(CLARIFICATION:Translating back from Spanish, and it sounds like it... sorry.
This was not intended to be a "one-size-fits-all" answer for every situation. Where there is a bona fide, spiritual leadership, then, yes, this addresses an underlying rebellion that every believer should be mindful of. However, my hackles raise when I hear a similar tone used by self-protecting authoritarians who only intend to continue with their manipulative agenda. Some folks are trapped in a place where they need encouraged to walk away. The following does not apply to them. Thanks for reading!)
This was not intended to be a "one-size-fits-all" answer for every situation. Where there is a bona fide, spiritual leadership, then, yes, this addresses an underlying rebellion that every believer should be mindful of. However, my hackles raise when I hear a similar tone used by self-protecting authoritarians who only intend to continue with their manipulative agenda. Some folks are trapped in a place where they need encouraged to walk away. The following does not apply to them. Thanks for reading!)
Someone might think that I am about to rant against God because of something that has happened to me or because He has not delivered yet on the thing I keep asking Him for. Look at us! My, how ready we are to believe that something has happened that God promised would never happen:
“For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.” (1Sa 12:22 AV)
Even with lexicons and dictionaries at hand, much care is needed in the way we exposit the Scriptures. That said, I think I see a lesson based on the specific use of one certain word that, taken in context, warrants its exposition and meditation.
The passage in question:
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb 10:25 AV)
There are multiple uses for the verb "to leave" (used here in Spanish, as in to leave off or desist). In addition, it is used to translate more than one Greek word in the New Testament.
For example:
1. ἀφίημι "aphiemi" tranlated in Spanish as "left" in Mat 19:27 and "renounced" in Luc 14:33.
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken (ἀφίημι "aphiemi") all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” (Mt 19:27 AV)
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh (ἀφίημι "aphiemi") not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Lu 14:33 AV)
The passages are clear: we leave, let go of, separate ourselves from everything that we call ours in order to become disciples of Jesus Christ. It is the act -done voluntarily- of getting rid of the lesser to embrace the better. We renounce everything material and personal that could hinder our strengthening in the Way of Jesus.
2. ἀποστασία apostasia: appears twice in the New Testament: Acts 21:21 and 2Th 2:3
“And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake (ἀποστασία apostasia) Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise [their] children, neither to walk after the customs.” (Ac 21:21 AV)
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away (ἀποστασία apostasia) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2Th 2:3 AV)
In some Spanish versions, "apostasy" is translated as "rebellion". It is not so much an incorrect translation as it is an inadequate one. The rebellion of the nations (Psa 2:1) is general and constant. It is essentially an unbelieving posture about God, with no basis in knowledge or honest searching; unlike apostasy, which is armed rebellion with eyes wide open, having come to a knowledge of the truth only to reject it, and to drag with it as many as possible to perdition. Apostasy consists of challenging God and rejecting His Word (the same as saying His Son).
In the face of this apostasy as it unfolds before us today, Paul exhorts us in 2Th 2:1-2 to "be not soon shaken in mind. In Spanish, "to not let ourselves be easily moved"... that we always be aware that Satan himself wants to see that we deny the faith, that our flocks be scattered and that the Lord's work stagnate.
3. ἐγκαταλείπω egkataleipo: leave/abandon/forsake
This verb points to a different action, but is equally severe in nature. It means to abandon, desert, leave in dire straits, forsake.
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken (ἐγκαταλείπω egkataleipo) me?” (Mt 27:46 AV)
Harsh! There is not a darker moment in history: the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross experiencing first-hand the rejection, disapproval and punishment that our sins deserved. The worst punishment from the Supreme Judge to guilty sinners? Abandonment. Before mentioning anything about His mighty hand raised in terrible judgment to come: by simply turning His back on us, we would be undone.
And now:
“Not forsaking (ἐγκαταλείπω egkataleipo) the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb 10:25 AV)
Dear believer in Jesus Christ: you share with us the same experience of the new birth; you have been rescued from eternal perdition; with your intellect you have acquired a healthy knowledge of God and His Word; you are a valuable set of life experiences and singular talents that could serve to build up your church. Your worst weapon to punish us would be the same as the Father's against the Son hanging on the cross: turning your back on us, abandoning us to our fate, leaving us without your support, without your help... FORSAKEN!
You walk away from your flock just when the need for faithful sheep has never been greater. Congratulations! You came up with the perfect solution. If the rest of us do just what you did, our churches would run so much better!
Of course, you are probably not thinking as much about forsaking your church as you are about your own, personal state of affairs. You feel upset, not in agreement, discouraged, attacked, betrayed, unwanted, rebellious, lazy, unappreciated, confused, at odds, resentful, pressured, bored, unmotivated, unfed and... what else?
And your answer is: absence...
Do you remember from before you were a Christian... that little gesture that involved a raised middle finger directed at folks we were especially disgusted with? Today, we would never dream of doing anything so crass. However, when in our moment of displeasure concerning something at church we respond with absence, it means about the same thing and hurts just as much as the open insult.
There is nothing noble about passive rebellion.
“For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.” (1Sa 12:22 AV)
God will make us His people. He will gather us together. He will form flocks with us under His tutelage. Forsaking His assembly is the exact opposite of the action needed to find the will of God. It opposes the will of God! Good luck with our spiritual lives, those of us who practice "absence". We will need luck because we will certainly not be able to count on God to help us. No doubt, God will work... but it will have more to do with breaking us so that we repent and re-unite with our flock.
Oh, and that speech about "I love Jesus more -better even- than when I went to church?" How do you separate love for Jesus from love for His church? Impossible.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” (Eph 5:25 AV)
The reasons for desertion may be many, but none justifies. Contextually in Hebreos 10:23-25, not forsaking the assembly is not about things going better for us (although that surely will be the case), it is about things going better for the assembly! We have a fixed priority in our lives that does not alter because of our own fickleness.
Summary: when we forsake the assembly...
- We are not leaving behind the lesser in order to embrace the better. Something better than Christ and one of His churches in my life? I don't think so.
- Nor would we say that we want to deny the faith and become enemies of God. We have no desire to be apostates.
- Ours is more of a passive rebellion combined with the loss of a biblical perspective.
May each of us make the following words our own:
- I am not more important than my church.
- I swallow the disagreeable stuff and move forward with the flock that God in His infinite kindness has placed me in.
- I do not make commitments that would hinder me from being present in body and spirit with my church on Sundays.
- Nor will I allow my kids to be involved in things (including sports) that would keep them from being with me on Sundays with our spiritual family.
- I will not answer phone calls, send messages, play Angry Birds or do anything else that would distract from our sincere adoration of God and attentiveness to the study of His Word.
- I will not arrive late. People who are not punctual are thinking about themselves; people who are punctual are thinking about God and how best to serve others.
- I want our Sundays to have the greatest possible impact on all who accompany us.
- I want Christ to be glorified in my church every Sunday.
¿Steps to follow? That's a no-brainer...
- Repent. (Rev 2:4-5)
- See you Sunday. (Sal 122:1)
- If you have completed steps #1 & #2 and there is still something that needs resolved, contact your Pastor!
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is];
but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
(Heb 10:25 AV)
No comments:
Post a Comment