Starving the Appetite for Conflict, Face...

In If You Bite & Devour One Another: Biblical Principles for Handling Conflict, author Alexander Strauch presents a comprehensive look at what Scripture instructs on what is necessary for sincere Christ-followers to do when they go through struggles in their life. In the first part of his book, Strauch discussed how believers should act when facing conflict: Christians are to act in the Spirit, act in love, and act in humility. He then explained what needs to be controlled in conflicts: believers must control their anger, control their tongue, and control their criticism. In the third part, he expressed the need for Christians to pursue reconciliation and pursue peace. In the last part of the book, Strauch warns us that believers must face both false teachers and face controversy when it arises.

To face false teachers, we must first warn all believers about the reality of false teachers: they do exist, and they will spread false teachings. It is only a matter of time before they appear. When they do appear, Christians should avoid them, to keep from giving any false impressions about approving of them. That said, we are also called to confront false teachers and stop their corrupted doctrines from spreading. When false teachers arise from within the church, our responsibility is clear: we must expel them from the body of believers, just as we would excise a cancer. In all this, we must remember to correct others with gentleness and firmness, treating them with love, being unwilling to compromise on doctrine, and letting the light of Christ shine through us.

When we face controversy within the church among true believers, we must remember several things: first, we are all accountable to the Bible's authority. Second, there is only one Gospel, and we are all part of one body through Christ. Thus, we should display Christian attitudes because of the Spirit's working within our hearts, minds, and souls. This means we should not act in the flesh, showing pride, quarrelsomeness, or factions. Instead, we are to act in the Spirit, displaying God's love for each other. Also, we should not be naive when it comes to controversy. This does not mean we should be jaded, cynical, or assuming the worst of others, but realize that sin is part of our world, and we must deal with it by Christ working through us. Ultimately, we are to love God first and foremost, and then we will be able to love our neighbor.

All in all, I found this to be an insightful book on how to manage conflict while still relying on God to change hearts and minds. I would especially recommend this book to any pastor or Christian leader, because disagreements are natural in dealing with groups of people--even redeemed people. However, I would also recommend this book to whoever is reading this post, who is probably not a leader. Why? Because this book lays out principles that God Himself has given to us through His word, and His way for settling conflict can help us approach difficulties in our everyday life.

Starving the Appetite for Conflict: Pursue...

In If You Bite & Devour One Another, author Alexander Strauch presents a comprehensive look at what Scripture instructs what is necessary for sincere Christ-followers to do when they go through struggles. In the first part of his book, Strauch discussed how believers should act when facing conflict: Christians are to act in the Spirit, act in love, and act in humility. He then explained what needs to be controlled in conflicts: believers must control their anger, control their tongue, and control their criticism. In all of this, we must remember we are only able to live out love and forgiveness through the redeeming power of Christ at work in us.

The third element in stopping conflict is that Christians are to pursue both reconciliation and peace. If one believer wrongs another, they must go to the brother or sister they offended and ask for forgiveness. Even if they do not, it is also the responsibility of the offended brother or sister to go to the believer who sinned against him and lovingly confront them over it. This reconciliation first takes the form of a private meeting, between the two Christians. If the dispute cannot be settled, then another meeting should be held, this time with witnesses. This is because--if the personal sin is serious enough--it should not be simply swept under the rug.

If this sort of personal, private mediation does not resolve the ongoing sin, then the wider church body should be made aware of the conflict. If the issue cannot be settled even with the congregation working together, than the brother in the wrong should be dis-fellowshiped by the church (Matt.18:15-20). This is an extreme measure, and should not be taken lightly. However, sin should be taken seriously and disciplined seriously. In all of this, we are called to approach each other in the right spirit, relying on the Holy Spirit within us to overcome our sinful habits. We must speak the truth in love and with courage, and always hope for reconciliation.

Believers also need to pursue peace with each other. Why? There are several reasons: 1) peacemaking is blessed by the Lord, 2) peacemaking produces healthy, sanctified lives and churches, 3) and peacemaking is every believer's responsibility. 4) Peacemaking requires mediation, which means that we must call on a mediator for help, and call on the church body for its wisdom and help. 5) Peacemaking is courageous, hard work, 6) it prizes the unity of the body of Christ, and 7) it is virtuous.

Starving the Appetite for Conflict: Control...

