In the early days, this worked wonderfully. As with any church league, the players were rougher and less skilled than players in other leagues I’d played in; yet they were generally more mouthy. A few players tried the rules and found themselves kicked out of the gym, and I believe one was removed from the league altogether. The total number of infractions, however, was small.

Fast-forward a few years. I suppose the men running the league decided they didn’t like asking people to leave the church. Maybe that sounds funny to many of you, as well. So instead, the games got rougher, more mouthy, and less fun. The last game I played in, the refs called a technical on one of the opposing players then called so completely in that team’s favor because of their whining that one ref came over to me and told me that he didn’t call a foul on another player that had smacked me in the head “because we had gotten the ball back.” Really?

I believe this pattern to be indicative of the American Church in general these days. No one is willing to call fouls or ask people to leave. At some point, we decided turning people away or calling people out was not good for PR, so we stopped. Now we face a church age in America where most claim to know Christ and expect eternal life, as well as their “best life now” without really understanding the other side of Christ’s message: “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).

We must once again call fouls and, when necessary, even ask those who really don’t belong to leave, lest the entire church body is brought down. Many will think this harsh, but what options have we? To this we are called, are we not, to teach and preach the whole gospel?

I sometimes get the impression that some zealous Christians today are so concerned about guarding the Word that they forget to obey it. They think they are serving God by their “holy crusades” of accusation and attack, crusades that are not always based on truth or motivated by love. I recall with a sad heart a young man who used to stand at the steps of our church building and pass out literature that condemned certain schools and preachers. I asked him why he didn’t pass out gospel tracts to lost sinners. When we asked him to go away from the church building, or else to come in to worship, he shouted: “I’m a fighting Fundamentalist and I don’t care who knows it! You people are not preaching the truth!” I appreciate any believer who wants to defend the faith, but his belligerent attitude made a mockery of the faith. The best way to defend the Bible is to practice it.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.

Many have differing opinions, and I would love to hear yours. I find myself agreeing completely with Wiersbe here. I think we spend too much time in study and never put anything into practice. Look at all the people who call themselves Christians but are known by the evangelical community as “Sunday Christians.” Look at all those evangelicals who focus of the love of God over his wrath and whom the fundamentals call “watered-down gospel teachers.” Look at all the fundamentalists with their walled-garden churches and signs proclaiming the facts that they are KJV, pre-trib, pre-millenial, etc. Everyone is so focused on doctrine that we have our own versions of Pharisees and Sadducees—people who think they have it but have completely missed Christ in their midst.

Now, I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity offender. I tried to pick on everyone above, but if you are upset that I missed you, please comment, and I’ll throw your group into the mix. Seriously, though, I’ve noticed that when you work through serving together with someone who may not see things eye-to-eye with you, a lot of the academic details fall away and you find yourself not so far away from agreeing with your once-nemesis. It’s the label (e.g. denomination, political party, doctrine name) that divides more than it is the truth.

So let’s begin to get back to the practice of the gospel and take a holiday from arguing our fine doctrinal points. Certainly, continue to study and to learn the truth of God. Never cease from that precious duty, but don’t let it alone define your faith.

I talked with one such brother
Tonight about how our souls
Need your indwelling Spirit
To ignite our darkened coals.

You see, we’ve oft not listened
Nor hearkened to your voice
That all your Spirit’s whispers
Have ceased to be our choice.

Tonight, however, we chose
To hold each other true.
We won’t forget to listen
And cease to talk with You.

Born in utter sin
And full depravity,
Yet still you gave your Son
For the lives of him and me.

Jesus Christ, our Lord
Now sits enthroned on high!
We long to be there with Him
In the sweet by-and-by.

So fill us, Lord, we ask You,
With the Helper from your Son,
That we may walk forever
With you, the Holy One.

My friend Todd Richards came over tonight after church, and we had a terrific time catching up, confessing to one another, and encouraging one another in the Lord. We both recognized that we do not seek Christ as we ought, and we have both recently been struggling with really walking in the Spirit. Yes, for all of my posts on doing just that, I find myself learning more about it and doing it less. Forgive me. Let it end. I am merely a vessel; fill me, and let me shine for the name of the Lord.

