Neglected Christian history

February serves as a reminder of the deficiency in my education.

February is Black History Month. By failing to know black history, I not only have an inadequate understanding of American history. I also have fallen short in my knowledge of church history. My view of Christian history is more white-washed than the reality.

My personal experience demonstrates the poverty of my historical knowledge.

I grew up in a county seat town of about 15,000 people in southeast Missouri. Our community had several elementary schools, including one that was all black, Wheatley School. I am saddened and embarrassed to say only in the last year or two of my 66 years have I come to know why it was given that name.

Phillis Wheatley was a poet in the 18th Century who was a trailblazer for African-American and female writers. Only 7 or 8 years old when she was captured in West Africa and brought to Boston as a slave, she became a follower of Jesus. Though she was still a teenager, her poetic elegy to the Great Awakening evangelist George Whitefield brought her international recognition, according to the Poetry Foundation. With her poems published in New England and England, Wheatley became one of the best known poets prior to 1800.

She "applied biblical symbolism to evangelize and to comment on slavery," the Poetry Foundation reported. Her literary accomplishments motivated the early anti-slavery movement in America and later served for the abolitionists as testaments to the artistic and intellectual abilities of those bound by slavery, according to the foundation.

George Liele, whom I learned of only in recent years, provides another example of my deficiency in church history.

It is Liele -- not Adoniram Judson -- who was the first Baptist preacher to take the gospel from America to another country. Liele was the first ordained black Baptist preacher in this country and planted the first African-American Baptist church in North America, according to an International Mission Board (IMB) article.

Born into slavery in 1750 in Virginia, Liele became a Christian at the age of 23 in Georgia. Liele's owner freed him sometime after his conversion, and he began preaching to slaves in the Savannah, Ga., area before planting a church.

After an effort to re-enslave him failed, Liele and his family went to Jamaica with the help of a colonel in the British army. He preached to slaves there as well and planted a church. Liele faced persecution and imprisonment but continued to preach. He baptized 500 people in an eight-year period, and the church grew strong, according to the IMB article.

Leile's ministry affected Jamaica spiritually and socially. About 8,000 Baptists lived in Jamaica in 1814, a number that included slaves, freedmen and whites. By 1832, there were more than 20,000 believers as a result of his ministry, the IMB article reported. Liele's work as an evangelist and pastor helped produce an end to slavery in Jamaica in 1838, 10 years after his death, according to the IMB profile.

The church's history is a vibrant one not limited to the work of God in one ethnic group or skin color.

-- Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

'Lives not worth living' and the church of Jesus

The category of "lives not worth living" continues to expand to the grief of all who value human beings as image bearers of God. And its advocates seem to be expanding as well. They are at least in the openness of their intentions.

The last three weeks have demonstrated some Americans -- maybe a growing number -- believe babies who survive abortions are now included in this dehumanizing classification. At least some abortion rights proponents are committed to ensuring children who escape the lethal efforts of abortionists can be left legally to die without medical care. And a frightful number of lawmakers are devoted to protecting the right to kill until delivery any unborn child who could survive outside the womb.

For instance:

-- New York enacted a law Jan. 22 that legalizes abortion until birth for the mother’s “health,” which is not defined and has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include essentially any reason. It also permits infanticide by eliminating protections for babies who survive an attempted abortion and by removing fetal homicide penalties, according to Americans United for Life. Of course, Jan. 22 is the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that legalized abortion nationwide.

-- Virginia Del. Kathy Tran told a House of Delegates subcommittee Jan. 28 her bill to repeal abortion restrictions in the state would allow an abortion for “mental health” reasons even when the woman’s cervix is dilating and she is preparing to give birth.

-- Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia commented on Tran's proposal by affirming what can justly be described as infanticide two days later in a radio interview. He said, "The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

While Tran's bill did not survive the subcommittee, the sanctity of human life for babies who can live outside the womb will likely not fare as well in more liberal states. Abortion rights activists are pushing legislators to eliminate even the mild restrictions permitted by the Supreme Court, which they contend is threatening to reverse Roe.

What should be the response of those who believe in the sanctity of life for all human beings from conception to natural death? Yes, we should seek to elect pro-life officeholders. Yes, we should urge lawmakers to pass pro-life legislation, such as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 130). Yes, we should support pregnancy care centers that serve women considering abortions.

