How many times have you heard someone say that we need to be more like the early church, the church of the first century?
They seem to think that if we can
go back and regain the qualities of the first few years of the New Testament
church, we would all be the better for it. And with such a perspective, the past
becomes the destination of our spiritual journey.
But those who advocate a return to the church
of the first century are in fact looking at the past with rose-colored glasses.
They are like those folks who think the so-called “Wild West” or “days of Robin
Hood” would have been fun and exciting times to live. They conveniently forget
or overlook that the “days of the apostles” were actually times of great misery
and hardship for those who lived through them. And it’s also a great mistake to
think of the early church as a time when Christianity was unpolluted and pure in
its faith and practice.
Far from a pristine spiritual environment, the
New Testament churches were tainted by legalism and misapplication of Old
Testament laws, as well as by pagan philosophies, heresies, counterfeit gospels,
infighting, politics and schisms.
Those first generations who accepted Jesus had
a lot of lessons to learn, sometimes the hard way. For example, even for Peter,
Jesus’ leading apostle, it took many years and eventually a vision from God
before he realized that Gentiles could become Christians. And, Paul had to send
a letter to a Christian slave owner trying to convince him to give a runaway
slave his freedom so that he could help Paul in his work.
Wall to wall pristine holiness? Not at all. We
see people who struggled with the same problems as we do. They had their
triumphs and their moments of failure. We can learn from their successes –and
also from their mistakes. Jesus Christ never intended that each generation
re-invent the wheel. Rather, the church grows over time, moving in the direction
of ever-increasing maturity.
Spiritual maturity is not achieved by clinging
to or pining for the past, but by following the lead of the Holy Spirit in the
present and into the future. When Christianity ceases to seek new insights and
new understanding, it risks becoming irrelevant and obsolete. When we're through
changing, we're through!
Paul wrote, “…But one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14)
The past is rich with resources. We're here
today because of the faithfulness of past generations. Their experience and
wisdom can help us today. But not if we look to the past with a sense of
nostalgia, wistfully deluding ourselves that "things were better then."
Christianity is a dynamic faith! Like the early
Christians, we today live in a time of great change and challenge. And so, like
them, we must ask for God’s guidance and wisdom as we face unprecedented
problems.
The past is not a destination. Only by living
fully in the present, the present God has given us, and looking ahead to the
future, the future God has set before us, can we hope to reach the full
potential God wants us to achieve.
I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of LIFE.
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