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Whatever divides us emotionally from other Bible-believing, Christ-honoring Christians is a “plus” we’re adding to the gospel.  It is the Galatian impulse of self-exaltation.  It can even become a club with which we bash other Christians, at least in our thoughts, to punish, to exclude and to force into line with us.

What unifies the church is the gospel.  What defines the gospel is the Bible.  What interprets the Bible correctly is a hermeneutic centered on Jesus Christ crucified, the all-sufficient Savior of sinners, who gives himself away on terms of radical grace to all alike.  What proves that that gospel hermeneutic has captured our hearts is that we are not looking down on other believers but lifting them up, not seeing ourselves as better but grateful for their contribution to the cause, not standing aloof but embracing them freely, not wishing they would become like us but serving them in love (Galatians 5:13).

• hundreds of people coming to Christ,
• old animosities being removed,
• marriages being reconciled and renewed,
• wayward children coming home,
• long-standing slavery to sin being conquered,
• spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy,
• weak faith being replaced by bold witness,
• disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession,
• boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word,
• disinterest in global missions being replaced by energy for Christ’s name among the nations, and
• lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory.

(HT:  Justin Taylor, Desiring God)

“Spiritual pride is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christianity.  It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit, to darken the mind and mislead the judgment.  It is the main source of all the mischief the devil introduces, to clog and hinder a work of God.

Spiritual pride tends to speak of other persons’ sins with bitterness or with laughter and levity and an air of contempt.  But pure Christian humility rather tends either to be silent about these problems or to speak of them with grief and pity.  Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble Christian is most guarded about himself.  He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart.  The proud person is apt to find fault with other believers, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they are and to be quick to note their deficiencies.  But the humble Christian has so much to do at home and sees so much evil in his own heart and is so concerned about it that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts.  He is apt to esteem others better than himself.”

Jonathan Edwards, Works (Edinburgh, 1979), I:398-400. Style updated.

How is your view of yourself versus your view of others?  Read the whole post to see how Ortlund grounds humility toward others (read: Gospel culture) in the Gospel and in the very nature of God.

And then check out these articles written by my dear friend and mentor Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, TX.  He has been preaching through 1 Corinthians, and in connection with that series has written several blog articles answering frequently asked questions on spiritual gifts.  They are sure to be helpful and edifying to you.

Ignorance is NOT bliss in matters of the Spirit

Are miraculous gifts for today?

Where do spiritual gifts come from?

Who is gifted?

What do we know about spiritual gifts?

What is the purpose of spiritual gifts?

How do you know God is present?

How do I discover my spiritual gift?

I hope these brief articles are a helpful resource to you both in personal study and in helping others to understand how God intends for us to live in the household of faith.

1.  We can rejoice in one another, because the Lord rejoices in us. (Psalm 16:3)

2.  We can create an environment of trust rather than negative scrutiny. (1 Corinthians 4:5)

3.  We can judge ourselves, even as we give each other the benefit of the doubt. (Matthew 7:5)

4.  If a problem must be addressed, we can talk to, not about.  Gossip destroys. (Matthew 18:15; James 1:26)

5.  If a problem must be addressed, we can avoid blanket statements but identify factual specifics, offer a positive path forward and preserve everyone’s dignity.

6.  We can always extend kindness. (Ephesians 4:32)

7.  When we do wrong one another, we can say to the person harmed, “I was wrong.  I am sorry.  It won’t happen again.  Is there anything I could do now that might make a positive difference?” (Genesis 33:4)

• Be at peace with one another. Mk. 9:50
• Wash one another’s feet. Jn. 13:14
• Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Jn. 13:34
• Love one another with brotherly affection. Rom. 12:10
• Outdo one another in showing honor. Rom. 12:10
• Live in harmony with one another. Rom. 12:16
• Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. Rom. 15:7
• Greet one another with a holy kiss. Rom 16:16, 2 Cor. 13:12
• Wait for one another. 1 Cor. 11:33
• Comfort one another, agree with one another. 2 Co. 13:11
• Through love serve one another. Gal. 5:13
• Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Gal. 6:2
• Bear with one another in love. Eph. 4:2
• Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Eph. 4:32
• Address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Eph. 5:19
• Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph. 5:21
• Do not lie to one another. Col. 3:9
• Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other. Col. 3:13
• Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom. Col. 3:16
• Encourage one another. 1 Th. 4:18 , Heb. 10:25
• Encourage one another and build one another up. 1 Th. 5:11
• Always seek to do good to one another. 1 Th. 5:15
• Exhort one another every day. Heb. 3:13
• Stir up one another to love and good works. Heb. 10:24
• Do not speak evil against one another. Jas. 4:11
• Do not grumble against one another. Jas. 5:9
• Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another. Jas. 5:16
• Love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 1 Pe. 1:22
• Keep loving one another earnestly. 1 Pe. 4:8
• Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Pe. 4:9
• Serve one another. 1 Pe. 4:10
• Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. 1 Pe. 5:5
• Greet one another with the kiss of love. 1 Pe. 5:14
• Love one another. 1 Jn. 3:11, 1 Jn. 3:23, 1 Jn. 4:7, 1 Jn. 4:12, 2 Jn. 1:5