In If You Bite & Devour One Another, author Alexander Strauch presents a comprehensive look at what Scripture instructs on what is necessary for sincere Christ-followers to do when they go through struggles in their life. In the first part of his book, Strauch discussed how believers should act when facing conflict: Christians are to act in the Spirit, act in love, and act in humility. In the second part of his book, Strauch warns his readers they must control themselves in the midst of strife; specifically, they must control their anger, control their tongue, and control their criticism.

In order to limit the damage caused by their anger, believers must be slow to anger. When they do become angry, Christians must control the passions of their anger. This means taking care not to sin when they grow angry, and to deal with anger promptly, so they do not inadvertently give the Devil a helping hand to tempt them. On top of all this, believers must remain calm and refuse to escalate conflict through angry responses. To use Paul's analogy, those in Christ must strip off their old life of anger and put on the new clothes of Christlike character. This means putting away and actively striving to avoid failing back into sins like anger and bitterness. Put positively, we are to pursue the selfless and holy character of Christ; if we chase after these, then we will have no time for indulging in the works of the flesh.

Christians are also required to control their tongue during conflict; this means we must bridle our language, choose the right words to say, and to speak sternly in love. As part of restraining our speech, we are to be quick to hear and slow to speak. This means we should be willing to listen to the arguments of the opposing side and think over how we respond. When we do speak, we must eliminate cutting words from our language, be wary of inflammatory speech, refuse to gossip about others, and use edifying words to encourage each other. Despite this, situations can call for stern words. The apostle Paul himself wrote sternly to various churches, but he did so in love for the brothers and with tears over the sin they had fallen into.

Lastly, believers must control their criticism during conflict. This means we are to stop speaking evil of our opponents and to stop judging one another. Refusing to judge can be seen in two different ways: we are not to judge legalistically like the Pharisees did, and we are not to judge others over disputable matters not important in the long run. Additionally, if Christians hope to control their criticism, they must stop grumbling and quarreling among themselves and must learn to rebuke and criticize constructively. To do such, we must pray, check both your attitudes and motives, speak gently, balance your criticism with encouragement, use Scripture to instruct others, and to welcome criticism about ourselves.

Starving the Appetite for Conflict: Act in...

In this book review series, I will be looking at If You Bite & Devour One Another, written by Alexander Strauch. The title for this book was drawn from Galatians 5:15, where the apostle Paul rebuked the churches in Galatia for their constant infighting, reminding them that "...the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." (Gal. 5:14-16, NIV) This means that while we are responsible for settling conflicts among ourselves, we must rely on the power, presence, and work of the Holy Spirit within us to do so. All the good we can do is done with the aid of the Spirit.

In his book, Strauch presents a comprehensive (and I would argue exhaustive) look at what Scripture instructs on what is necessary for sincere Christ-followers to do when they go through struggles in their life. In the first part of his book, Strauch discusses how believers should act when facing conflict: Christians are to act in the Spirit, act in love, and act in humility.

Acting in the Spirit means that when confronting conflict, believers should not act according to our sinful nature, revealing "the works of the flesh," such as immorality, divisions, bitterness, or anger (Gal. 5:16-21). Rather, we are to act according to the power of Christ moving in us; we should show "the fruit of the Spirit," such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:16-18, 22-23). These manifest as Christlike character in the lives of believers. We must also display "the wisdom from above." In handling disagreements as a Spirit-controlled Christian, we should pray, check both our attitude and conduct, act in love, seek the counsel of Spirit-filled believers, treat others with both kindness and gentleness, and be humble.

To act in love, Christians must remember the words of 1 Corinthians 13 and apply them. Thus, our love for others (or lack thereof) will define how we act when facing conflict. Additionally, love does not seek revenge when it has been wronged, and it overcomes evil through prayer, forbearance, and kindness. Love covers a multitude of sins and even denies itself for the good of others. Finally, believers cannot simply talk about love and then behave differently; believers must practice what they preach about God's love.

Followers of Jesus are not only to act lovingly in disputes, but also act in humility. Acting in humility does not mean believers should endure false teaching meekly. Instead, we are called to stand for the truth of God's Word and must denounce wrong attitudes within the church. This includes calling out selfish ambitions and pride. However, there is also a positive aspect to this. Though we tear out flawed attitudes, we are also to teach right attitudes in the church, such as understanding Christlike humility and servanthood and taking on the attitude of Christ. Ultimately, humility can and will, change a church for the better if its leaders and members practice it constantly and continuously.

Come back tomorrow to learn what Strauch advocates we need to control during conflict.