We should not, however, outsource our responsibility and opportunity as the church of Jesus. As the church created by our Lord, we have the message, the mission, the legacy and the community needed by mothers and unborn children in crisis, as well as abortionists and abortion's promoters.

As an evangelical Christian church, we have the true gospel message -- God the Son became an embryo in a virgin's womb and grew into a man who lived a righteous life, died on the cross and rose again to save the people of God. We proclaim this life-changing message to all sinners.

We have the mission given by Jesus to make disciples of all people groups, baptizing and teaching -- teaching that includes the message that every human being regardless of age, condition or location is a divine image bearer whose life is worth living.

We have the legacy of the Didache, an early document that condemned abortion and infanticide; the rescue of infants from the exposure walls in the Fourth Century; and the ending of child-killing in countries served by evangelical missionaries in the 19th Century.

We have the community -- we actually are the community -- of the redeemed, who love and serve all and are blood-bought brothers and sisters for those who are born again into the family of God.

May we faithfully follow Jesus and give ourselves for those whom our culture of death deems disposable.

-- Photo by Charles 🇵🇭 on Unsplash

Where do we see the majesty of God?

I have reconsidered lately where God's majesty is most clearly seen.

Certainly I recognize it in the breathtaking sunsets and brilliant fall colors of Virginia, the snow-capped mountains of Montana and the magnificent waterfalls of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Scenes of such beauty in nature definitely call for offerings of praise to God.

Yet, none of those reaches the pinnacle of God's majesty in creation. That spot is reserved for every human being, because each of us -- and no other part of God's creation -- is made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27).

In my own life, I see or have seen the majesty of God in:

-- A girl born exceedingly prematurely resting in the hands of her mother as a monitor counted down her life in a neonatal unit.

-- A boy with Down syndrome in our special needs Sunday School class who called me "doofus."

-- Older African-American men who avoided raising their heads and looking at me after decades of having their "place" in the Jim Crow South hammered into them.

-- A young female friend of our family who is blind and mentally impaired.

-- A boy in our church who cannot speak or stand.

-- A woman in a nursing home who frequently told tales indicating her mind no longer functioned coherently.

-- A 96-year-old woman, my mother, who never responded as her family spoke tenderly to her and sang hymns around her bed in her final days.

And some I have been unable to see but I knew bore God's image in the womb of their mothers -- mothers who walked past my sidewalk vigil into a clinic and left childless.

Every human being I have ever encountered was an image bearer of God, and every person I see today or will see in the future is an image bearer of God -- even those who oppose the right to life of others. Some of these foes of life may even acknowledge the majesty of the Creator in the wonders of nature, but they are blind to His majesty in some of their fellow image bearers.

We, the people of God rescued by His Son who took on flesh and blood like us, are the ones who have the treasured privilege of testifying to this truth and demonstrating it in how we treat every other human being: Every human being -- no matter his or her age, ability, condition or ethnicity -- bears the image of God and should be treated with the dignity that truth requires.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Preach this to yourself: I am safe

Uncertainty can be crippling -- especially when it regards eternal destiny.

Our Savior has words of certainty for you, however. If you have turned from your sins and trusted in Jesus, you have His promise as a comforting balm. He says in John 10:27-29:

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Jesus provides a three-part promise in these great words of assurance. He gives "eternal life" to those who follow Him, Jesus says. "[T]hey will never perish," He declares. "[N]o one will snatch them out of My hand," He promises.

Our Lord then proclaims this safety is based on a two-fold hold. He says, "[N]o one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." Then He says assuringly, "I and the Father are one."

You are in the solid grasp of the Father and the Son. No demonic being and no person -- absolutely "no one" -- can loosen the grip on those whom the Father has given to the Son and the Son has saved to be in the Father's family.

Jesus preached this, and you can preach it to yourself: I am safe in the hands of the Father and the Son.

-- Photo by Wang Xi on Unsplash

Corporate worship: Singing with purpose

While singing is not all there is to corporate worship, it is a vitally important part of our gathering as a church.