I want to continue sharing some thoughts regarding Christian community.  (You can review the previous posts here:  part 1, part 2, part 3.)  Consider this statement from Jesus:

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

This is a huge statement.  To my knowledge, it is the only statement Jesus makes about how the world will know we are His disciples.  So the one and only characteristic Jesus gives for showing the world who we are is love, and more specifically, the same kind of self-sacrificing, unconditional love Christ shows to us (see verse 34).

In my small group we have been discussing the implications of this truth for how we live in community with each other.  First of all, Jesus’ words here demand that we show love in concrete ways.  It is not enough to say we have love; we must show it (1 John 3:16-18).  Second, we must love each other in ways that the world can see.  For if, as Francis Schaeffer put it, our primary apologetic to the world is our love for each other, then the world must actually be able to see how we love each other.

How does this flesh out in your life?  Our group discussed how simply spending time at each other’s houses can be a way of letting the world see our Christ-like love:  and in fact, the family who hosts our group has seen this with one of their neighbors in particular, who has noticed that we all gather a couple times a month.  Serving each other in tangible ways can also be a witness to the world; perhaps you are skilled in car repair, or you’re handy around the house, or you can offer babysitting, or you can just give a meal (even when it’s not been requested).

The bottom line is that we have to actually be others’ lives in order to actually love them, and in order to be seen loving them.  Practicing this kind of self-sacrificial love toward each other requires a complete re-orientation of our lives.  As my first article on community points out, we who are in Christ no longer belong to ourselves; we belong to Christ, and to His body, the church.  So we must live in such a way that shows this to be true–both to each other, and to the world.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.”  (Ephesians 3:14-21)

Two friends, Fred and Cheryl, went to Haiti twenty-five years ago to pick up a child they had adopted. Addie was five years old. Her parents had been killed in a traffic accident that left her without a family. As she walked across the tarmac to board the plane, the tiny orphan reached up and slipped her hands into the hands of her new parents whom she had just met. Later they told us of this “birth” moment, how the innocent, fearless trust expressed in that physical act of grasping their hands seemed almost as miraculous as the times their two sons slipped out of the birth canal 15 and 13 years earlier.

That evening, back home in Arizona, they sat down to their first supper together with their new daughter. There was a platter of pork chops and a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. After the first serving, the two teenage boys kept refilling their plates. Soon the pork chops had disappeared and the potatoes were gone. Addie had never seen so much food on one table in her whole life. Her eyes were big as she watched her new brothers, Thatcher and Graham, satisfy their ravenous teenage appetites.

Fred and Cheryl noticed that Addie had become very quiet and realized that something was wrong—agitation…bewilderment…insecurity? Cheryl guessed that it was the disappearing food. She suspected that because Addie had grown up hungry, when food was gone from the table she might be thinking would be a day or more before there was more to eat. Cheryl had guessed right. She took Addie’s hand and led her to the bread drawer and pulled it out, showing her a back-up of three loaves. She took her to the refrigerator, opened the door, and showed her the bottles of milk and orange juice, the fresh vegetables, jars of jelly and jam and peanut butter, a carton of eggs, and a package of bacon. She took her to the pantry with its bins of potatoes, onions, and squash, and the shelves of canned goods—tomatoes and peaches and pickles. She opened the freezer and showed Addie three or four chickens, a few packages of fish, and two cartons of ice cream. All the time she was reassuring Addie that there was lots of food in the house, that no matter how much Thatcher and Graham ate and how fast they ate it, there was a lot more where that came from, she would never go hungry again.

Cheryl didn’t just tell her that she would never go hungry again. She showed her what was in those drawers and behind those doors, named the meats and vegetables, placed them in her hands. It was enough. Food was there, whether she could see it or not. Her brothers were no longer rivals at the table. She was home. She would never go hungry again.

My wife and I were told that story twenty-five years ago. Ever since, whenever I read and pray this prayer of Paul’s, I think of Cheryl gently leading Addie by the hand through a food tour of the kitchen and pantry, reassuring her of the “boundless riches” (Eph 3:8) and “all the fullness” (Eph 3:19) inherent in the household in which she now lives.

Eugene Peterson, Practice Resurrection, 159-160

(HT:  Chaplain Mike @ iMonk)