Journaling in Matthew 1-4

My first year in college, I was required to take a course in New Testament History. As part of the homework for this class, I had to read through and comment on sections of the New Testament. Below are some of my summaries of and reflections on the first four chapters of Matthew:

Matthew 1: The beginning chapter of his Gospel; Here Matthew introduces his readers to the person of Jesus Christ through the use of a genealogy, not only tying the focus of his book (Jesus) directly to the Old Testament, but also setting up a foundation for the rest of his Gospel, which shows how Jesus acted as a fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Abraham and David. Matthew continues Jesus’ genealogy with a quick (not even ten verses!) account of the birth of Christ.

Personally, I enjoy this part of Matthew, as it reminds me that God will always fulfill His promises, even if it takes a long time for them to come to pass.

Matthew 2: In this chapter, Matthew elaborates on the consequential events Jesus’ birth. Some time after He was born, wise men from the east come to worship Jesus as the king of the Jews. Once Herod discovers this, he tries to trick the Magi into revealing to him the location of the young Christ. However, the wise men are warned by an angel about Herod’s intent, and so deny him the chance to murder the child Jesus. After Herod is outwitted, orders that all boys aged two and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem be killed.

I enjoy this chapter because it reminds me that God will always protect and provide for His chosen vessels of His will in this world. Matthew also shows how the events surrounding the birth of Christ fulfilled three direct prophecies by the Old Testament prophets.

Matthew 3: In this chapter, Matthew jumps far ahead to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He was around the age of thirty. Although John the Baptist initially tries to talk Jesus out of being baptized, Jesus remains firm in His intent. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, showing the Father's approval and the unity of the Trinity in Christ's life and work; this event thus signifies the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

When I read this chapter, I always like to pause over the mystery of exactly why Jesus chose to be baptized when He was already completely sinless: "to fulfill all righteousness." Regardless of why Jesus was baptized, He still set up an important standard for us as Christians to follow.

Matthew 4: After being baptized, Jesus travels out into the wilderness for over a month, fasting and enduring temptation from Satan. After forty days of this, the devil personally tempts Jesus to: 1) rely on Himself, rather than His Father, 2) prove His divinity and anointment by testing the providence of God, and 3) worship the created (Satan) instead of the Creator as a shortcut to the rule of God on earth. Confronted with each of these temptations--some coming as a twisted interpretation of Scripture!--Jesus steadily holds firm to the revealed word of God as His encouragement, His warning, and His instruction.

Just as Christ submitted to Scripture in resisting and rejecting the temptations to sin, so too should we. In all four of these chapters, the Old Testament is quoted, either to show the fulfillment of its prophecies, show how the New Testament is a continuation of Old, or to show its usages. The Old Testament was relevant to the early church, and it is relevant to us now.

Is God Selfish? Part 4: The Goodness of God

In my previous posts, I considered whether God could be rightly called selfish, and the answer was yes; God's focus in always on Himself, because He is the highest and greatest force in the universe. Because He is infinite and perfect in all His attributes, God has every right to feel superior to anything and everything else that exists, because nothing else can equal or surpass Him. In fact, God’s supremacy almost seems to conflict with His humility; if anything, God’s humility comes from a false sense of inferiority—or does it?

All this talk of God's power and limitlessness has so far been unbalanced. Let me take some time to balance it out. God is not only a God of infinite highness (Is. 55:8-9); He is also a humble God. That is, even though He is infinitely higher than His creation, God is willing to lower Himself to its level and work within it and even serve it. This is because of God's selflessness; as the most morally perfect and righteous and holy being in the universe, God is completely selfless--He is focused on the needs of others, rather than His needs. Now while this might seem to be at odds with the entire point of this series (God is selfish), bear with me for just a moment.

In addition to being a holy God (Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Sam. 2:2), a God of justice (Ps. 50:6; Is. 30:18) and wrath (Rom. 1:18, 9:22) and integrity, God is also a God of love (1 John 4:8, 16). The nature of God is that because of His love, He must love another. That need was fulfilled in eternity past through union and fellowship with the members of the Trinity. After creation, God intended for man to join Him in that perfect community with the Trinity (Gen. 3:8). Thus, because God is selfless, He is focused on us, and He wants to give us the best and greatest thing to give in the universe. However, because God is both infinitely higher than His creation and infinitely perfect, the best thing He could give us is actually Himself!

Therefore, in order to give us what we need most, God calls attention to Himself as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). There is no god other than God; He is the only one we've got. God can not only demand our love and respect and fear and obedience because He is the one most deserving of it; He can also ask for it because He knows that that is what we most need. We must taste and see the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8)! God is not only "selfish" because He is the highest and greatest being in the universe, but also because He is the most filling and fulfilling being in the universe, and He is that way because He is the Most High!