Christianity is a singing faith. The Bible -- which governs how we worship -- calls for singing by God's people corporately in both the Old and New Testaments. The following list is not all-encompassing, but it consists of some of the reasons Scripture indicates we should sing as a church:

(1) We should sing to give God glory.

"Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious" (Ps. 66:2). These commands from the psalmist are to all the earth, so it certainly applies to those who belong to God as His redeemed children. We give him glory in song by declaring how glorious He is and by making our praise of Him glorious.

(2) We should sing to declare God's attributes.

The same verse, Ps. 66:2, conveys this message by speaking of "the glory of His name." God's "name" in Scripture refers to who He is -- in other words, what His nature is, what His attributes are. The psalmist says God's people should make His attributes known in their singing.

(3) We should sing to proclaim the atoning death of Christ.

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth" (Rev. 5:9-10) The apostle John's vision showed those around the throne singing about the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God and its far-reaching impact. We will sing as one great choir about the cross-work of Jesus one day in Heaven, and we can do it now corporately on earth as the church.

(4) We should sing to instruct and exhort one another.

"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:17). Singing, as the apostle Paul explains, has a discipleship function during corporate worship. As we sing, we act as teachers and exhorters to those with whom we are worshiping. We should recognize our singing is for the building up of our fellow saints, and their singing is for our building up.

(5) We should sing to express our heartfelt affection to God.

In this same verse from Col. 3, Paul says Christians in worship should sing "with thankfulness in your hearts to God." In Eph. 5:19, he says believers are to be "singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." Singing is a means of expressing ourselves to God. As we sing together corporately, we tell Him of our gratitude for what He has accomplished on our behalf and express to Him joyful affection for who He is and what He has done.

(This is a slightly revised version of a previous post.)

-- Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

Preach this to yourself: I will be presented blameless

The apostle Paul provides a look into your future as a Christian that is both stunning and joyous. One day, Jesus will present you to the Father, and you will be "holy and blameless and beyond reproach."

Paul explains this in his letter to the disciples at Colossae: "And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet [Christ] has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach" (Colossians 1:21-22). By His reconciling work on the cross, Jesus has transformed your relationship to God from estrangement to harmony, from enmity to peace.

Christ has done this for the purpose of bringing you before His Father in a state that is difficult to fathom. Your Savior will present you "holy," separated unto God and without defilement. Your Redeemer will present you "blameless," without any blemish. Your Lord will present you "beyond reproach," free from any charge of a blemish.

"Holy and blameless and beyond reproach." That is impossible for us to imagine as sinners who will appear before the Holy Judge. Yet, this is the greatness of Jesus and His work on our behalf. You have nothing to offer Him except your sins. You deserve all kinds of charges for your wickedness. But Christ takes you in your fallen state and transforms you so that He might present you to His Father without any charge able to be made against you. What a great, thorough salvation.

-- Photo by Wang Xi on Unsplash

Corporate worship: More than the music

One of the traps we can fall into when thinking of corporate worship is to equate worship with music. It is not unusual to hear someone talk about how powerful or awesome the worship was in his or her church the previous Sunday. You know that person is essentially referring to the music. Evangelical churches also commonly refer to the primary musician as the worship leader. That person might be the worship leader, if he does more than lead music. Or he might be just the lead musician who is hopefully helping the congregation worship in song.

Congregational singing is vital. It reflects the truth our church has expressed and practiced for the last 20 years -- corporate worship is for participants, not spectators. It is a way we express adoration, confession, thanksgiving, lament, submission and intercession. It is a way we proclaim together the church's ancient faith.

Singing as a church is not, however, all there is to corporate worship. It is an aspect of worship.

We also worship as a church in reading God’s Word aloud in unison or responsively, in listening to the reading of His Word, in declaring praises to God out loud or in the quietness of our hearts and minds, in praying verbally or silently, in reading common confessions of faith together, in paying attention to the prayers of others, in listening to the preaching of the Word, in responding in obedience to the work of the Spirit through the Word, and in encouraging, serving and loving one another.

A biblical understanding of our corporate gathering calls for us to engage in worship in all the ways God intends. May we “sing with the spirit and . . . with the mind,” as I Cor. 14:15 says, but may we also worship in “spirit and truth” (John 4:23).

(This is a revised version of a previous post.)

-- Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash