Jesus was anything less than eternal God.
Our Triune God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). He loves who He is, each Person loves the other Persons and desires their honor. So unless we worship Him as He is, we have no fellowship with Him. Idolators of any sort must be offended.
Likewise, practical idolators must needs be offended. That includes—to name a few—homosexuals who do away with distinct male and female roles, egalitarians who do away with different responsibilities for men and women, feminists who want manly roles for women (such as women pastors) and effeminate behavior from men. For good measure, we should also be offending domineering husbands, authoritarian fathers who reflect a non-Trinitarian Father. As Trinitarians, we absolutely must say that these things are wrong.
He’s one God, only one, exclusive divinity in three Persons, and we don’t have the prerogative to make Him other than who He is. As His image bearers, we’re not entitled to live however we want.
We’re not done making people made yet. We who proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ—that He is the way, the truth, the life, and that no man can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)—cannot help but aggravate the unrighteous who love their sin and don’t want the guilt. They love the world, they love the praise of men, and God’s holiness is not beautiful to them. They prefer the darkness.
This is the judgement: light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
Likewise, we cannot help but aggravate the self-righteous, those who love the glory of their own obedience and don’t want to hear that all their obedience is worse than worthless, it is damnable (cf. Isaiah 64:6). They don’t want to hear that they must renounce their boasting, except to boast in Christ’s imputed righteousness (cf. Romans 3:27).
We also cannot help but offend the cool and the comfortable. You can’t have a bloody, crucified Savior and make that polite party conversation. You can be kind—I’ll address that shortly—but the cross is scandalous and gruesome and messy and undignified and certainly not hip. This is Christ’s call: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). “Come and die” isn’t respectable, and it is offensive to those who think themselves wise, powerful and noble (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26). Who would embrace shame? We do.
We will aggravate postmodern, anti-structure, anti-authority, anti-everything-except-being-anti people. We believe that God makes known his manifold wisdom through the church that meets together in various locations (Ephesians 3:10). So independents and virtual church-goers and good-for-nothing bricks may be offended.
Jesus offended men, and His disciples should expect similar response when they teach His message and follow His example.
Being a Christian is light in darkness and often that irritates the darkness. At the same time, being a Christian humbles us; it makes us servants. It makes us salty (cf. Matthew 5:13). Yes, it makes us an aroma of “death to death” for some, but it must also make us an aroma of “life to life” for some.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)
While we aggravate certain offenses, we want to make it hard for them to keep being angry while we’re laying down our lives for them.
The old pastor’s joke is that the ministry would be great if it weren’t for the people. We can laugh at that, but only to an extent. It reflects the attitude of a Boss God, a Unitarian God, a Tyrant or Overlord God who is put out by his “lessers” giving him grief. That turns people off, it offends them, when pastors, or any Christian for that matter, acts with that attitude. We reflect a Triune God. The Father has never said/joked, “Being God would be great if it weren’t for the Son.” They are personal and they enjoy one another even though they’re different.
I get that we are not perfect persons like the Trinity. We have sin and sin messes stuff up so we need the evangel. But if God can take on flesh for us, if God’s Spirit can take up residence in our hearts, if God will have fellowship with us, then our distance from others, our unwillingness to engage with them and serve them is our offense no matter how accurate our sentences are. Love is required, and love is more than tongues of men and angels, prophetic powers, and understanding all mysteries and knowledge (1 Corinthians 13:1-2).
It takes spiritual discipline to live like unity doesn’t require unison and diversity doesn’t equal division. But imagine how much harder (or unreasonable) it would be for the world to hate us if we really were outdoing one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10). As it is, we put ammunition in their criticism guns by behaving in small-minded and selfish and separating ways just as they do.
We pursue Trinitarian joy and gospel graciousness.
The gospel of grace does not ignore sin and neither can we. But the gospel of grace gives us what we didn’t deserve. Yes, that means we shouldn’t act as if we deserved it when we’re telling others about it, nor should we act like they aren’t worthy enough to receive it. Yes, we ought to be humble. And we ought to give others what they don’t deserve. Humility isn’t a state of quiet, secluded meditation, it is a motive for aggressive service and sacrifice (i.e., Jesus, cf. Philippians 2:5-8). Humility is free to give and spend and lose and die. Pride must protect itself, and keep others from getting the good stuff. The gospel is about grace we receive and is a model for us to give grace.
Evangel living loves righteousness, a righteousness that isn’t ours. If we’re loving Jesus’ righteousness we ought to diminish the tone of arrogance that comes from many Christians. Evangel living loves reconciliation, and not just the declaring the doctrine of it, but also the displaying it.
Consider 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:13. There are so many things in this section that require further study and implementation. For now, let us implore men to be reconciled with our hearts “wide open” (v.11).
Should people—I’m think of unbelievers in particular—feel comfortable or uncomfortable when they visit the church at worship? It depends. They might be offended that we only worship one God, or they might be offended because we’re jerks. They might be offended that our gospel confronts their sin, but their offense might be harder to carry if we joyfully sang and humbly offered them hope, if we treated them as better than we are, not because they deserved it, but because God has so much grace that we can give out some extra from what we’ve received.
The Christian life involves growth and so does church life. Trinity Evangel Church isn’t yet what she will be someday, but her future is bright if we live up to our name by His grace, through His Spirit, according to His Word.