I hope that this series of posts has satisfactorily explored and explained the question, Is God Selfish?However, there is always something more to be learned, and I hope these posts have encouraged you to use this question as a starting point for more study in God's Word.

Is God Selfish? Part 3: The Supremacy of God, Part 2: Creation

In my previous post, I concluded that because of God's nature as an infinite being, He must be superior to anything finite, and equal to anything else infinite. However, God is the only infinite being--the Most High, as Scripture describes Him; thus, there is no one His equal or superior. Thus, we (as finite beings) can only come to God as an inferior being; since God is the highest, no one can try to approach Him on equal ground. Additionally, consider: God is the Creator of both the earth and the people and animals who populate it. So not only does God have the position of being the only infinite being, but He also has the authority that is His right as Landlord of earth. Thus, God is supremely important in creation, since there cannot be any creation equal to or higher than Him.

Because of this, one cannot judge God, His actions, or His motives. Why? To judge someone, you are placing yourself in a position above that person, giving you authority to affirm or condemn the motives of their actions and the actions themselves. However, if God is the Most High, you cannot be in a position above God, preventing anyone from attempting to judge Him; one cannot be greater than the Infinite Being.

It is ridiculous to believe an infinite being should have an inappropriately high or finite sense of importance; the very nature of “infinite” being it is not finite or limited. Thus, it is somewhat silly to assume an infinite being can have an opinion of himself that “crosses the limit”. So God cannot have a false sense of superiority; He has every right to feel superior to anything and everything else that exists, because nothing else can equal or surpass Him. Really, God’s supremacy almost seems to conflict with His humility; if anything, God’s humility comes from a false sense of inferiority—or does it?

Is God Selfish? Part 2: The Supremacy of God, Part 1: To Infinity...and Beyond?

In my previous post, I asked the question of whether God could rightly be called selfish,and my answer was yes. However, before you ask me anything, let me continue. In the Bible, God does hold His will and desires above those of all others. But that is not because He has a misguided sense of superiority—far from it. Rather, God's superiority is proper and appropriate for Him.

Consider: God is an infinite being, and is called the Most High in Scripture: see Genesis 14:22, Deuteronomy 32:8, and Psalm 18:13. If God is an infinite being (or rather, the Infinite Being), then by extension, He has an infinite mind, containing infinite knowledge and wisdom and possessing an infinite capacity. Thus, the infinite mind of God should produce thoughts of infinite importance and opinions of infinite value. Also, if God is the Most High, then there cannot be anyone as or more important than Him. All this combines to show us that God is infinitely higher than His limited and fallen creations, and is of infinitely greater value than them.

So if God’s value is infinite, and there is no one to equal or surpass Him, then for God to value Himself appropriately, He must consider Himself of the utmost importance, surpassing anything and everything else that exists. When one also considers that we are only finite beings, we must come to the conclusion that it would be sheer madness for God to consider something finite of equal or superior worth to Himself, because it is impossible for anything other than God to be equal to a greater than God. Thus, God must consider Himself supreme above all else. And if God is supreme above all else, then of course He has the authority to do as He wishes. However, we must also consider that God's ownership of creation entitles Him to authority over it.

Is God Selfish? Part 1: Selfish Savior?

The other day, I was at an in-home bible study after a day of VBS. The current lesson was on counting the cost of discipleship and the priority of following Jesus. At the end of the lesson, one of the students made a comment about how God must be selfish to demand so much from us. The student quickly realized what she had said, and corrected her statement to “jealous,” but her original comment started me thinking. Is God a selfish God? After all, He does claim to be above all other objects and beings, and to own all of creation. Doesn’t that make Him…well, greedy?

Not necessarily.

The dictionary definition of “greedy” is “a selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possessions.” Extending from this, the dictionary definition of “selfish” is (1) “holding one’s self-interest as the standard for decision making”, and (2) “having regard for oneself above others’ well-being.” Now, as contradictory as it may sound, God (by being perfect) could be considered selfish—at least by the dictionary’s standards—but not greedy (again, according to the dictionary).

At heart, most (if not all) of us are selfish. This is primarily because our sinful nature's misguided sense of superiority. I act like I am better or greater than others because I place myself above them in my sight. I make my self-interest my standard for thinking and judging because I, at heart, am a sinful—and thus prideful—being. I regard myself above others because my sense of priority is corrupted; I place greater priority on myself than anyone else, and I am sure that I am not alone in this matter. But what about God's sense of superiority?