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
John 21:15

We’ll be taking a slightly different approach to our text today. While most scholars tend to look at this in the context of Jesus restoring Peter, we will look at Christ’s conference of the role of shepherd on Peter, and consequently on the Church. However, our general dissociation from shepherding and ranching in the modern world can lend to our misunderstanding this text. So first we’ll examine sheep and shepherds, then dive into what this means for us today.

Of what do you first think when you think of sheep? They appear to be rather stupid animals because they are so flighty and typically stick to the flock. (Wikipedia notes that a University of Illinois study found them to be on the same level of cows in IQ.) The flocking nature also lends well to following the voice of their shepherd. Sheep are a prey species and therefore have to be tended and guarded to keep them alive. Unlike other prey species, most do not have natural defensive abilities and are already prone to ailments and infections such that even should a sheep survive an attack, the sheep would likely die from infections.

In a biblical context, sheep were historically used as food, currency and sacrifice in many cultures. Sheep were prized, and large flocks denoted great wealth. Jesus used sheep often in his teaching to refer to his true followers (e.g. Matthew 9:36, Matthew 10:16, Matthew 12:11-12, Matthew 18:12, Matthew 25:31-46). In other words, we are sheep.

Now, what image springs to mind when you think of a shepherd? My first thought is of David, the youngest of all his brothers, sitting alone with his father’s flocks and defending them against both lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-37). David is of course exciting, but what about Rachel? Jacob first encounters her leading Laban’s sheep to the well, so not only men but women, too, were shepherds (Genesis 29:9). During his earthly ministry, Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18). He was also the Lamb of God, the lamb who was slain (Genesis 22:8; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:12, 7:17). In other words, Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, because He was the lamb who was slain and was raised again to give us eternal life (1 Peter 1:19-21).

So here we’ve come to learn that we, the followers of Christ are sheep, and Christ himself is the Good Shepherd. We hear his voice and follow him. Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). But Christ has been raised and glorified, and we now anxiously await his return. He has called us to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16). We are his body here on earth (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). And in our text, he has told Peter to tend and feed his sheep.

What then does this mean? Are we to be shepherds of the flock of God? Yes, but we are not The Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the chief shepherd whom all the flock of God hear and follow. We are to lead the flock to Jesus, and like the Good Shepherd, we are to find the lost sheep and return them to the flock (Luke 15:3-7). This command is somewhat a parallel to the command in Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). In the pursuit of shepherding and disciple-making, it is always our job to lead people to Christ, not to us. We ourselves are also mere sheep, following the Good Shepherd.

Now the question becomes two: “Who is your flock?” and “How do you recognize the lost sheep?” These are more challenging questions, though some of us already know at least part of the answer to both. First, we know the answer is not everyone who does not yet know the Lord. Jesus spoke of sheep versus goats (Matthew 25:33) and of wheat versus weeds (Matthew 13:24-30; Luke 3:17). There are some in this world who are meant for destruction; however, we cannot know that just by looking (Jeremiah 17:10). Therefore, we must trust the Helper to whom Christ entrusted us; the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). So the Spirit will speak to us of those whom we should pursue as lost sheep, but we must listen. We must love the Lord and seek him diligently, for we are his. We must abide in him, then we may ask anything and know we will receive it and in this way glorify the Father and the Son (John 15:7-11). To abide in Christ, we must keep his commandments, and we keep his commandments by trusting in his Holy Spirit and in his power to keep us for himself (John 10:28). So in our abiding, we will be able to ask and to know, but we must abide.

Finally, the last question: “What will this cost me?” Just as Jesus laid down his life, so we are to be willing to lay down our own lives. This is indeed how Christ ends his series of three questions to Peter, by telling him the kind of death he was to die (John 21:18-19). We have laid them down to death with Christ in our baptism (Romans 6:4). What prevents us from doing likewise now? There is no greater thing than to live for Christ (Philippians 1:21). He is our resurrection, our promise of eternal life (John 11:25-26). Jesus said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, 17-18) and “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Are you willing?

Granted, in our day, we are not likely to be asked to give up our lives on a daily basis. Given this, what prevents you from reaching out to your neighbor, co-worker, family or friend? What keeps you from asking tough questions of your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you waiting for someone to shepherd you first? We should not wait for someone else to pour into us, for we have been “equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). However, we should seek someone to shepherd us, for this is good and right. We all need others to help us hold course, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13). We are not asked to do this alone or to somehow rise above our brothers and sisters in Christ, for in Christ we are equals (1 Corinthians 12:21-22).

1. Personal Reflection – Do you have the light? Do you shine with the light? How have you buried your light due to cowardice or indifference?

   Yes, I have the light. The light shines through me frequently, though I wish it were more frequently. All too often I lose my focus and think of myself, my work, my hobbies, or nothing rather than thinking first of my Lord and savior, Jesus. I don’t think I back down with cowardice, though I am sometimes uncertain of whether the current situation is the time for calling out or sharing the gospel (which is stupid, since all times are perfect for sharing the gospel, as it is the Good News). That, I think, is more attributable to my lack of getting alone with the Lord and lack of focus. And what indeed should take my focus away? Nothing. Have I not died to all things for the Lord (1 Cor. 6:19-20)? Since Christ is my life, let me then live with a solid pursuit of Him (Phil. 1:21).

2. Kingdom Reflection – How does our study of the characteristics of the kingdom affect this issue? How does it make you think of this passage differently? How does it reinforce your previous thoughts on this passage?

   Our study of the characteristics of the kingdom–deliverance / salvation, joy & rejoicing, peace, authority / rule, justice / righteousness, comfort / shepherding–expands my understanding of what it means to be light to the world. Previously, I have always thought it mostly as a way of saying we must share the gospel we ourselves received. Now, I find I am not only called to share the gospel but to live it out that others may see the kingdom in me and the way I live my life. As Tommy Nelson commented early in his study of Romans last year, we should be able to say to our lost friends, “Just watch how I live my life, and then let me know if I don’t look different to you.” But how many of us can say that? I have always known I should live my life that way, but I have been more error prone to rely on the grace of God than to truly subvert my own desires for His. His power has washed me; it transforms me daily that I may walk in His image so that others may see this truth: that I, too, was lost but now am found; “I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:13-25).

3. Theological Issue – This can sound much like salvation by works. Is it? If not how is it different?

   My salvation is not based on what I have done. I am a reprobate, one who is more prone to follow my own desires than that moral law handed down to Moses. That law was given as a mirror that I may know my sin and how far I have fallen (Nelson in his Romans series, Romans 1-2). That I should live according to the commands of Christ is not of my own power, as that would have sunk me further into deeper and more depraved sin (Romans 1); rather, that I have resurfaced and can walk in obedience can only mean that Someone reached into the sea to pull out this drowning man. Now I live in honor and worship of the One who saved me. The way I live is not why I am saved; I was saved, and thus I walk this way.

4. Artifact Issue – How are we bringing the light into the darkness? How are we ignoring this responsibility?

   As a church, we shine into the darkness by coming together to confess and walk with one another through difficult times. However, we have ignored our responsibility by sticking too closely to ourselves. We all came into this thing with the hope of rescuing friends or acquaintances from certain death at the Judgment. Let’s refocus and instead of building community by hanging out, build community by working together to warn this dying world of the imminent peril they face when Christ returns.

5. Cultural Issue – How does being the light of the world affect our views of being citizens of America? Our national pride? Our thoughts on domestic policy? Our thoughts on social policy? Our thoughts on foreign policy?

   This is a tough one for me. I struggle with even wanting to vote sometimes, but certainly I should. We have a responsibility to warn people of the dangers of straying from the laws of God, even those found in nature (Romans 1). Voting is one way to demonstrate our dedication to our warnings, imperfect and incomplete as it is. As far as national pride goes, I don’t know that we should really have any, though I don’t think it’s always a bad thing. (When it comes to the Olympics, it can be fun; when it comes to war, it can be dangerous.) What good does it do? Why is America any better than China, Cuba, France, or Kenya? We have more freedoms and fewer fears than those countries, but do not some still worship there as well? Is God not redeeming His people from there? If anything, I think we are bound to encourage our government to help the poor and needy, to end oppression, and to follow the laws of God. Yet our government should not be seen as the vehicle of salvation. Christ chose us, His Church, for that purpose, and so we must march on towards that end. We are His emissaries to a dying world.

You can read the news for yourself here and here.

P.S. If I’m just being a cynic, please let me know. Thanks!